YouSaid · the spoken record

Lowcock

lines on the record: 570
first: 2017-09-27
most recent: 2021-06-15
sittings or episodes: 46
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

“Many are on foot or on the backs of trucks in below- freezing temperatures in the rain and in the snow. They are moving into increasingly crowded areas that they think will be safer. But in Idlib nowhere is safe. Almost 50,000 are sheltering under trees or in other open spaces. I am getting daily reports of babies and other young children dying in the cold. Imagine the grief of a parent who escaped a war zone with their child only to watch that child freeze to death. As the Secretary-General warned yesterday, hostilities are now all around areas densely populated with the terrified people who fled. Those areas include Dana and Sarmada, in the direction of the Bab Al-Hawa border crossing.”
2020-02-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8727 (2020) · source
“Blatant disregard for the life and safety of civilians runs contrary to the obligations that all parties must uphold under international humanitarian law and international human rights law. As Geir has just told the Council, front lines in Idlib and western Aleppo have moved swiftly. Advancing front lines have driven huge population movements in a matter of days as families try to escape the relentless aerial and ground bombardment. Over this last weekend, from 13 to 16 February, 160,000 people were recorded fleeing, mostly from Atarib and Daret Azza subdistricts, away from advancing front lines. And again, as Geir has said, we now believe that nearly 900,000 people have been displaced since 1 December, most of them — more than 500,000 — children. People are fleeing under horrendous conditions.”
2020-02-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8727 (2020) · source
“She described the situation of the newly displaced sleeping in the streets, in the fields, out in the cold, with nowhere to go. “Children are afraid, they want safety”, she said. I last briefed the Council on the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in north-western Syria on 6 February (see S/PV.8715). Since then, the horror has multiplied. At least 100 civilians were killed between 1 and 16 February by air and ground-based strikes in the north-west, according of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Thirty- five of those killed were children. More than 90 per cent of those deaths occurred in areas not controlled by the Government. As UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore has said, “such abject disregard for the safety and well-being of children and families is beyond the pale”.”
2020-02-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8727 (2020) · source
“Mr. Lowcock: I would like to start by paying tribute to two of our humanitarian colleagues — staff members of OXFAM, who were killed this afternoon while on mission in Dar’a governorate in southern Syria. Yesterday, I met Dr. Amani Ballour, a Syrian paediatrician who worked for five years in a hospital built underground in order to protect it against air strikes throughout the five-year siege of eastern Ghouta. She is the subject of a documentary film, The Cave, which was nominated at last week’s Oscars. I recommend that everyone see that film. Dr. Ballour is a humanitarian heroine. She told me that “the same children I treated in eastern Ghouta are displaced again in Idlib. They are still under the bombs, still afraid, still without shelter, still without education. It is not life”.”
2020-02-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8727 (2020) · source
“Griffiths just briefed the Council on the serious risks that we now see. We are now entering the sixth year of this war. Enough is enough.”
2020-02-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8725 (2020) · source
“The Yemeni rial is losing value, meaning fewer people can afford the goods, above all food, that they need to survive. A dispute between the parties over bank notes is still driving a disparity between the exchange rate in the south, which is approximately 650 rial to the dollar, and the north, where it is at approximately 595 rial to the dollar. In late 2018, the rapid depreciation of the Yemeni rial was a key factor in bringing the country to the brink of widespread famine. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has played a crucial role in stabilizing the rial. I thank that country once again for that, including the recent release of an additional $227 million for those purposes. I expect that such support will continue to be necessary. The last point is progress towards peace. Peace is the only way to end the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Mr.”
2020-02-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8725 (2020) · source
“Therefore, anybody currently or potentially hindering humanitarian agencies’ work with regard to those two points needs to understand what a big risk they are taking with donors’ continuing generosity. I turn now to the Yemeni economy. As Yemenis depend almost entirely on commercial imports for food, fuel, medicine and other basic goods, it is essential to keep all ports open. Most food and fuel imports continue to come in through Al-Hudaydah or Saleef. Commercial supplies through those ports have remained stable in recent months Thanks to a mechanism for commercial fuel imports managed by the Special Envoy, fuel volumes have been higher than the previous average every month since October 2019. It is equally important to ensure that imports are affordable.”
2020-02-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8725 (2020) · source
“I once again want to thank the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Germany, the European Union, its States members and all our donors for their support. All humanitarian agencies take very seriously the accountability for those funds. We know that the choice over whether or not to provide assistance is a voluntary one. The donors have shown much generosity in financing the Yemen humanitarian operation. In my experience, that generosity is based on just two things: first, the belief that there are real needs and, secondly, the belief that if they provide resources, they will get to the people who need help.”
2020-02-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8725 (2020) · source
“To date, we have not heard reports of famine-like conditions returning in high-risk areas. In late 2018, we heard such reports from many sources even before the formal assessments had been completed. I believe that high levels of aid delivery have helped, but it is clear that without the assessments we cannot be confident of the position. Let me, finally on this point, thank everyone who has contributed to the medical evacuation of the 28 patients whom Mr. Griffiths mentioned. Like him, I would like to see a more sustainable solution put in place soon. Humanitarian agencies have been able to continue saving millions of lives because our donors have provided the money to do so. That brings me to my third point: funding for the United Nations aid operation.”
2020-02-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8725 (2020) · source
“The World Food Programme reports that it continues to provide food assistance to more than 13 million people every month; the World Health Organization is carrying out more than 1.5 million medical consultations a month; and UNICEF and others report that support to water networks benefited an average of nearly 4 million people a month from September to December in 2019. I want to commend once again the humanitarian workers, especially the Yemeni staff, who are delivering that response. They are unquestionably saving millions of lives. No one has suggested that the emergency in Yemen has improved over the past year, but key assessments remain blocked, complicating efforts to adjust programmes based on the latest evidence. That makes it difficult to know with certainty whether there are large pockets of unmet needs throughout the country.”
2020-02-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8725 (2020) · source
“Important discussions are ongoing with the relevant parties to cover all those and other points. I also want to reiterate what Mr. Griffiths said about the FSO SAFER oil tanker. I have raised this issue in my briefings to the Council on 10 occasions over the past 12 months. It needs to be resolved. Nothing can happen without the United Nations assessment mission. Once again, therefore, like Mr. Griffiths, I urge rapid action on that. Amid all those challenges, the humanitarian operation has continued to deliver.”
2020-02-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8725 (2020) · source
“Last week, the Ansar Allah authorities returned food that had been taken from a World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse in Hajjah. They also announced that they were dropping the proposed 2 per cent levy and informed WFP that they would implement a long-pending agreement on biometric registration and other issues. We welcome all those announcements and look forward to seeing them implemented. There are several other issues, including, first, project approvals, especially agreements with NGOs; secondly, moving forward with urgently required assessments, including updating food security assessments; and, thirdly, approving more monitoring missions, all of which continue to require progress. Those are activities that the humanitarian principles require humanitarian agencies to conduct.”
2020-02-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8725 (2020) · source
“He reiterated the importance of sustaining the humanitarian operation, and he supports continued dialogue with all the interested parties to ensure that help reaches all those who are in need of it, in accordance with humanitarian principles. There was also a valuable meeting in Brussels last week involving United Nations colleagues, leading international NGOs and some of the large donors to discuss how we can maintain life-saving assistance in a principled way, including the measures that may need to be taken as a result of the interference and blockages that we are seeing. The United Nations is seeking to intensify dialogue with the Ansar Allah authorities at all levels and through all the channels available to us.”
2020-02-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8725 (2020) · source
“Approximately half of those incidents constrained movements of relief supplies or staff, while approximately a quarter of them involved attempts to influence decisions on who receives help or otherwise interfere with programmes. The Ansar Allah authorities asked NGOs to sign agreements that would not be consistent with humanitarian principles. Approximately 40 per cent of NGO projects last year went unapproved — 10 per cent more than in the south. It has also been suggested that NGOs pay a 2 per cent tax to fund the authorities’ aid-coordination body. The situation is unacceptable. Stopping the world’s largest aid operation would be fatal for millions of people. The Secretary-General issued a statement last week about that.”
2020-02-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8725 (2020) · source
“We also remain concerned about proposed Government regulations that would hinder humanitarian agencies’ ability to move around the country as necessary in order to meet urgent needs. This past week, the Government returned eight trucks with medical supplies, held by Government forces in Ma’rib since 30 January. However, after initial inspection, it appears that up to 70 per cent of the supplies are missing. We appreciate the ongoing dialogue with the Government on all those issues, but it is important to be clear that we have much more serious problems in the areas controlled by the Ansar Allah authorities. Last year, those authorities issued more than 200 regulations on humanitarian action. By the end of the year, the number of reported incidents disrupting assistance had risen by a factor of six.”
2020-02-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8725 (2020) · source
“For months, I have called for a nationwide ceasefire. That call is even more urgent today when the violence, as Mr. Griffiths has said, is at very real risk of spiralling out of control. The second issue is humanitarian access. Let me remind everyone that international humanitarian law requires the parties to facilitate access to people in need. Access is essential if we are to continue saving millions of lives across Yemen. Yet the space in which we need to do that work has been narrowing from all directions. In the south, humanitarian agencies have to wait too long to get projects approved. We estimate that approximately 30 per cent of non-governmental organization (NGO) projects were not taken forward last year because the Government failed to agree them. Efforts to carry out a multisectoral needs assessment have recently stalled.”
2020-02-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8725 (2020) · source
“That escalation, in addition to clashes in other places, has reversed the trend seen in previous months of decreasing civilian casualties. In January, assessments suggest, more than 160 civilians were killed or wounded across Yemen. On Saturday, air strikes reportedly killed dozens of civilians in Al-Jawf. Humanitarian Coordinator Lise Grande issued a statement about that incident the same day, and I associate myself with what she said. Ten days ago, hostilities badly damaged two hospitals in Ma’rib and injured a health worker. Those hospitals had already closed because of fighting in the area, depriving 15,000 people of medical care. And in Taiz, Al-Hudaydah, Sa’dah and other places, we continue to hear daily reports of civilians killed, homes destroyed, farms damaged, children shot by snipers and other horrors.”
2020-02-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8725 (2020) · source
“Mr. Lowcock: Every month, I brief the Security Council on five priority issues in Yemen — first, the protection of civilians and respect for international humanitarian law; secondly, humanitarian access and delivery; thirdly, funding for the United Nations aid operation; fourthly, the Yemeni economy; and, fifthly, progress towards peace. As Mr. Griffiths just outlined, we are now going through an extremely worrisome period in Yemen. That is equally true for the humanitarian operation. Let us start with protection of civilians. Hostilities have escalated significantly along several fronts, most notably in the governorates of Ma’rib, Al-Jawf and Sana’a. As Mr. Griffiths just noted, those areas have been mostly quiet over the past two years. Fighting in those areas has displaced more than 35,000 people since January.”
2020-02-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8725 (2020) · source
“The front line has now moved to within a few kilometres of Idlib city, the largest urban centre in the north-west. I therefore echo Geir Pedersen’s appeal for an immediate end for the hostilities and for a serious international effort to cooperate on Idlib. It is indeed a humanitarian imperative. A ceasefire would be a first step, and compliance with international humanitarian law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure remains fundamental. As Mr. Pedersen also outlined, however, what is needed is a genuine dialogue by the parties to the conflict towards a sustainable political solution pursuant to resolution 2254 (2015).”
2020-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8715 (2020) · source
“We are also continuing our dialogue with all parties to seek cross-line access. We will use all options available to us to reach people in need, but there has been no substantive progress on cross-line access since I updated the Council last week. Finally, let me reiterate that, despite the efforts of humanitarian organizations, needs are growing exponentially. There are still hundreds of thousands of civilians in what appears to be the area at risk from the current fighting, in addition to all those who have fled since December 2019. What we have been warning Council members about is therefore happening. How severe the crisis becomes will depend on whether a solution can be found to ease the situation for those who remain in harm’s way and those crammed into an ever- smaller area in the north-west of Idlib. Time is short.”
2020-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8715 (2020) · source
“The greatest need is for shelter and protection against the harsh winter conditions — tents, plastic sheeting, stoves, warm clothes and fuel. We announced in December 2019 the release of $44 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund, which I manage, for the Syria crisis, both to meet needs in refugee hosting countries and for humanitarian activities across Syria. That was the largest-single allocation from the Central Emergency Response Fund for the Syria crisis since the war began. As of today I am releasing an additional $30 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund as the first resources for the new response plan in Idlib. I once again thank the donors whose contributions make this possible, but I also note that the Fund’s resources are limited. I urge others to provide money for the new plan as soon as possible.”
2020-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8715 (2020) · source
“In January, 1,227 trucks of humanitarian assistance were sent from Turkey through the Bab Al-Hawa and Bab Al-Salam border crossings. Nearly 900 trucks carried food assistance for some 1.4 million people. Other trucks carried health supplies for almost half a million people, and non-food items for more than 230,000. That is the most aid that the United Nations has sent across the border in any month since the operation was authorized in 2014. The cross-border operation remains essential to the relief effort in Syria. It is still the only way to reach people in need in Idlib. My team has also this week released another humanitarian readiness and response plan for north- west Syria, requesting an additional $336 million for the next six months to address the massive displacement that we have seen since 1 December 2019.”
2020-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8715 (2020) · source
“The attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure taking place in north-west Syria are unacceptable; they must be brought to an end. As the Secretary-General has also said, we need an immediate cessation of hostilities. While localized pauses have helped some civilians to flee — and we will continue to work with parties to the conflict to see pauses continue — millions of people continue to face some of the most severe protection challenges that we have seen in all the years of the Syrian crisis. A broader ceasefire continues to be the only way to ensure that civilians are protected. The United Nations and the broader humanitarian community are doing everything possible to address the significant needs of approximately 3 million people who need help in north-western Syria.”
2020-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8715 (2020) · source
“The World Health Organization reports that 53 medical facilities have stopped operations, either owing to the direct impact of fighting or because the doctors themselves need to move to safer places. Of the 53 facilities, three were affected by air strikes or shelling, including two attacks on 26 and 30 January in and around Ariha in south-east Idlib. The World health Organization reports that those two attacks killed 10 people and injured 30 others. As health-care services break down, the danger of new disease outbreaks grows. Approximately 26 immunization centres have had to close down since 1 December 2019. As Geir Pedersen noted, the Secretary-General spoke once again about these issues earlier in the week. He has been very clear.”
2020-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8715 (2020) · source
“Towns and villages in the area are also congested. Approximately 80,000 people are believed to be sheltering in unfinished houses and buildings. We are also seeing more people move north out of Idlib into Turkish-controlled areas in Afrin, Azaz and Al-Bab. Approximately 144,000 people have now moved into those areas. The United Nations has continued to work with the Russian Federation to try to agree pauses in hostilities along pre-identified routes to allow those fleeing to reach temporary safety. From 27 January to 2 February, approximately 4,000 people were supported by local non-governmental organizations during the pauses to move from Ariha, Saraqib and Sarmin to areas closer to Turkey. Civilian infrastructure also continues to be damaged and destroyed, or otherwise affected, by the fighting.”
2020-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8715 (2020) · source
“Two-hundred- thousand people moved in the eight days between 26 January and 2 February. UNICEF reports that some 300,000 children in total have left since 1 December. We have all seen chaotic pictures in town after town as vehicles line up in every direction trying to flee. And, as we have told the Council before, the vast majority of people continue to move north and west into the ever-smaller enclave controlled by non-Government groups. Those areas are now dramatically overcrowded, and available accommodation is severely congested. People who have just moved cannot find adequate shelter. The area already hosts large populations of internally displaced persons (IDPs). There is no unused capacity left in formal camps in Idlib, forcing many IDPs to camp on agricultural land with no infrastructure.”
2020-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8715 (2020) · source
“While many of the attacks have been reported close to front lines, we have also seen an escalation in the major civilian centres in the north-west. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reported one of the most serious incidents in the last two months on 15 January, when at least 19 civilians are believed to have been killed, and more than 60 others injured, as a result of an air strike that hit the Souq Al-Hal vegetable market in Idlib city. More than 95 per cent of all civilian deaths were in non-Government-controlled areas. The bombing and shelling have forced hundreds of thousands more people to move in an attempt to find safety. We now estimate that 586,000 people have moved in the last two months. They are mostly children.”
2020-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8715 (2020) · source
“Mr. Lowcock: Geir Pedersen just updated the Security Council on the political and military developments. Let me therefore update the Security Council on the humanitarian situation. In the week since I last briefed the Council on the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in north-west Syria (see S/PV.8707), we have seen a further substantial escalation. Every morning we wake up to more reports of shelling and air strikes on dozens of communities throughout the north-west. The impact of military operations on civilians has been severe. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has now documented 373 civilians killed since 1 December. Forty-nine deaths were recorded between 1 and 5 February. Three humanitarian workers from organizations that the United Nations works closely with have also been killed in recent days.”
2020-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8715 (2020) · source
“Aid agencies try to ensure that the most vulnerable populations have adequate nutrition. The World Food Programme supports 4.5 million people across Syria on a monthly basis with general food assistance, and I am grateful for the voluntary contributions from donors that make that possible. But any further deterioration in the Syrian economy will leave even more people vulnerable and in need of assistance in the year ahead, so continued support from donors is vital. Let me return, finally, to my initial point about north-west Syria. The parties to the conflict and those with influence must stop the fighting. Unless the current hostilities stop, we will see an even greater humanitarian catastrophe. I hope that the Council will take every step to avert that.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“In the meantime, the United Nations continues to advocate for the relevant parties to find durable solutions for all Rukban residents. Fourthly, the economic situation in Syria poses increasing hardship on civilians across the country. In January, the Syrian pound continued to depreciate on the informal market. In some areas, it traded at more than 1,100 Syrian pounds to the United States dollar. That is half the value of six months ago. Syrians going out to buy food are finding fewer items in their markets, including those looking for basics such as rice, oil and sugar. Most available items cost more than ever — the price of bread, for example, has increased by more than 50 per cent in some areas in recent months. Analysis suggests that food security in Syria worsened over the past year.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“As requested in resolution 2504 (2020), the Secretary-General will report to the Council by the end of February on the feasibility of using alternative modalities for the border crossing of Al-Yarubiyah in order to ensure that humanitarian assistance, including medical and surgical supplies, reaches people in need throughout Syria through the most direct routes and in accordance with the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence. Thirdly, turning to Rukban, based on available estimates, nearly 20,000 people, some 50 per cent of the population, left the Rukban camp in recent months. Reports indicate that several thousand more people still in Rukban wish to leave. Efforts by the United Nations and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to facilitate voluntary departures have not been successful.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“No United Nations convoys containing medical supplies have gone from Damascus to the north-east this month. There were three airlifts in December; there have been none so far in January. In the so-called Operation Peace Spring area, a cross-line assessment mission to Ras Al-Ayn originally planned for earlier this month has not yet materialized due to conditions imposed by all parties regarding the composition of the mission. Experienced United Nations humanitarian staff are not surprised by any of that. The difficulty of crossing lines with essential aid, or moving goods and staff through contested areas, is something that we have become all too familiar with over the course of the nine years of the conflict.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“Nonetheless, with the removal of the Al-Yarubiyah crossing point, the World Health Organization forecasts a reduction in the medical services available and a growing shortfall of medical supplies. Some 400,000 medical items planned for delivery are stuck on trucks in Iraq and unable to cross. The Secretary-General has asked members of the Council for their support in reaching agreement for those items to be brought in. But as of today they remain in Iraq. The United Nations continues to advocate with all stakeholders, including the Government of Syria, to ensure reliable and adequate supply lines and humanitarian capacity in the north-east. In that regard, an agreement among the relevant parties to reopen the M4 highway remains crucial.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“Such life-saving operations are necessary and of some value, but, fundamentally, they underscore the basic requirement, which is for the fighting to stop. Secondly, the humanitarian situation in the north- east remains difficult. Some 70,000 people are still displaced following the military operations that we saw in October. An additional 90,000 people are living in camps for internally displaced persons, including more than 66,000 in the Al-Hol camp. Those vulnerable populations are among the 1.8 million people in the north-east who need humanitarian assistance. An average of 850,000 people in need received assistance on a monthly basis in 2019 from within Syria, and that number increased significantly during the course of the year.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“The most urgent need is to protect the civilian population and scale up the humanitarian response. In order for that to be possible, I call on all parties to facilitate safe and unhindered access for humanitarian workers and supplies to address civilians’ essential needs. Humanitarian organizations are also trying to help civilians get out of harm’s way. On 25 January, non-governmental organizations helped relocate 1,800 civilians who had asked for help to move to areas under less imminent threat. Following negotiations with the United Nations, the Russian Centre for the Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in the Syrian Arab Republic has provided assistance with a “humanitarian pause” along specific routes to facilitate the safe passage of civilians and humanitarian staff.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“Families recently displaced and currently sheltering on roadsides, under thin sheets of plastic, in makeshift shelters or in unfinished buildings have been making desperate appeals for more support. I talked to Syrians in Idlib again last week. Other United Nations staff continuously have similar conversations. People feel increasingly under siege as the bombardment follows them from place to place. They are traumatized, and they feel totally abandoned by the world. They do not understand why the Council is unable to stop the carnage among a civilian population trapped in a war zone. Their message to those present is essentially the same one I relayed when I briefed the Council on 30 July: “[w]e are afraid. Please help us. Make it stop.” (S/PV.8589, p. 5).”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“Efforts by humanitarian organizations within Syria to provide cross-line assistance, including those by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent — with which I discussed the issues last week and whose work I continue to support — have not yet been facilitated by the parties in control. The cross-border humanitarian operations have staved off a massive humanitarian catastrophe in the north-west, but let us make no mistake about it: civilians are still suffering terribly. Under current conditions, humanitarian responders do not have the capacity to meet the level of need that we are seeing. We are receiving reports of tensions mounting because of the inadequate humanitarian response.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“As High Commissioner Bachelet warned, “[w]omen, men and children simply carrying out everyday activities at home, the workplace, in markets and at schools are being killed and maimed in senseless violence.” It is imperative that all parties agree to an immediate cessation of hostilities in and around the Idlib de-escalation zone. Amid the ongoing fighting, humanitarian organizations have provided food assistance for more than 1.4 million civilians and health supplies to treat almost 200,000 people in recent weeks. That has all come in through the cross-border operation, as reauthorized under resolution 2504 (2020). That remains the only way to assist the more than 2.8 million people in need in north-west Syria.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“Nearly 390,000 have fled in the past two months. Many families are moving multiple times. They arrive in a place thought to be safe, only for the bombs to follow, so they are then forced to move again. That cycle is all too familiar in north-west Syria. On 12 January, Turkey and the Russian Federation announced a ceasefire, but it did not hold. The Government of Syria opened three crossing points to facilitate the movement of civilians into Government-controlled areas. Initial reports from the Russian Federation suggest that 400 civilians crossed through those crossing points. The violence in north-west Syria is deplorable.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“The most alarming reports have come from southern Idlib, where hundreds of air strikes by the Government of Syria and its allies have been concentrated. Meanwhile, non-State armed groups continue to shell Aleppo city, killing or injuring dozens of civilians. Routes to the north and west of Saraqib, including around Ariha and other locations along the M4 highway, are clogged with vehicles as people seek to flee the bombing and the front lines in search of safety. Hundreds of thousands of civilians are at risk and are therefore running away. Most of the affected people — more than 99 per cent — have been moving from southern Idlib to other locations in non-Government-controlled areas. Our assessment is that at least 20,000 people have moved in the past two days. Some 115,000 left in the last week.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“As the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Michelle Bachelet, has said, civilians continue to be subject to intense bombing and shelling. On 11 January, at least 20 civilians were reportedly killed in air strikes in Idlib. On 21 January, eight civilians were reportedly killed in Kafr Taal, in western Aleppo, after an air strike struck near their home. Overall, in the week from 15 to 23 January, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) documented incidents in which at least 81 civilians, most of them women and children, were killed as a result of air and ground-based strikes. That total is in addition to the more than 1,500 civilian deaths that OHCHR has verified since the escalation began in late April.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“Mr. Lowcock: Today I want, first, to express my alarm about the dire and deteriorating humanitarian situation affecting women and children, in particular in the north-west of Syria owing to the intense bombing, shelling and other fighting that we are all seeing; secondly, to update the Security Council with regard to the humanitarian response in the north-east following the adoption of resolution 2504 (2020); thirdly, to update the Council on the situation in Rukban; and, fourthly, to draw attention to the impact of economic challenges on the humanitarian suffering in Syria. First, hostilities have escalated in recent days in the Idlib area, particularly around Maarat Al-Numan, Saraqib and western Aleppo. The fighting in those areas appears to be more intense than anything that we have seen in the past year.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“The same gratitude is due to Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt and others. I urge the international community to be more generous in supporting them all in shouldering the burden they have taken on.”
2019-11-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8664 (2019) · source
“A renewal of the provisions of resolution 2165 (2014) is critical. There is no plan B. Without the cross-border operation, we would see an immediate end of aid that is supporting millions of civilians; that would cause a rapid increase in hunger and disease. A lot more people would flood across the borders, making an existing crisis in the region even worse. That brings me to my fifth and last point. With more than 5.6 million Syrians living in neighbouring countries as refugees, the crisis has had an enormous impact on the entire region. The responsibility that refugee-hosting countries bear is heavy. When I visited Turkey last month, I had the opportunity to express again my deep admiration and gratitude to Turkey's Government and people for their exceptional and prolonged hospitality to the refugees.”
2019-11-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8664 (2019) · source
“Commodity tracking systems using barcodes on each box of aid allow assistance to be followed from the border to the warehouse and on to the individual beneficiary. Those same boxes have phone numbers printed on them to allow beneficiaries to report back by phone or WhatsApp if everything they are expecting is not delivered or if there are other things they need. A call centre has been established, allowing anyone with questions about aid deliveries to get in touch. Nothing in life is completely risk-free, but I can say with confidence that the United Nations knows what is going across the border under our programme and where it is going. We know that help is reaching the civilians who need it. Therefore, I can be clear that there is no alternative to the cross-border operation.”
2019-11-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8664 (2019) · source
“They check the items being offloaded against the waybill. Third-party monitors have conducted almost 2,000 assessments of aid so far this year. In addition to monitoring the arrival of aid at warehouses, they have observed the direct distribution to affected people and deliveries of aid to schools and hospitals. They have conducted post-distribution monitoring, using community feedback mechanisms and individual interviews with beneficiaries. Their monitoring has not identified any evidence of systemic aid diversion. We are also using new technologies to monitor the delivery of aid. Through video and time-stamped geotagged photos, we can monitor the delivery process every step of the way.”
2019-11-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8664 (2019) · source
“I can confirm that the operation mandated by resolution 2165 (2014) is one of the most closely scrutinized aid delivery systems in the world today. The movement and delivery of humanitarian aid is monitored at four distinct levels: at the border, at the warehouses inside Syria, at distribution points and after distribution. The humanitarian nature of United Nations cross-border assistance is monitored and verified by the United Nations Monitoring Mechanism. Monitors of 15 different nationalities verify the humanitarian nature of the cargo being shipped. The monitors, whom I met, climb into every truck. They open boxes, cut into bags of rice and inspect vehicles before clearing assistance to cross the border. When aid arrives at warehouses inside Syria, it is examined by third-party monitors contracted by the United Nations.”
2019-11-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8664 (2019) · source
“Since 2014, the United Nations has sent nearly 30,000 truckloads of humanitarian assistance across the four border crossings named in resolution 2165 (2014). Civilians have been provided with food assistance, water, medical assistance, shelter and other help. More trucks are using the cross-border mechanism today than ever before, with more than 900 passing through in October. More people are being reached than ever before. In October alone, the United Nations provided 1.1 million people with food through cross-border deliveries, which is double the number in January. The operation from Turkey has grown by more than 40 per cent since this time in 2018, due to the increase in humanitarian needs. It is through those operations that we have been able to stave off an even worse humanitarian crisis in northern Syria.”
2019-11-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8664 (2019) · source
“The camp includes Syrians, Iraqis and third-country nationals. It is more important than ever that States Members of the United Nations, including members of the Council, repatriate their nationals for reintegration or for prosecution under national legislation, as appropriate. Across northern Syria, 4 million people are supported by the United Nations cross-border humanitarian assistance mechanism, including 2.7 million in the north-west who cannot be reached from within the country. That brings me to my fourth point. In October, I went to Turkey and Visited our cross-border operations. I was able to see the delivery of assistance, assess the work of the United Nations Monitoring Mechanism and talk to people we are helping inside Syria.”
2019-11-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8664 (2019) · source
“A number of cross-line missions have been facilitated by Turkey, whereby technicians came from Al-Hasakah to Allouk to do repairs to the water station and the power supply. Turkey has also sent its own technicians. While the water has again been restored, it is important to have sustained access to ensure the ongoing operations of those critical facilities. More broadly, I remain concerned about the impact that changes in administrative control could have on humanitarian operations in the north-east. With 1.8 million people in need, it is critical that there be continuity of life-saving essential services and humanitarian aid deliveries, regardless of any changes in control. That has particular implications for displacement camps like Al-Hol, where needs for the 68,600 residents are high.”
2019-11-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8664 (2019) · source