YouSaid · the spoken record

Ging

lines on the record: 117
first: 2014-08-05
most recent: 2018-09-07
sittings or episodes: 10
sources: un-security-council

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“The United Nations Verification and Inspection Mission is an effective system for screening imports bound for those ports, and there have recently been efforts to strengthen it further. Vessels cleared by that mechanism should be able to proceed directly to port without additional delays. Fuel imports are crucial for Yemen, including for the operation of public water networks and medical facilities. In January, United Nations agencies received 175,000 litres of fuel, provided by the Coalition, and distributed it to 16 health centres and water networks in the north and south. Such imports, which increase the commercial and humanitarian fuel supply, as well as other goods, must continue.”
2018-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8191 (2018) · source
“Even before the crisis, Yemen imported about 90 per cent of its staple food and nearly all medicine and fuel. Maintaining the flow of commercial imports through all ports is essential to people's survival. Most imports have historically arrived via Hudaydah, which is the closest port to 70 per cent of people in need. Disruptions to commercial import flows have immediate consequences, including in food prices, which are increasing, against the backdrop of the risk of famine. In January 2018, a food basket was on average 55 per cent more expensive than before the escalation of conflict in 2015. Commercial food and fuel imports have only partially recovered. One factor appears to be the lack of confidence among commercial shippers. The number of vessels seeking clearance to enter Hudaydah and Saleef ports has halved since the blockade.”
2018-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8191 (2018) · source
“United Nations flights and vessels have been travelling as scheduled since 26 November, and regular humanitarian staff rotations and cargo shipments have mostly resumed. We have also received assurances that there will be no further disruption to those services. Today our main challenge in entering Yemen is the Coalition policy to divert containerized cargo to Aden, including relief items shipped in containers aboard commercial vessels, which is often the most cost-effective option. That policy creates delays and higher operating costs. Sana'a airport remains closed to commercial traffic, thereby preventing thousands of patients from travelling abroad to seek medical care. We are hopeful that solutions can be found shortly. The third issue is related to commercial imports.”
2018-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8191 (2018) · source
“They include long delays in customs clearance for essential supplies, such as diphtheria treatment and fuel, ad hoc restrictions on movements of humanitarian partners and refusal to authorize humanitarian assessments. In recent weeks, humanitarian staff have also been temporarily detained without justification and their equipment confiscated at checkpoints. In practice, those restrictions are often eventually resolved through dialogue, but the time lost represents an unacceptable delay for people who need assistance. While the restrictions appear to have intensified in recent months, we remain optimistic that the Sana'a authorities may still honour the assurances given to the Emergency Relief Coordinator during his visit in October. Access into Yemen has improved after the blockade imposed by the Coalition came to an end in December.”
2018-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8191 (2018) · source
“But even with the support announced to date, the humanitarian response plan would remain only about one-third funded. On 3 April, the Secretary- General will convene a pledging conference in Geneva, hosted by Sweden and Switzerland, where all donors will have an opportunity to work together to provide the resources needed for the response. The second issue is humanitarian access into and within the country, which all parties are required to allow and facilitate under international humanitarian law. Such access must be safe, rapid and unimpeded. Access within Yemen - particularly in areas controlled by the Sana'a authorities - has deteriorated. Authorities in Sana'a continue to delay humanitarian movements and to impose bureaucratic impediments that interfere with humanitarian action.”
2018-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8191 (2018) · source
“Securing full funding for the plan is a top priority, which is why the Emergency Relief Coordinator allocated $50 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund at the beginning of the year - the largest single allocation in its history. Later in January, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates announceda generous j ointpledge of $1 billion forYemen, including $930 million for the humanitarian response plan. They also committed to raising $500 million from other donors in the region. In discussions this month, the Saudi and Emirati Governments confirmed that they would transfer $930 million by 31 March and outlined grant management terms very much in keeping with the spirit of the "grand bargain". Other donors have also stepped forward.”
2018-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8191 (2018) · source
“The most urgent task for all parties is to cease hostilities and engage meaningfully with the United Nations to achieve a lasting political settlement. In the meantime, as noted by the Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator to the Council in November, there are other areas where we need to see immediate progress. Those priorities were conveyed to the Governments of Yemen and Saudi Arabia, as well as to the authorities in Sana'a, with assurances from all parties that they would swiftly be implemented. Therefore, allow me to update members on where we stand. The first issue concerns the resources needed for an effective response. In January, the United Nations and partners released the 2018 Yemen humanitarian response plan, which requires $2.96 billion to assist 13.1 million people.”
2018-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8191 (2018) · source
“The Famine Early Warning Systems Network estimates that nine of Yemen's 22 governorates would be one step closer to famine, or worse, without humanitarian assistance. And yet people's lives have continued to unravel. Conflict has escalated significantly since November, driving an estimated 100,000 people from their homes, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. More people are going hungry, and famine remains a real threat. Although cholera cases are in decline, the disease is not yet beaten and is likely to rebound in the upcoming rainy season. In the meantime, a diphtheria outbreak has emerged, the first since 1982. Those are the consequences of a man-made crisis that only a political solution can bring to an end.”
2018-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8191 (2018) · source
“An estimated 3 million women and girls are at risk of gender-based violence. Those figures represent an urgent call to action that humanitarian workers, the vast majority of whom are Yemeni citizens, are striving to answer. Working with nearly 200 partners, the United Nations-coordinated response is making a tremendous difference for millions of people across the country. In 2017, we progressively increased the number of people receiving emergency food assistance every month, from 3 million to more than 7 million. We delivered enough medicine to health facilities to treat 3.2 million people and conducted 1.5 million medical consultations. By maintaining public water networks, we ensured access to drinking water for 2 million people, in addition to trucking water directly to nearly 1 million more of the most vulnerable in December alone.”
2018-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8191 (2018) · source
“Mr. Ging: I provide this update to the Security Council today on behalf of Mr. Mark Lowcock, Under- Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. After three years of conflict, conditions in Yemen are catastrophic. A record 22.2 million people need humanitarian assistance or protection, including 8.4 million people who are severely food-insecure. About 400,000 children under the age of 5 are so severely malnourished that they are 10 times likelier to die without treatment than their healthy peers. Approximately 2 million people remain displaced, 90 per cent of whom fled their homes more than a year ago. Nearly 1.1 million are suspected of having cholera. That has been reported since April 2017, in what experts have called the world's worst cholera outbreak.”
2018-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8191 (2018) · source
“As we desperately wait for a political solution and an end to the conflict, we call upon all States to exert their influence on all parties to the conflict to comply with their obligations and responsibilities under international humanitarian law and human rights law. The Human Rights Council's recent adoption by consensus of resolution 36/31 is one example of the influence States can exert. The parties and their supporters need to show greater commitment to finding a political solution. We need the international community to step up its efforts in support of a viable solution that addresses the root causes and restores the hope of the Yemeni people for a better future. They deserve nothing less.”
2017-10-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8066 (2017) · source
“Despite the complexity of the response, this year humanitarians have already reached 7 million people with direct assistance. We therefore encourage Member States to directly support our efforts and to do more through the response plan. This year, the Yemen Humanitarian Fund has reached $128 million, the largest globally. The Fund was nimble in rapidly responding to the cholera outbreak and famine prevention. Over 21 per cent of the Fund's allocations have gone to national partners. We salute them for their efforts on the front lines of the humanitarian response and, again, we thank donor Member States for their generosity.”
2017-10-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8066 (2017) · source
“In that regard, we renew our calls for the protection and continued operation of Hudaydah port and for the unconditional instalment of the four World Food Programme mobile cranes. The closure of Sana'a airport to commercial traffic has blocked thousands of Yemenis from travelling for medical care, and students from attending universities abroad. A resumption of commercial flights is urgently and immediately needed. There appears to be no legitimate reason that the inspection mechanism operated by the coalition prior to August 2016 cannot be reinstated. The Yemen humanitarian response plan is 55 per cent funded, with $1.3 billion ofthe $2.3 billion required to reach the 12 million people in need of humanitarian support and protection this year. We thank Member States for their generosity and funding.”
2017-10-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8066 (2017) · source
“Already stressed critical services are unavailable if employees are not present to operate them, most notably in the health, water and sanitation and education sectors. We seek the support of the Council in finding a way to prioritize salaries for those sectors. It is not difficult to draw a clear link between the near-absent health, water and sanitation services and the unprecedented cholera outbreak. As the Council is aware, Yemen has long been reliant on the importation of commercial goods to meet its basic food and fuel needs. However, commercial traffic to Yemen, by both sea and air, remains challenging. Any significant decline in imports due to bureaucratic delays risks making the threat of famine a reality.”
2017-10-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8066 (2017) · source
“That reality is having a negative effect on the capacity of the population to cope. People are now taking to such acts as selling their assets and taking on debt to buy food. Children are paying a particularly high price, not least the 460,000 who are severely malnourished. Even if the fighting were to stop today, stunted growth and delayed cognitive development would linger for an entire generation. The loss oflivelihoods for adults also means that thousands of children are forced to work rather than go to school, with child marriage rates also increasing as families claim incapacity to support their children. In addtion, the lack of civil-servant salaries has disrupted the provision of basic services to the wider population.”
2017-10-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8066 (2017) · source
“The interruption of regular salary payments for 1.25 million civil servants is an additional driver of humanitarian need, particularly food insecurity, as affected public employees and their families represent nearly a quarter of the population. Where food is available in markets, people now lack the cash to buy basic necessities. The prices have risen significantly. Recent market analysis puts the average price of a food basket 30 per cent higher than pre-crisis prices, and in some cases as much as 60 per cent higher, despite the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism's facilitating the majority of Yemen's average food requirements each month. The price of cooking gas in Aden and Hudaydah is more than 70 per cent higher than the pre-crisis level.”
2017-10-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8066 (2017) · source
“For example, the authorities in Sana'a regularly deny access and have arbitrarily delayed or denied dozens of requests for humanitarian personnel to enter the country via Sana'a. Furthermore, for several weeks now, humanitarian partners have been reporting a freeze on the issuance of visas by the authorities in Aden for international non-governmental organizations. Such obstacles are abhorrent in a country where the threat of famine looms over millions, where there are over 800,000 suspected cases of cholera across 90 per cent of communities, and where only 45 per cent of health facilities are functioning. Quite simply, these obstructions cost lives. We hope that the recent commitments made by the parties will translate into giving priority to unfettered humanitarian access.”
2017-10-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8066 (2017) · source
“They live in crowded, unsafe, unsanitary and undignified spontaneous settlements, where shelters made of rags, cardboard and just about anything their residents can find in the streets are exposed to the elements. The conflict in Yemen remains a man-made crisis, generating intolerable suffering for the Yemeni people. I take this opportunity to highlight three of the challenges facing the Yemeni people, and humanitarians in particular f humanitarian access and its limitations, the impact of civil-servant-salary interruptions on food insecurity and critical services, and the ongoing risks in commercial access to the country. Humanitarians face unacceptable obstacles from all sides in carrying out relief efforts in Yemen. The biggest problem is actual prevention of humanitarian access.”
2017-10-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8066 (2017) · source
“Mr. Ging: Last month, Yemen entered the third year of its armed conflict with no clear end in sight. The human cost of this conflict has been devastating. Air strikes, shelling and ground fighting continue in urban areas, where civilians are being injured or killed and the critical infrastructure they rely on is being destroyed. The international community has witnessed the devastation in which the Yemeni people now live, and because of the crisis approximately 15 million people lack adequate access to clean drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, or health services; and about 7 million people are faced with the threat of famine. Worse, all of this has been exacerbated by the largest single-year outbreak of cholera ever recorded. As the conflict continues, some 2 million people remain displaced.”
2017-10-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8066 (2017) · source
“However, collectively we are falling unforgivably short in our responsibility at the global level to support them. I therefore call upon all Members of the Council and all parties to the conflict and their allies to redouble their efforts to end this conflict and in the meantime provide more effective support to humanitarian action for the innocent victims of this conflict. As has been stated so many times, there is no humanitarian solution to this crisis. We welcome the announcement by United Nations Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura on the resumption of political talks in February. As the number of those dying, becoming displaced and suffering continues to rise, as we end 2016 a new political commitment to peace will be needed if 2017 is to offer any different prospect than the death and destruction of the past five years.”
2016-12-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7852 (2016) · source
“We have secured agreement from the Syrian Government for only one cross-line convoy so far this month, reaching 6,000 people. That is despite receiving initial approvals to reach almost 800,000 people in December. We need timely approvals and simplified approval procedures. We have immediate capacity to deliver to 300,000 people in besieged and hard-to-reach areas per week, should we be given the access by the parties to the conflict. We end 2016 at a place where humanitarian and protection needs are as acute and severe as they have ever been amid continued fighting across the country. Despite all the challenges, the United Nations, the ICRC, SARC and our other key humanitarian partners, though their heroic staff on the ground, continue to try to reach every Syrian in need.”
2016-12-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7852 (2016) · source
“Cross-line inter-agency operations to besieged, hard-to-reach and other priority locations are a particularly vital lifeline for civilians in those vulnerable communities. Nearly 1.3 million people have been reached this year in those locations multiple times. Alhough we continue to operate in an environment of acute humanitarian need, we are hindered by persistent obstacles in delivering much-needed assistance. For cross-line inter-agency convoys, ongoing insecurity in many areas and administrative delays on the part of Syrian Government in the approval of facilitation letters and convoy plans continue to hamper our efforts. What was reduced to a two-step approval process earlier this year has gone back again to being a 10-step process.”
2016-12-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7852 (2016) · source
“On 22 November, the United Nations and its partners resumed lifesaving humanitarian assistance at the berm through a newly constructed distribution point negotiated in September. The latest figures for the distribution of food and non-food items are 8,404 households compromising 31,094 individuals in Rukban. In addition, distributions started in Hadalat, and a new service facility, including a health clinic has been completed, enabling the delivery of health assistance. The water infrastructure is projected to be completed by January 2017. As has been noted in the Council in the past, the United Nations and its partners reach some 6 million people in need every month through all modalities available.”
2016-12-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7852 (2016) · source
“In Raqqa the primary concern is the lack of humanitarian access and protection services. Reports indicate that people are in need of health services and food. In that regard, United Nations access to Hasakeh is a major concern, depending on a costly air bridge from Damascus. ISIL advances in Palmyra and nearby areas in eastern Homs are also ofmajor concern, resulting in the displacement of thousands of people to Horns city and surrounding areas. We again commend SARC and other partners for providing assistance to those displaced in such difficult circumstances. I am pleased to report that there has been some improvement of the situation at the berm along the Syrian-Jordanian border.”
2016-12-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7852 (2016) · source
“Food stocks are running out as we speak and, since 26 November, medical evacuations have reportedly not been permitted. Two critical cases identified by the United Nations, one involving a pregnant woman, are in need of urgent evacuation. We also continue to follow with concern the anti-Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) operations occurring around Al-Bab and Raqqa. The reported intensification of fighting from 8 December around ISIL-controlled Al-Bab town, including through airstrikes, is expected to result in further displacement. Preparations are ongoing in the surrounding areas to receive potential internally displaced persons from the town, while United Nations partners continue to support the 10,000 internally displaced persons displaced by earlier fighting.”
2016-12-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7852 (2016) · source
“Of the currently estimated population of approximately 2 million people, 700,000 of whom are internally displaced persons, including 35,000 from eastern Aleppo this month, the United Nations and it partners currently access vulnerable communities through its cross-border work out of Gaziantep and support approximately 700,000 people each month with food, and some 340,000 with medical treatments. Some 230,000 are provided with water and sanitation assistance each month. In Al-Wa'er, a besieged neighbourhood on the outskirts of Horns city, the situation also remains of critical concern. Immediate humanitarian intervention is required to prevent the besieged neighbourhood, which hosts an estimated 50,000 civilians, from facing acute shortages of basic and lifesaving items. There is a collapse already of the limited medical services.”
2016-12-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7852 (2016) · source
“In neighbouring Idlib governorate, the towns of Fo'ah and Kafraya remain besieged by non-State armed opposition groups that otherwise control the vast majority of the territory. As part of the agreement reached about the evacuation of Aleppo, evacuations in those towns are scheduled to resume on a tit-for-tat basis with Madaya and Zabadani in the coming days. As we have seen with the attack on the buses going to Fo'ah earlier last week, protection concerns are very high for the residents of the enclave. There are also broader concerns that the civilian population in Idlib is at risk of suffering the same fate as those in Aleppo if it becomes the focus of a new and more intense offensive.”
2016-12-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7852 (2016) · source
“Throughout, United Nations teams would be on the ground in the neighbourhoods as much as possible to monitor and observe the situation and ensure the well-being of civilians, but all of this is subject to the consent of and coordination with the Syrian Government, which is pending. I take this opportunity to pay particular tribute to the heroic staff of the ICRC and the SARC, and the non-governmental organizations and United Nations colleagues working diligently on providing a life-saving response. To all who have been on the frontline of this evacuation operation, we salute their courage, persistence and sacrifice. They inspire us with their basic humanity, which we should all share. I turn now to areas outside of Aleppo, where the humanitarian situation is dreadful.”
2016-12-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7852 (2016) · source
“For all areas formerly besieged, in the first phase, assessments will be conducted of the number of civilians in these areas, their needs and the status of civilian infrastructure, including housing, food, medical care and other essential services. Medical teams are on standby to evacuate all remaining critical medical cases, and life-saving items are available for those in urgent need. In the second phase, the United Nations and partners will launch a comprehensive multisectoral response, in conjunction with partners and other relevant institutions, as well as the deployment of additional surge staff as needed. This comprehensive response will include emergency assistance to residents, including shelter rehabilitation, solid waste and debris removal, livelihood support and, as soon as possible, rehabilitation of basic services.”
2016-12-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7852 (2016) · source
“As part of the ongoing surge support to Aleppo, the United Nations is also requesting agreement from the Government of Syria to surge up to a hundred additional staff, including 30 international staff, to strengthen monitoring and response in eastern Aleppo. Under the auspices of resolution 2328 (2016), we are ready to implement a plan for all districts of eastern Aleppo in the coming days, as soon as we receive agreement from the Syrian Government to deploy. To date, the United Nations and its partners have been able to access nearly all formerly besieged neighbourhoods of eastern Aleppo except those retaken by the Government of Syria as of yesterday. A team of 16 United Nations staff, along with four armoured vehicles, are on standby to deploy to these last inaccessible areas, as soon as Government permission is granted.”
2016-12-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7852 (2016) · source
“While supporting the evacuation process was our immediate priority, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria has also submitted a formal written request to the Government of Syria seeking a blanket travel authorization to Aleppo for all United Nations senior staff in country and humanitarian access to parts of Aleppo retaken by the Government yesterday. There are currently 105 United Nations staff members in Aleppo. Of these, 34 have been fully dedicated to monitoring evacuations from eastern Aleppo within the framework of resolution 2328 (2016), while the remaining staff have been carrying out their humanitarian response duties throughout the rest of the city.”
2016-12-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7852 (2016) · source
“Specialized services are also available for individuals with specific needs, including women and girls, and children separated from their families or otherwise unaccompanied. Some 95 serious medical cases have been transferred to Turkey. The humanitarian teams on the ground will continue to scale up the response, as necessary, to ensure urgent and life-saving needs are met. I would like to update and notify the Council of the arrangements undertaken pursuant to paragraph 7 of resolution 2328 (2016).”
2016-12-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7852 (2016) · source
“Other protection issues were reported, including people stranded in buses in harsh security and weather conditions, prevention of evacuations of some civilians by non-State armed groups, sporadic cases of detention of people at checkpoints, and ill- treatment and harassment of some people as they were being evacuated. The United Nations and its partners mobilized a comprehensive response to make sure that evacuees have basic essentials. Over 30 partner non-governmental organizations are on the ground in Idlib. Evacuees at the reception areas are provided basic services to meet immediate needs, including food, winterized shelter and non-food items, and hygiene and sanitation products. Medical and psychosocial services are also available. Health partners are serving the reception centres and neighbouring villages through 22 mobile clinics.”
2016-12-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7852 (2016) · source
“Families have been separated throughout the evacuation movement, and there have been reports of at least 75 children being separated from their families or otherwise unaccompanied upon their departure from eastern Aleppo. Multiple cases of moderate and severe malnutrition have also been reported. The evacuation process itself was difficult and many times dangerous. A number of security incidents were reported during the evacuations. The United Nations received credible reports of non-Syrian allied forces in western Aleppo stopping a bus of 800 people on 16 December, detaining and beating 10 people and reportedly killing one person. Further, 20 buses were reportedly attacked and burned on 18 December by a non-State armed group while en route to the evacuation site.”
2016-12-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7852 (2016) · source
“Those evacuated from Fo'ah and Kefraya were initially moved to internally- displaced-person reception centres in Aleppo city; while some have stayed in Aleppo, others have moved on to sites prepared by the Government in Tartous, Horns and Latakia. The United Nations teams in Horns and Tartous have been providing humanitarian support. Humanitarian needs among the evacuees arriving in reception centres have been acute. The evacuees are a displaced population that has endured months with little access to food, medical care or other essential items. Many of them have been physically and psychologically traumatized by the deprivation and bombardment that they have endured. Children are particularly badly affected.”
2016-12-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7852 (2016) · source
“Two reception centres, in Al-Atarib, in Aleppo, and Sarmada, in Idlib, were set up to receive those evacuated, and information centres in Orem Al-Kubra and Kafr Naha continue to provide basic services and details about additional humanitarian support. While the majority opted initially to go to reception sites, many have subsequently moved on to be hosted by family and friends. Humanitarian organizations have recorded the arrival of 23,615 people to the reception centres and to more than 60 villages. Approximately a thousand people were reported to have arrived in the camps along the Turkish border. Meanwhile a small number of those evacuated also chose to go to Government areas in western Aleppo city.”
2016-12-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7852 (2016) · source
“The ICRC and SARC teams were present directly at the evacuation point and accompanied the convoys as they crossed each of the checkpoints. Further, humanitarian organizations were present on the non-State armed group side to receive those evacuated to ensure they received essential assistance. The evacuation operation was an extremely complex undertaking and was punctuated by frustrating stops and starts due to negotiations between the relevant parties, which were setting the terms and conditions for the evacuations, including insisting on synchronizing evacuations from eastern Aleppo and from besieged Fo'ah and Kafraya. Once evacuated from the besieged area, civilians had the option to go where they wished. The overwhelming majority went to non-State armed-group areas.”
2016-12-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7852 (2016) · source
“In parallel, an estimated 1,300 people were evacuated from the besieged villages of Fo'ah and Kafraya, in Idlib. Due to lack of approval by the Government of Syria, the United Nations team did not have access to eastern Aleppo in recent months, but since 15 December undertook a monitoring and observation function there. It was stationed around the clock close to the Ramouseh checkpoint in the Government-controlled part of Aleppo. Additional United Nations staff were sent from Damascus in support. In accordance with resolution 2328 (2016), the United Nations team observed the evacuation of buses and ambulances and, to the extent possible, monitored whether anyone was forcibly disembarked, detained or otherwise mistreated as they crossed through the checkpoint area.”
2016-12-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7852 (2016) · source
“The operation to evacuate people from the eastern districts of Aleppo drew to a close late last night. Overall, more than 35,000 people were evacuated, including some 20,000 people since the adoption of resolution 2328 (2016). Those evacuated included civilians and fighters and their families. Some 734 people were medically evacuated by ambulances, according to the World Health Organization. To achieve this, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) were in the lead, working to ensure people wanting to leave could do so. Overall, 308 buses, 61 ambulances and 1,231 private vehicles were used in the evacuation, crossing numerous checkpoints from besieged eastern Aleppo through the western part of the city and into western rural Aleppo and onwards to Idlib.”
2016-12-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7852 (2016) · source
“The conflict in Syria has recently been most devastating in Aleppo, where the near-complete destruction of large parts of the city has subjected its civilian population to unspeakable horror. The United Nations welcomed the adoption of resolution 2328 (2016) earlier this week, in the hope that it would finally ensure that civilians in Aleppo were afforded all necessary protection and assistance. The United Nations role in Aleppo and in supporting the evacuation of the city has four main elements: to observe the evacuation itself, support the evacuees once they have left, seek access to the retaken areas of eastern Aleppo in order to provide assistance in those remaining in those areas, and continue with the ongoing humanitarian operations to support those across the remainder of the city.”
2016-12-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7852 (2016) · source
“Attacks on civilian infrastructure - including schools, medical facilities, settlements for the internally displaced and public markets - have destroyed institutions otherwise relied upon by Syrians for food, shelter, education and medical care. At least 126 attacks have been recorded against medical facilities this year, more than 770 medical personnel have been killed during the conflict and one in four schools has ceased to function, with some 2 million children out of school. Despite calls for an end to besiegement as a tactic of war, we end 2016 with hundreds of thousands of Syrian civilians - 700,000 to be precise - still trapped in besieged locations, while humanitarians continue to struggle to gain access for aid delivery.”
2016-12-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7852 (2016) · source
“Mr. Ging: I am providing this update to the Security Council today on behalf of Under-Secretary- General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr. Stephen O'Brien. As we meet today, the evacuation of the eastern districts of Aleppo may have concluded, but the situation in Syria remains catastrophic. Some 13.5 million people within Syria are in dire need of humanitarian assistance, including nearly 9 million who are food insecure. This year has been marked by horrific suffering and the loss ofso many lives in a conflictcharacterizedby ever increasing inhumanity against the civilian population.”
2016-12-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7852 (2016) · source
“Finally, in the past few days, I have seen the inhumanity, the indignity and the needless suffering endured by people in eastern Ukraine as they try to go about their daily lives. The conflict is having an unacceptable impact on those least able to bear it. I return to New York tomorrow distressed, having seen at first hand the particular inhumanity suffered by the elderly and the children in the conflict-affected areas. Hopes are pinned on the fragile ceasefire, for which there has been renewed respect since September. I earnestly appeal to everyone with power and influence to put the humanitarian plight of civilians affected by the conflict at the centre of their attention so as to ensure positive action to help those civilians. They desperately need our urgent help.”
2015-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7576 (2015) · source
“I am also deeply concerned by a proposed law that, if adopted, would prohibit the transfer of water and electricity across contact lines; that would have a disastrous impact on the civilian population. TheUnitedNationsandinternationalnon-governmental organizations, in spite of the constraints they face, continue to assist wherever they can. In 2015, 2.1 million people were provided with access to safe water, nearly 320,000 with food assistance, over 230,000 people with non-food items, and 75,000 people benefited from mobile medical consultations. That is a testament to the dedication and commitment of the aid agencies and the generosity of those who are providing funding.”
2015-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7576 (2015) · source
“I recognize and appreciate the open, constructive and productive cooperation that we have with the Government of Ukraine, but I must also add my voice to that of Assistant Secretary-General Simonovie and appeal for urgent solutions to overcome the administrative blockages hampering the delivery of essential humanitarian supplies and services. For example, the recent reduction in the volume of water being piped across the contact lines is having a serious impact on the health ofpeople in those areas, especially the most vulnerable. It is unacceptable that existing laws prohibit the transport of much-needed commercial supplies into non-Government-controlled areas.”
2015-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7576 (2015) · source
“Yesterday, I saw the immediate positive impact of those programmes. But there is so much to be done and, as winter sets in, I urgently I appealed to the de facto authorities to allow the immediate return of all international humanitarian organizations. In the non-Government-controlled areas of Donetsk, on the other hand, United Nations humanitarian programmes remain suspended, with only two humanitarian organizations allowed to resume their operations. Approximately 37 national and 12 international staff members of the United Nations are present there and are ready to work, but are not allowed to do so. That is not sustainable, nor is it acceptable. We urgently need a breakthrough. I therefore appeal for the support of Council members on that issue, so that we can secure the return of all aid agencies to those areas.”
2015-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7576 (2015) · source
“Closing protection, food, health, water, shelter and recovery programmes has had a devastating impact on an already vulnerable and suffering people. Just one alarming example of the impact involved in ending programmes is the case of the termination ofa Doctors Without Borders programme that was treating 146 multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) patients, which now dramatically increases the risks of the spread of drug-resistant TB in those areas. I welcome the recent progress made with the authorities in the non-Government-controlled areas of Luhansk following the Emergency Relief Coordinator's recent visit. There, United Nations agencies and one international non-governmental organization and the International Committee of the Red Cross have been able to resume their work.”
2015-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7576 (2015) · source
“In July, the United Nations and international non-governmental organizations were instructed by the de facto authorities in the non-Government-controlled areas of Luhansk and Donetsk to register for formal accreditation. Following our inability to do so, constrained by international conventions, the de facto authorities imposed what has amounted to a four-month suspension of the work of most of the international aid agencies, along with the expulsion of a majority of humanitarian actors from these areas. I protest, in the strongest possible terms, the suspension of humanitarian programmes and the expulsion of humanitarian actors, which stands in stark contravention to international norms and principles.”
2015-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7576 (2015) · source
“Over the past days I have seen the unacceptable physical and mental hardships and indignities faced by people, so many of them elderly, simply trying to move about their own country to access basic services such as health care and pensions. People have to queue on the roadside for hours and hours, as Assistant Secretary- General Simonovie has also said, and this is just to cross contact lines, often overnighting in freezing conditions, with no shelter or sanitation facilities. Almost a year ago, we welcomed the commitments of the Minsk agreements, where it was committed to ensure safe access, delivery, storage and distribution of humanitarian assistance to those in need. However, these commitments have not been met.”
2015-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7576 (2015) · source
“Mr. Ging: I thank you, Madam President, for this opportunity to brief the Council from Kiev on the humanitarian situation on behalf of Mr. Stephen O'Brien, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. I myself have just returned from a mission to eastern Ukraine, where I witnessed the devastating impact ofthe conflict, in particular on the most vulnerable: the elderly and the sick. Approximately 2.7 million people are living in non-Government-controlled areas with limited freedom of movement, and 800,000 people live under difficult and dangerous conditions along the contact line between Government and non-Government- controlled areas. There are now up to 1 million people internally displaced, and more than 1 million have fled the country.”
2015-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7576 (2015) · source