New York, 20 May 2022

Funding is insufficient to meet increasing humanitarian needs in Syria, underlined the officials of UN during their briefing at the Security Council.

Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and United Nations outlining conditions on the ground, he stressed that cross-line humanitarian access cannot replace the size or scope of the massive cross-border operation.

Farida Almouslem representative of the Syrian American Medical Society, emphasized that humanitarian needs continue to grow while funding decreases, and additional funds are needed to prevent further hospital closures and provide critical nutrition assistance.

Many Council members as well the briefers citing the critical, irreplaceable nature of the cross-border aid mechanism, stressed the need to use all modalities to deliver aid to the millions of Syrians in need. Cross-line humanitarian access cannot replace the size or scope of the massive cross-border operation, and, failure to renew it will disrupt life-saving aid for the people living in north-west Syria, including more than a million children, they underlined.

During its statement, Ambassador Ferit Hoxha noting that millions of people in north-eastern Syria rely on cross-border assistance, emphasized that aid must reach all in need, and repeated the need to allow unhindered access for humanitarian goods and personnel. He expressed concern over the humanitarian situation of women and children in detention and called for the release and family reunification of all children deprived of liberty. By reiterating the need for a mechanism and a consultative group on missing persons he concluded that “if we do not assist people in need, we inadvertently nourish future conflicts”.