YouSaid · the spoken record

Griffiths

lines on the record: 722
first: 2018-04-17
most recent: 2023-10-18
sittings or episodes: 57
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Approvals for cross-line access to the Tel Abyad area to assess the situation and distribute vaccines are a very positive recent step in that regard. In the north-west, as we have discussed before and as is stated in the report, over the past six months we have taken renewed steps to create a cross-line delivery system to assist people in need. Two cross-line convoys have now deployed to north-west Syria. The second one crossed conflict lines on 9 December — just a few days ago. They carried food and other humanitarian supplies for a total of approximately 80,000 people. The next convoy is planned for January. Through our access negotiations, we were able to identify solutions acceptable to all parties.”
2021-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8937 (2021) · source
“Mr. Griffiths: As you mentioned, Sir, the Secretary- General has issued the report requested by Security Council members with regard to resolution 2585 (2021) (S/2021/1030). The report outlines the robust measures in place in some detail to ensure transparency in our Syria operations. The operating environment is clearly complex. Nonetheless, the United Nations operates in a transparent manner to mitigate risks and provide principled assistance. The report describes the robust systems in place for needs assessments, due diligence, monitoring and risk management. The report also speaks to our efforts to facilitate regular and predictable cross-line operations. In north-east Syria, we reach nearly 1 million people every month through regular cross-line deliveries. However, we continue to strengthen that activity.”
2021-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8937 (2021) · source
“What is needed is this: we need an urgent injection of life-saving aid, especially as Syrians prepare for winter; we need more aid for early recovery and livelihoods, as Syrians want to be able to support themselves with dignity; and we need to expand access to basic social services, because Syrians, like all of us, want to send their children to school, have electricity and water, and a reliable health clinic — that is the least that we can help them to achieve. And, of course — perhaps most importantly — Syrians need peace and support for the efforts of the Special Envoy.”
2021-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8888 (2021) · source
“Therefore, as I mentioned earlier, cross-border assistance remains the central part of the humanitarian response to ensure that aid effectively and transparently reaches millions of people in need in north-west Syria. Constructive discussions with the Syrian authorities have shown that previous mission-approval rates have been misrepresented, including in at least one previous report of the Secretary-General. I apologize for this, and I assure Council members that, through our cooperation with the Government, we will make every effort to prevent this in future. Therefore, to sum up, communities are determined to restart their lives, yet still face so many difficulties.”
2021-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8888 (2021) · source
“I am quietly optimistic that we will be able to further expand cross-line access over the coming months. The Security Council can be sure that we will certainly do our part. I therefore urge all concerned parties to ensure that cross-line missions and the aid distributions that come with them proceed without delays. If cross-line operations are to be a sustainable way of reaching more people, then we need agreement on a suitable distribution modality that is acceptable to all the relevant parties and on security guarantees from parties on the ground. This is a complicated matter, and one that takes time, but all our efforts are behind it. When it comes to delivering life-saving aid, all channels should be made and kept available.”
2021-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8888 (2021) · source
“As I speak, full agreement from the parties remains pending, and I would urge swift movement on next steps to those withholding such agreement. Preparations are also under way for another the World Food Programme cross-line delivery in November. Beyond this, the United Nations has developed a plan for a series of regular and predictable inter-agency cross-line operations to deliver multisectoral assistance in the coming six months and to complete the assistance coming across the border. We have already submitted the request for the first inter-agency convoy under the six-month plan to the Government of Syria. Support for the plan from both the Syrian and Turkish Governments as well as relevant parties in north-west Syria will also be critical.”
2021-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8888 (2021) · source
“Close to 2 million people in the north-west, for example, mostly women and children, live in camps, often in overcrowded and flimsy shelters, in valleys that flood, or on rocky hillsides exposed to the elements. And they have lived in these temporary arrangements for some time. Although the United Nations and its humanitarian partners are doing everything possible to assist the most vulnerable, significant funding gaps remain. The United Nations and its partners continue to make every effort, as required by the Security Council, to scale up assistance. I was in Aleppo last August when the World Food Programme’s cross-line delivery of food aid reached Idlib governorate. This was a vital step towards expanding the humanitarian response, but we must now ensure that aid is distributed.”
2021-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8888 (2021) · source
“Along with other mechanisms, our pooled funds have increased support to early recovery activities. However, much more is needed. For my part, I will continue to urge donors, agencies and implementing partners to enable communities to have access to basic social services and rebuild dignified lives. On top of increasing poverty, the water crisis and worsening food security, people in Syria are also facing a resurgence of the coronavirus disease. Cases are surging, intensive care units are at full capacity, and vaccination rates remain below 2 per cent. And now, exhausted by years of conflict, poverty and the pandemic, Syrians are about to face another bitter winter. As temperatures start to drop, rain, cold and winter conditions will compound hardship for millions of people.”
2021-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8888 (2021) · source
“Only last week, an attack in Ariha, in Idlib governorate, reportedly killed 11 civilians and injured over 30, including schoolchildren. A market supported by a United Nations project was also damaged. Again as Mr. Pedersen said, all parties to the conflict must respect civilians and civilian infrastructure, as is required by international humanitarian law, and make every effort to spare them the consequences of conflict. Daily life in Syria is becoming less and less affordable. Over 90 per cent of the population now lives below the poverty line. Many people are forced to make very difficult choices to make ends meet, and therefore face a greater risk of exploitation. That means that an expansion of early recovery programmes must be central in our efforts to address needs in a sustainable way. Progress has been made.”
2021-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8888 (2021) · source
“Mr. Griffiths: As the Security Council hears every month, and as we just heard from Mr. Pedersen, the humanitarian crisis in the Syrian Arab Republic continues to worsen. Accordingly, each month the Council hears me, as the Emergency Relief Coordinator. say the same. Yet without a change of course, each month that will remain true. As my role is to bear witness in the Council to the suffering of the Syrian people, I hope that you, Mr. President, will bear with me. Ten years into the conflict, life remains very difficult for millions of Syrians, as Mr. Pedersen just told us. It is increasingly difficult for many of them. Violence continues to kill and injure civilians, including women and children. Attacks and security incidents increased throughout Syria this month.”
2021-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8888 (2021) · source
“Like all others, I of course support the call for a nationwide ceasefire and political solution, but in a more immediate way to meet the basic needs of Syrians wherever they may be, without contest, distinction or differentiation.”
2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source
“That is my overriding message, and I call on all Council members to come together on this issue — rather than find differences — in order to see how we can better meet our obligations. I think that the cross-line operation was a very important action. It took a long time. It led to the death of the soldier. There was danger for all those involved. The aid has yet to be distributed. In response to the question from the representative of the Russian Federation, the World Food Programme is responsible for its distribution. Let us be very clear. The people of Syria are in a situation of increasing need, with basic services fraying before their eyes and no outcome to the conflict in sight.”
2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source
“Mr. Griffiths: Although I do not have any specific comments to make, I would say only the following. My key observation is that we are not meeting the needs of the people of Syria. There are many reasons for that, and many members of the Security Council have given their own various different reasons. Amany Qaddour gave us a vivid example of the plight of the people of Syria, and I tried to do so in my own way. There are efforts to carry out cross-line operations and resolve the issue of Dara’a Al-Balad. There are problems involving the water supply in the Euphrates River. There are families in Aleppo who are unable to access schooling and health care. We are not meeting our obligations.”
2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source
“I came away with a renewed commitment and conviction to identify, develop and invest in sustainable and effect ways to help. I acknowledge the complexity and sensitivity of that task. That is what we, the Council and the countries represented here owe to the people of Syria because, at the moment, we are not meeting the needs of the Syrian people, who continue to suffer. The futures of the children I met in that classroom in Aleppo continue to be uncertain. It is our job to bring them some form of consolation.”
2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source
“Food distribution resumed across the governorate this week and emergency assistance entered Dara’a Al-Balad. Most displaced persons have reportedly returned to the area. I do not want to state that without any sense of the tragedy that affected the population in that governorate and in Dara’a Al-Balad in the many weeks of the crisis that overtook their lives. Further assessments are planned in the coming days to assess outstanding humanitarian needs. We will, of course, use those assessments to guide our future relief efforts. My conclusion is very simple in humanitarian terms. Syria is caught in a downward spiral. The country will continue to be a place of tragedy, so long as the conflict continues. Need and suffering will continue to grow in the near-term.”
2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source
“I will be happy to update the Council on those processes next month. My visit to Damascus, as the Council is well aware, also coincided with continued tensions in southern Syria, particularly around the neighbourhood of Dara’a Al-Balad. I discussed those issues with the Syrian authorities and others, as well as the need for the protection of civilians, humanitarian access and the well-being of the over 36,000 people displaced due to the recent hostilities. News about the recent agreement is welcome. The ceasefire is an important development, and we will need to see how it develops, hopefully in the right way. It is important that the terms of the agreement are honoured and that the restoration of humanitarian access, as we have heard about, is also welcomed and sustained.”
2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source
“The cross- line operation, which has been much discussed in the Council, shows the resolve of the United Nations and our partners to assist people in need through all possible modalities, sparing no effort. However, much more is needed. The WFP supplies need to be distributed and are sufficient to cover only a fraction of the enormous food needs in north-west Syria. Moreover, the challenges faced highlight both the difficulty in deploying cross-line operations and the clear reality that cross-border operations conducted from Turkey remain the most efficient and predictable way to reach millions of people in need. Nonetheless, the United Nations aims to build on the WFP operation and its experience. An interagency cross-line operation is being planned with a view to delivering more varied assistance to people in need in north-west Syria.”
2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source
“The operation transported food rations for some 50,000 people in need to a warehouse in Idlib, in north-western Syria. I was in Aleppo by chance that day, and I met an Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs staff member who described to me the tension on both sides of the front line as those initial trucks crossed from Government-controlled areas, across a no man’s land, into north-western Syria. That mission required considerable effort, trust and negotiation. Tragically, it also cost a Syrian soldier his life. He was killed by a landmine at the final checkpoint in the operation. I am sure that the Council joins me in commending all parties for taking that important step.”
2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source
“Such activities should be based on assessed and objective needs and should be in addition to ongoing and urgently needed relief efforts. It is not a matter of one or the other, but both. Many people I have spoken to — including Syrian families, of course, but also people in the humanitarian community who have been there over the past 10 years — have told me that their needs have never been greater or more urgent. Self-reliance is the best way to help the Syrian people to regain a sense of the future in Syria, despite the many other issues that must cloud that vision. I returned from Syria with positive news. While I was in Aleppo, the World Food Programme (WFP) completed the first cross-line operation, as I am sure the Council is aware, into north-western Syria since 2017 — four years ago.”
2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source
“The United Nations and its partners, and perhaps particularly its partners, help students have drinking water in their schools, displaced families afford more sustainable accommodation and farmers replant their fields and focus on their livelihoods. However, much more needs to be done to put people in Syria on the path to recovery. That is the central part of my conclusions of the visit. The United Nations and its partners need to design new programmes. Authorities need to facilitate even more activities and we need donors to invest further in early recovery. I might add that early recovery is approximately 10 per cent of the overall humanitarian response plan and that needs to be increased if essential access to basic services is to be met.”
2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source
“However, they desperately need early recovery support to do so. Children want to learn, and families want to prosper. Young adults want to work. They want support, as people everywhere else in the world, to find their own dignified path to a better future. Greater investment in resilience activities is an important way — and one of the few ways — to do just that. Put another way, a failure to invest in resilience activities will inevitably lead to greater humanitarian needs and increased tensions. As I saw, early recovery and livelihood programmes are already an essential part of the humanitarian response in Syria and have been the subject of debates in the Council recently.”
2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source
“Donors remain generous in their support for the humanitarian response plan for Syria, which is, at $4.2 billion a year, the largest and most expensive plan worldwide. I have no doubt about the basis of needs, but I also observe the quantity desired. Of course, humanitarian needs tragically outstrip available resources. Only 27 per cent of the response is funded. Just over a quarter of the people in need in Syria have a chance of having their needs met through that humanitarian operation. Even if that total were to increase in the coming months because of the response and generosity of donors — and I hope it will — funding is not keeping pace with the growing needs of Syrians. That is a fundamental and objective reality. Communities I met are determined, as are those elsewhere, to restart their lives.”
2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source
“People simply do not have clean water. The lack of access to safe water has a disproportionate impact on the general health and reproductive health of women and girls. The human right to water entitles everyone to sufficient safe, acceptable, accessible and affordable water. Mechanisms established over the years to manage transboundary water issues are no longer tenable and that impasse must be removed. Council members can see the consequence of it. The lack of water leads to the lack of electricity, which leads to the absence of schooling and difficulties at clinics. Members can see the cascade of consequences of the problem, which is also affected by climate change. As I mentioned to all those I met, we need to work together to find an agreed solution to that particular problem.”
2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source
“I met a young boy suffering exactly from that terrible affliction. The clinic provides care with limited electricity, running water and medication. Patients and their families must travel from the outskirts of Aleppo city, where I was visiting, to receive treatment, assuming they are even available. Mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers are in anguish —indeed, they spoke to me about this — over their separation from family members, many of them located across front lines nearby. Families live with daily heartbreak because of the lack of documentation, safe passage and security guarantees, which prevents family reunification. I also learned in those discussions about the protracted water crisis affecting many parts of Syria. It was brought up by Syrian and Turkish authorities in Damascus, Aleppo, Ankara and Antakya alike.”
2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source
“That is a 21 per cent increase compared to the year before and the highest since 2017. As I am sure Ms. Qaddour will say, the lived reality in Syria is even more dire than figures can describe. During my time in Syria, my visit to Aleppo gave me a first-hand glimpse. I spoke with women, men and children about the profound effects of more than 10 years of conflict. Children asked for help to learn and receive health care and for fuel to survive the upcoming winter. Women who head households spoke about the challenges they have in finding income for their families to survive. Almost none of them has an income. Thanks to a Syrian non-governmental organization, supported by the Syria Humanitarian Fund, a nearby clinic in the areas I visited, provides life-saving care, including for children with cancer.”
2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source
“Mr. Griffiths: I returned last week from a visit to Syria, Lebanon and Turkey — my first mission to the region in my new capacity. The visit offered an opportunity for candid and constructive discussions, including in Damascus with Foreign Minister Fayssal Mekdad and Deputy Foreign Minister Bashar Al-Ja’afari, and in Ankara with presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin and the Deputy Foreign Minister. My primary conclusion from my visit is that humanitarian needs in Syria are greater than they have ever been, as many people told me, although we may read about that less in the front pages of newspapers. The most recent assessments tell us that that is the case. As authorities in Damascus reminded me, an estimated 13.4 million people across Syria require humanitarian assistance.”
2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source
“There is still unrest and violence and a need for demining, which we are still in the business of trying to settle, hopefully before I get there. To conclude, on the Dara’a convoy, which I believe the representative of the United Kingdom asked about, I can only repeat what Mr. Erksoussi of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent said. I do not have any other updates on that matter. As we have discussed here, we are hoping that it will be able to go in as soon as possible.”
2021-08-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8841 (2021) · source
“Finally, I would like to make a point that the decentralization of the United Nations presence in Syria has helped to increase access. During my visit next week, we will be looking to see how that can be expanded. By the way, I am very grateful to the Government of Syria and to His Excellency Mr. Sabbagh for the welcome I am looking forward to in Damascus a few days from now. There were also questions about the plans for a cross-line convoy and, in fact, there was reference to one possible such convoy by the World Food Programme. All I can say at this point is that we do not have final agreement from all the parties, but we are still negotiating. I had hoped to have better news today in that regard, in the sense that some progress had been made, but we are still negotiating.”
2021-08-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8841 (2021) · source
“Mr. Griffiths: I believe I have only a couple of small items to respond to. The representative of the United States was asking for my comments on how to improve humanitarian access in Syria, right at the outset of the debate. I have some suggestions here. Perhaps the most immediate, obviously, would be the cessation of hostilities that we have all been discussing today. Active conflict in Syria, just as in the other countries we have discussed in this Chamber, continues to endanger civilians and limit access in a very obvious way. An easing of administrative restrictions, of course again in Syria, as in many other countries, would also be of benefit. I am also sure that assessments, delivery and monitoring — indeed, all parts of the delivery process of humanitarian assistance and protection — can be streamlined.”
2021-08-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8841 (2021) · source
“As requested by the Council, we will continue to strengthen reporting on new elements of resolution 2585 (2021), namely, progress on cross-line access, transparency and early recovery activities in particular. I plan to travel to the region — to Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey — in the period ahead to gain a deeper understanding, now in my new function, of the complexities of the humanitarian crisis in Syria, as well as the challenges that lie in the months ahead. I look forward to briefing the Council on my return.”
2021-08-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8841 (2021) · source
“Further progress is important and necessary and essential to expand the overall response as humanitarian needs continue to grow, as they do, particularly for health and medical items. The United Nations and its partners are looking at every opportunity to establish cross-line access into the north-west. The United Nations humanitarian operation in Syria is one of the largest humanitarian operations worldwide. Each month, the United Nations and its partners reach around 6.6 million people all over the country. Needs are outstripping the response, and much more support is required to alleviate the suffering in Syria. As of 23 August, the United Nations and its partners had received about a quarter — 27 per cent, in fact — of all funding required under the 2021 humanitarian response plan for Syria.”
2021-08-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8841 (2021) · source
“In the north-east, between January and July, 1,588 trucks containing humanitarian assistance crossed lines into the north-east, an average of 227 a month, compared to 199 a month in the same period a year before. Humanitarian partners also assisted 791,000 people each month cross-line in the north-east between January and May 2021, compared to 602,000 in the same period in 2020. In July and August, the United Nations also conducted two inter-agency assessment missions in Al Talae’e and Tweina camps in Hasakah governorate hosting more than 26,000 internally displaced persons. Both camps were established to accommodate people displaced from Ras Al-Ayn and Tel Abyad in November 2019. Other areas, including Manbij and Ayn al-Arab, remain difficult for the United Nations and its partners to reach cross-line.”
2021-08-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8841 (2021) · source
“First, let me welcome the Security Council’s unanimous decision on 9 July, contained in resolution 2585 (2021), to extend the United Nations cross-border mechanism in north- west Syria. Cross-border humanitarian assistance remains an essential lifeline for millions of people. The reauthorization will help ensure humanitarian assistance continues for over 3.4 million people in need, including 1 million children. Operations are set to increase in the coming weeks with more food dispatches and the start of winterization activities. In addition to cross-border assistance, the United Nations continues engaging with partners to increase cross-line assistance. I am pleased to report that progress has been made.”
2021-08-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8841 (2021) · source
“By 23 August, more than 218,900 people, more or less, had been vaccinated in Government-controlled areas and the north-east, while more than 58,000 people had been vaccinated in the north-west. On 15 August, Syria received the second batch of COVAX vaccines, totalling about 138,000 doses for Government-controlled areas and north-east Syria, and over 36,000 for north- west Syria, administered from Gaziantep in Turkey. However, the available vaccines are sufficient to cover less than 1 per cent of the country’s population, so we need to speed up the scale and pace of vaccinations to prevent the pandemic from further devastating the lives of those in need there. My last point is on humanitarian access.”
2021-08-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8841 (2021) · source
“In the past days, no water has reached Al Himmeh reservoir, reportedly owing to discontinued power supply from the Al-Darbasiyah substation. Reliable access to safe water is critical to the hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people in that area, and they are in desperate conditions. With regard to the COVID-19 pandemic, transmission rates remain high and likely far beyond official records, as is the case in many countries, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation. Vaccinations are under way across Syria, with priority being given to health-care workers. The first batch of 270,000 doses delivered through the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) facility has been distributed.”
2021-08-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8841 (2021) · source
“Water levels were insufficient to reach most of the population ordinarily served by the station, and a high-cost emergency water trucking operation, which was put into place, could only cover 20 per cent of daily water needs while that station was out of action. Electricity supply to that station remains inadequate and unreliable, reducing the amount of water that can be pumped and having an impact on its functioning. Technicians from Hasakah water and electricity directorates were able finally to gain limited access to the water station on 30 July, after 83 days with no access at all. That was a critically important impediment. Since early August, Allouk water station continues to operate, but intermittently.”
2021-08-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8841 (2021) · source
“Reserves for the main dams in the area have also reached to historic lows, which is a very distressing outcome, and, of course, it is linked to climate change. Over 5 million people rely on the river for drinking water and electricity, as does vital infrastructure, including hospitals, irrigation networks and water stations. Water shortages in the Euphrates, exacerbated by drought, are expected to damage crops, worsen the already dire food situation, exacerbate public health concerns and lead to more loss of livelihoods. At Allouk water station in Hasakah governorate, pumping remained limited. From 23 June to 30 July, just over a month later, the water station shut down completely, limiting access to safe drinking water for 1 million people, including 100,000 residents at that time of Al-Hol camp and related settlements.”
2021-08-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8841 (2021) · source
“In July, for instance, the United Nations supported the rehabilitation of health facilities and markets, benefiting more than 24,000 patients and shop owners and creating jobs as well as supporting over 6,300 vulnerable people with various opportunities for livelihoods. My third point concerns the water crisis in Syria. In the north-east, water levels in the Euphrates River, flowing into Syria from Turkey, sank to a critically low point. Precipitation decreased between 50 and 70 per cent compared with the long-term average, while low snow and rainfall also affected water sources in the wider region. In late June, 54 of 73 drinking-water stations along the western bank of the Euphrates and 44 of 126 water stations on the eastern bank had been significantly or severely affected by critically low water levels.”
2021-08-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8841 (2021) · source
“Following a slight improvement in April and May, the food security situation deteriorated again in June and July, with a 15 per cent increase of inadequate food consumption nationwide compared to July 2020. High commodity prices and the widespread loss of livelihoods forced more and more households to reduce meals and adopt negative coping strategies. Female-headed households, as Council members can imagine, are particularly affected. I have referred already to child and early marriage, which are on the rise, driven by this crisis and exacerbated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In that context, the early recovery and livelihood activities of the United Nations play a key role in supporting livelihoods and service delivery to vulnerable civilians in such areas as health and education and in the creation of economic opportunities.”
2021-08-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8841 (2021) · source
“I urge the parties to facilitate rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access to all affected communities, including in Dara’a Al-Balad itself, and to allow safe passage for civilians wishing to leave. My second point concerns the economic crisis and its impact on civilians. In regular assessments conducted by the United Nations in July, a third of Syrian households interviewed indicated difficulties in accessing markets, which is the highest level recorded since April 2020. One out of five households reported reduced access to medical care, and one out of four households indicated they had lost at least one source of income in the past months. Loss of income and employment opportunities, of course, have had negative effect on food security.”
2021-08-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8841 (2021) · source
“Civilians who remain in Dara’a Al-Balad face acute shortages of bread and water, electricity, fuel and cooking gas. Health facilities are also reportedly running out of supplies. United Nations agencies and their partners are providing emergency assistance to displaced persons and host communities in Dara’a city and surrounding areas, including ready-to-eat rations, health supplies, medicines and other core relief items. I echo the calls of Mr. Pedersen and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for an immediate ceasefire and urge all parties to end the violence immediately and without preconditions. This is necessary to spare lives and livelihoods. I also recall that all parties to the conflict must respect civilians and civilian infrastructure and take constant care to spare them.”
2021-08-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8841 (2021) · source
“Most of them are women and children, with one out of five camp inhabitants under the age of five. That makes it even more critical to spotlight the voices, experiences and leadership of women. We must not abandon them to the violence and hopelessness of Al-Hol. On 5 August, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet sounded the alarm at the plight of civilians in the recent escalation of violence in and around the city of Dara’a, which Mr. Pedersen referred to earlier. Fighting and heavy shelling, which started in late July, killed at least eight civilians, forced more than 35,000 people to flee their homes and damaged critical civilian infrastructure. Mortar shells also hit the Dara’a national hospital, causing its dialysis unit to shut down temporarily.”
2021-08-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8841 (2021) · source
“That is, in fact, the largest displacement since the ceasefire was announced in March 2020. In the north- east, shelling since 18 August around Abu Rasin in Ras Al-Ayn subdistrict and surrounding villages north of Tall Tamr has reportedly displaced more than 8,000 people. Security problems continue at Al-Hol camp. Sixty- nine murders have been reported since January, as well as 12 attempted murders. Killings of and threats to women and girls in the camp increased in June and July, further contributing to a climate of fear. The dire needs in the camps and the extreme vulnerability and aid dependence of residents there increases the risk of sexual exploitation and abuse. Humanitarian workers, including protection volunteers and camp management staff, face regular threats. Some 59,000 people remain in the Al-Hol camp.”
2021-08-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8841 (2021) · source
“In particular, women and children have suffered immense physical and psychological trauma throughout the years of the conflict. There are reports, for example, of families increasingly resorting to early marriage as a means to provide for their daughters owing to the uncertainty of their circumstances. Such reports are all too familiar. In June and July, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded at least 153 civilian deaths and 280 civilian injuries, many of them women and children, as a result of hostilities across the Syrian Arab Republic. An increase in air strikes and shelling in the north-west killed at least 53 civilians in June and July, damaged critical civilian infrastructure and displaced more than 20,000 people.”
2021-08-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8841 (2021) · source
“Mr. Griffiths: Ongoing hostilities, economic crisis, water shortages and the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic are driving humanitarian needs for millions of already vulnerable people to some of the highest levels that we have seen since the start of the conflict. As a complement to what Mr. Pedersen just told members of the Security Council, I will cover five points today, as he indicated: first, the protection of civilians; secondly, the impact of the economic crisis; thirdly, the water crisis; fourthly, COVID-19; and, lastly, humanitarian access. Let me begin with the protection of civilians and the critical infrastructure they rely on. Ten years into the conflict, civilians in all parts of Syria continue to endure grave hardship. Of course, it has gone on for far too long.”
2021-08-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8841 (2021) · source
“I want to congratulate Hans Grundberg, whom I know well, on his appointment as Special Envoy. He, of course, has all our support for his difficult and essential central task. I hope that the war, which has gone on for too long, can now come to an end.”
2021-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8840 (2021) · source
“To conclude, I have gone on perhaps excessively about the way in which the economy is driving needs and risking famine in Yemen and that it is also the economy to which we need to pay attention in order to give people safety from that threat. But we must not forget what caused the economy to collapse in the first place, that is, the war. The world must push, as we have so often done in this Chamber, for the nationwide ceasefire that Mr. Khiari mentioned today. A ceasefire will give desperate civilians a break. It will create space to address the drivers of the crisis, which I described at some length, as well as to provide the basis, as Mr. Khiari said, for the resumption of the all-inclusive political process necessary to end the war. From my own experience, I know that resuming that political process is no easy task but it is essential.”
2021-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8840 (2021) · source
“That is consistent with the obligation of all parties to treat the civilians under their control humanely, as is required by international humanitarian law, It is an obligation and a responsibility; it is not an option. It is also consistent with the obligation under international human rights law to uphold an adequate standard of living. Refraining from interference with access to essential goods and services is an important step towards fulfilling that obligation. I want to make that appeal to the Council. On a related point, I believe that Sana’a airport should be reopened — at least for the thousands of civilians to travel abroad for medical care. International humanitarian law requires all parties to care for the wounded and the sick, and that should include travel abroad when treatment is not available.”
2021-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8840 (2021) · source
“It opens the door for market manipulation, and the end result is much higher costs and prices for people who cannot afford the previous prices. I want to be very clear about the fact that restrictions on commercial imports beyond the international arms embargo should be lifted right away. That means that Al-Hudaydah and Saleef ports should be open without additional impediment. Other market manipulation, such as profiteering downstream through the informal market, must also stop. Doing that, as Mr. Khiari already said, would boost civilians’ access to the goods that they need to survive. He talked about the need for fuel ships to enter those ports.”
2021-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8840 (2021) · source
“In that regard, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was very generous in the past. It is very good news to hear today’s announcement by the International Monetary Fund that Yemen will receive, I think, $665 million in special drawing rights, which will also help the liquidity and, hopefully, stem the fall of the rial. Prices are also rising because the parties interfere with the market. With the exception of food, Government restrictions now re-route nearly all commercial imports away from ports held by Ansar Allah — Al-Hudaydah, of course — to Aden and elsewhere. Many of those imports are then shipped by road up to the north of the country, adding to the cost and, indeed, affecting the black market. That approach is much more expensive.”
2021-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8840 (2021) · source