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

“Griffiths just recalled, about 2 million school-age children remain out of school, and some 2,000 schools are unusable because they have been damaged, are hosting displaced people or have been occupied by armed groups. Overshadowing everything is the continuing and very real risk of famine. In the past four years, millions of families in Yemen have been reduced to paupers. They have little or no income, even as the prices of basic commodities that they need to survive increase relentlessly. Humanitarian agencies are doing everything that they can to save lives and protect people across the country. Last year we reached an average of 8 million people a month, making Yemen the world's largest aid operation. This year, we are doing more.”
2019-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8512 (2019) · source
“About a quarter of cases are children under five. That spike has come months before the usual increase during the main rainy season in August. That means that, if not brought under control, current trends could quickly result in mass morbidity and death. Early rains are partly responsible, but the major drivers remain forced displacement and conflict-induced collapse of public infrastructure, including the country's water and sanitation systems, and the public institutions that provide basic services. We have seen the consequences of the destruction of the health system elsewhere too. More than 3,300 cases of diphtheria have been reported since 2018 - the first outbreak in Yemen since 1982. Earlier this year, new measles cases surged to nearly twice the levels reported at the same time in 2018 - itself a record-breaking year. As Mr.”
2019-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8512 (2019) · source
“We once again remind the parties that international humanitarian law binds them in all locations and at all times. Humanitarian agencies are also confronting an alarming resurgence in the cholera epidemic, which we had successfully rolled back last year. After two years and more than 1.5 million suspected cases, cholera has affected nearly every Yemeni family in some way. Two weeks ago, Dr. Mohammed Abdul-Mughni, a highly respected paediatrician treating cholera patients at a public hospital in Sana'a, died ofthe disease himself. He had just described the outbreak as "disastrous", telling journalists that, "We are working to the extremes of our strength". So far in 2019, nearly 200,000 suspected cases of cholera have been reported. That is almost three times as many as in the same period last year.”
2019-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8512 (2019) · source
“On 2 April, armed men broke into a hospital supported by Medecins Sans Frontieres in Aden, kidnapped a patient and killed him outside the hospital. On 3 April, three women were reportedly killed and two children injured by an artillery shell that land near a school in Al-Hudaydah. On 7 April, large explosions at a warehouse in Sana'a killed 14 children attending school nearby. Sixteen more were critically injured. Most of them were not even 9-years old. As the international community continues to support the Stockholm Agreement, it is critical that we not lose sight of escalating violence elsewhere. In my briefing to the Council on 14 December 2018 (see S/PV.8424), I called for a cessation of hostilities across Yemen. I am reiterating that call today. All the men with the guns and the bombs need to stop the Violence.”
2019-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8512 (2019) · source
“The active front lines are now just a few kilometres from Abs district's main water source, which serves about 200,000 people. If fighting damages or cuts off that facility, we could very quickly see a major catastrophe. If fighting moves south to the Al-Hudaydah border, up to 400,000 more people could be displaced. Fierce fighting in Taiz in March among different factions in a Government-controlled area resulted in numerous casualties. Conflict has also intensified on established front lines in Al-Dhale'e and along the northern border in Sa'ada and Al-Jawf, displacing thousands of more families. On 26 March, an air strike in Sa'ada landed close to a hospital supported by Save The Children, killing eight civilians, including five children.”
2019-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8512 (2019) · source
“Mr. Lowcock: As Martin Griffiths just mentioned, while the ceasefire in Al-Hudaydah has largely held, as he also indicated we have seen a pronounced escalation of violence in other parts of the country. In Hajjah, just north of Al-Hudaydah, the conflict has intensified in several areas. Fierce fighting in Kushar district displaced up to 50,000 people in February and March, and was marked by continuous reports of shelling and air strikes causing scores of civilian casualties. In the Bani Hassan area of Abs district, over the last two weeks fighting has forced nearly 100,000 more people from their homes. About half have fled to other areas in Abs, which is an extremely poor and water-scarce district and now hosts upwards of 300,000 displaced people.”
2019-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8512 (2019) · source
“Again, as I said earlier, we are keen to sustain the consultations we have with the Government and others, because the only basis for principled humanitarian action as the situation evolves is a serious and professional ongoing effort to assess humanitarian need.”
2019-04-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8506 (2019) · source
“Mr. Lowcock: You asked me a question, Sir, about the basis on which we are assessing humanitarian need in Venezuela, and I would be happy, if the Security Council wished, to provide a written explanation of how we do that. In summary, however, in the interest of time, as I said in my statement, the work we have done so far has been on the basis of all of the available data. We have, in the best way we were able to in Venezuela, applied our tried and tested methodology that we use all over the world to assess humanitarian need. We have applied our standard system for caveating and quality controlling the use of the data and the judgments we make on the data.”
2019-04-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8506 (2019) · source
“We also need more data and information to ensure our understanding of needs evolves with the situation. Thirdly, more money is needed to support the expansion of humanitarian programmes. The resources available now are extremely modest in relation to the needs we see. I would like to thank Member States that have contributed to the provision of humanitarian assistance in Venezuela, including our generous donors supporting the CERF. The Council's continued support is critical, but we need a lot more.”
2019-04-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8506 (2019) · source
“Humanitarian assistance must be delivered on the basis of need alone. The Secretary-General has repeatedly stressed the importance of the humanitarian principles and has called on Member States and others to respect them. We seek the Council's support to safeguard the neutral and impartial nature of humanitarian action. The second area is an enabling operating environment, including sustained and regular access to people in need. I note recent steps taken by the Government of Venezuela to facilitate the entrance of additional United Nations staff into the country and the expansion of humanitarian programmes, including those of the Red Cross movement. Additional steps are needed. We need more humanitarian organizations with the capacity to meet urgent needs to establish a presence and assist with operations in the country.”
2019-04-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8506 (2019) · source
“The United Nations and other aid organizations are working with institutions and organizations across the spectrum, including line ministries and national civil society organizations, and we are in touch with the National Assembly. Under the leadership of the United Nations Resident Coordinator, we recently established a cooperation and assistance coordination team, bringing together United Nations agencies, the Red Cross and non-governmental organizations in Caracas to provide strategic-level guidance and coordination to the humanitarian operation. It is clear that much more is needed. We seek the support of the Council for action in three areas: First is improved respect for principled humanitarian action. In Venezuela, there is a need to separate political and humanitarian objectives.”
2019-04-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8506 (2019) · source
“Through this grant, as well as bilateral funding from donors, the United Nations has provided 189,000 children with preventive and curative treatment for acute malnutrition; expanded maternal and child health care through the provision of medicines and supplies from 74,000 health kits; donated 10 generators to provide emergency power to hospitals; installed water tanks in hospitals to ensure a safe supply of water for Palestinian Authorityediatric and maternal services; distributed 10 million tablets for the treatment of HIV among 50,000 people across all 24 states; and delivered 176,000 doses of vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella for babies and young children.”
2019-04-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8506 (2019) · source
“Let me move on now to how we are assisting the most vulnerable people. The United Nations and other humanitarian organizations are on the ground, and we have been expanding our operations. Since 2017, the number of United Nations staff has increased from 210 to nearly 400. United Nations agencies are working in all 24 states. Our efforts are particularly concentrated in the vulnerable border states of Zulia, Tachira and Bolivar. To support the expansion of humanitarian assistance, I released $9 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) in late 2018.”
2019-04-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8506 (2019) · source
“Sanitation systems have deteriorated, affecting solid waste management, among other services. Basic hygiene needs like hand- washing are undermined by the unavailability or unaffordability of water and cleaning supplies. We estimate that some 4.3 million people require water and sanitation assistance. The crisis has interrupted the education of more than 1 million children. Many families cannot afford the transportation, clothing or shoes that children need to attend school. The population on the move is at particular risk of protection violations, as are women and girls, who compose 72 per cent of trafficking victims. More than 3.4 million people have already left the country. We estimate that some 2.7 million people still inside Venezuela require protection assistance and services.”
2019-04-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8506 (2019) · source
“Preventable diseases such as tuberculosis, diphtheria, measles and malaria have resurfaced. The World Health Organization registered more than 400,000 cases of malaria in 2017, nearly 70 per cent more than the year before. That was the largest increase in the world that year. Overall, we estimate that some 2.8 million people need health assistance, including 1.1 million children under five. Health problems are exacerbated by insufficient access to clean water and inadequate sanitation systems. One estimate suggests that 17 per cent of people living in poverty have no access to safe water or receive it only once a fortnight. Recent power outages are making this problem worse. Some families have resorted to using water from unclean sources because they cannot afford safe water.”
2019-04-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8506 (2019) · source
“The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has estimated that in 2018, some 3.7 million people suffered from undernourishment. The prevalence of undernourishment has almost trebled over a five-year period. Other aid organizations report an increase in the global acute malnutrition rate among children under five. We estimate that 1.9 million people require nutritional assistance, including 1.3 million children under five. More data is needed to improve our understanding of the nutrition and food security situation. The Venezuelan health system is strained by shortages in personnel, medical supplies, equipment and electricity. Reduced access to medicines has increased the risk of morbidity and mortality from diabetes, hypertension, cancer and HIV/AIDS.”
2019-04-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8506 (2019) · source
“The context is a severe and continuing economic contraction, with associated dramatic increases in inflation on a scale seen in few if any other countries around the world in recent years. Our review found that access to nutrient-rich foods and a varied diet has diminished. Historically, Venezuela has imported up to 75 per cent of its food. As a result of the crisis, the availability and affordability of food have fallen, with lower imports, reduced local production and declining purchasing power. Many people depend on subsidized food to meet their needs. Six million families across the country reportedly benefit from food supplies distributed by the Government. Despite this, malnutrition has increased, especially in areas with the highest poverty rates.”
2019-04-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8506 (2019) · source
“We recently produced a draft overview report on priority humanitarian needs in Venezuela. The review was based on the best available data from all available official and unofficial sources, including Government data. We gave our draft report to the Government and the National Assembly on 27 March. We estimate that 7 million people in Venezuela need humanitarian assistance. That is some 25 per cent of the population. There are people in need throughout the country, but needs are most severe in the three states in the south and Zulia and Lara states in the west. People with chronic health conditions, pregnant and nursing women, children under five, indigenous people, people on the move and those living with disabilities are among the most vulnerable.”
2019-04-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8506 (2019) · source
“Economic decline has continued, and the purchasing power of ordinary people has fallen further, rendering food even less affordable for many families. The scale of need is significant and growing. The United Nations is working in Venezuela to expand the provision of humanitarian assistance. Our efforts are in line with the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, as determined by the General Assembly in resolutions 46/182 and 58/114. The Secretary-General has expressed his concern for the people in Venezuela. I echo that concern. I will focus my briefing today on, first, the priority humanitarian needs in Venezuela; secondly, our efforts to assist the most vulnerable people; and, thirdly, the areas where we seek the Council's collective support.”
2019-04-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8506 (2019) · source
“Mr. Lowcock: Let me be clear from the outset that there is a very real humanitarian problem in Venezuela. The United Nations is willing and able to respond, consistent with the long-standing mandate that Member States have agreed for principled humanitarian action. We can do more to relieve the suffering of the people of Venezuela if we get more help and support from all stakeholders. Since Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo last briefed the Council on 26 February (see S/PV.8472), the humanitarian situation has worsened. Recurrent widespread power outages have affected the whole country. Without electricity from the grid, many hospitals have struggled to carry out essential surgical procedures and to sustain intensive-care services and dialysis treatment. Water and sewage systems have been interrupted.”
2019-04-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8506 (2019) · source
“Supporting, financially or otherwise, the systematic collection, analysis and documentation of evidence of violations of international humanitarian law is very important as part of that process. Lastly, let us never forget that accountability for serious violations of international humanitarian law is required by law.”
2019-04-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8499 (2019) · source
“Finally, regarding accountability, States certainly need to do much better in holding individuals to account when they commit serious violations of international humanitarian law. For example, by adopting legislation that encompasses the full range of international crimes and jurisdiction over them and by strengthening the national capacity to carry out impartial, independent investigations into allegations of war crimes and, crucially, to prosecute suspects when the evidence justifies such a step. Where national accountability systems are insufficient, there should be more support for international or hybrid accountability mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court.”
2019-04-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8499 (2019) · source
“Those recommendations include, for example, ensuring legal protection for medical personnel when they are acting in line with medical ethics and adopting preventative measures to minimize the impact of hostilities on medical care. Fourthly, with regard to compliance, States and the Security Council could promote the universalization of international humanitarian law and human rights treaties. The right kinds of incentives and penalties can boost compliance. For example, sanctions imposed by the Security Council can be a powerful tool to promote compliance and States can exert their diplomatic, political and economic influence over parties to a conflict in order to strengthen compliance.”
2019-04-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8499 (2019) · source
“Council members and other Member States could do more to advocate for rapid and unimpeded access to people in need, including by adopting clear, simple, expedited procedures and by supporting humanitarian organizations to engage with armed groups for humanitarian purposes. States can also take practical measures to minimize the impact of sanctions and counter-terrorism measures on humanitarian action. The Council is about to hear a very important presentation on that by Professor Modirzadeh. In addition, States can adopt measures to protect medical care, in line with the Secretary- General's recommendations on resolution 2286 (2016).”
2019-04-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8499 (2019) · source
“Secondly, we should broaden and deepen the understanding and acceptance of existing rules, including the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols. I am sure that Peter Maurer will touch on this point, but experience has shown that fighting parties often have an incomplete understanding of international humanitarian law. Providing training for armed forces and members of non-State armed groups on how to respect humanitarian law can help, and Member States should assist humanitarian organizations in spreading such knowledge. Thirdly, we should enable humanitarian and medical activities. All parties should adopt clear and simplified procedures to facilitate humanitarian access. They should establish civil-military coordination platforms or humanitarian notification systems to facilitate parties' respect for humanitarian operations.”
2019-04-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8499 (2019) · source
“That includes endorsing such political commitments as the Safe Schools Declaration or the French declaration on the protection of medical and humanitarian personnel. The Council could seek much wider endorsement for such commitments. Related efforts also include developing policy frameworks that establish the authorities that are responsible for the protection of civilians, as well as reviewing policies and practical measures for implementing international humanitarian law. Examples of that include establishing civilian-casualty mitigation measures, developing policies to avoid the use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated areas and making arms exports conditional on respect for international humanitarian law.”
2019-04-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8499 (2019) · source
“The Council has taken practical steps to safeguard humanitarian action in the past. The United Nations peace operations mandated by the Security Council support and enable humanitarian access and apply sanctions to those who obstruct it. Resolution 2286 (2016) covers the protection of medical personnel and facilities in armed conflict. We therefore have a strong legal framework for safeguarding humanitarian activity in conflict. The problem is that the fighting parties and their backers do not always follow it, and this has grave consequences. I therefore want to offer proposals in five areas that could generate greater respect for international humanitarian law and safeguard the humanitarian space. First, we should promote policies and practices to strengthen adherence to international humanitarian law.”
2019-04-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8499 (2019) · source
“Violence against humanitarian workers, including killing, maiming, kidnapping and abduction, also obstructs humanitarian operations. International humanitarian law is designed to minimize human suffering in war, including by safeguarding humanitarian activities, and therefore ensuring greater respect for international humanitarian law is one of the most effective ways to safeguard the humanitarian space. This year we mark the seventieth anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, which are complemented in important ways by their Additional Protocols. Many countries have also signed treaties prohibiting or restricting weapons and enshrining international criminal law. And this year marks the twentieth anniversary of the protection of civilians in the Security Council.”
2019-04-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8499 (2019) · source
“They are being barred from education as their schools are attacked or taken over. The United Nations verified more than 21,000 grave violations of children's rights in 2017. In towns and cities, belligerents use explosive weapons designed for open battlefields, resulting in mass civilian casualties, enormous destruction of infrastructure and long-term disruption of essential services. All ofthese things have a big impact on humanitarian operations. First, protracted conflicts and chronic crises have caused humanitarian needs to spiral. This year, 139 million people are in acute humanitarian need, most of them because of armed conflict. That is three times as many as a decade ago. Combatants deliberately hinder humanitarian operations, slowing them down, driving up costs and blocking aid from reaching the people most in need.”
2019-04-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8499 (2019) · source
“Today's conflicts are marked by more direct attacks on humanitarian workers, and on medical workers and their facilities, than used to be the case. The Aid Worker Security Database reported 317 attacks on aid workers last year, which resulted in 113 deaths. The World Health Organization reported 388 attacks on health personnel or facilities in 2018, resulting in the deaths of more than 300 people and injuries to 400 more. In some places, medical workers also now face criminal prosecution simply for doing their job of treating sick or wounded fighters. Increasingly, we see the deliberate and organized use of rape as a weapon of war. One in five displaced women who are asked say that they have experienced sexual violence. Children are being recruited into armed groups, forced into early marriage or used as suicide bombers.”
2019-04-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8499 (2019) · source
“Mr. Lowcock: Though we sometimes forget this, the last 70 years have in fact been relatively peaceful. The late Hans Rosling pointed out that one reason for that is that except for reasons of self-defence, war between States became illegal, thanks to the Charter of the United Nations. But where conflict persists, it is civilians who now bear the brunt. Wars have forced nearly 70 million people to flee their homes. As combatants in recent times have increasingly resorted to siege and starvation as weapons of war, and as conflict has prevented farmers from reaping their harvests, destroyed vital infrastructure and disrupted commercial trade, hunger levels have once again increased after decades of decline. Some 60 per cent of people affected by food crises now live in conflict- affected countries.”
2019-04-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8499 (2019) · source
“Together we can save millions more lives in Yemen, but only if we have the resources we need. Let me make one last point, again similar to one Mr. Griffiths made. The year 2019 needs to be one not just of saving lives but also of recovery. I would like at the end of the year to be able to say that Yemen is no longer the world's worst humanitarian crisis. I would like to see a reduction in the number of people who need humanitarian assistance. The people of Yemen need a realistic chance of a better future.”
2019-02-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8464 (2019) · source
“The response plan lays out a clear, evidence-based and prioritized strategy to address hunger, roll back cholera and other diseases, improve conditions for displaced people and support critical institutions. It is a lifeline for millions of Yemenis. As Mr. Griffiths reminded the Council, the Secretary-General will convene a high-level pledging conference in Geneva a week from today, to be co-hosted by Sweden and Switzerland. That event will provide an important opportunity for the international community to make clear its continuing commitment to save the lives of the starving and vulnerable people of Yemen, as we continue to work in the way that Mr. Griffiths described towards political solutions. I urge Member States to attend the Geneva meeting at a senior level and to pledge generously.”
2019-02-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8464 (2019) · source
“It is therefore is clear that, while daunting, the operational challenges in Yemen can be managed. I cannot say the same of funding-related challenges. Let me explain the position clearly. The aid operation will grind to a halt without adequate resources, at a time when more people need more help than ever before. Humanitarian agencies aim to assist up to 19 million people across the country in 2019. That is more than half the population, including 12 million people who will receive emergency food assistance every month. It will cost more than $4 billion to deliver all the lifesaving and protection programmes set out in the 2019 United Nations-coordinated response plan, which was released today.”
2019-02-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8464 (2019) · source
“Many operational challenges faced by humanitarian agencies are eventually overcome through dialogue, and it is by resolving those challenges that we have been able to reach so many people in all 333 districts. As Martin Griffiths said, we are also hopeful that an assessment mission will finally be able to reach the Red Sea Mills in Al-Hudaydah in the next few days. The operation in Yemen also faces risks of aid diversion that exist in all conflict settings. Those risks, too, can be mitigated. My office continues to coordinate an independent, impartial third-party monitoring programme that covers the entire humanitarian response plan. Early results have been positive, which indicates that the vast majority of assistance is going where it is supposed to go.”
2019-02-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8464 (2019) · source
“Humanitarian agencies struggle every day with issues such as delays in the issuance of visas, restrictions on movements, delays in imports, bureaucratic impediments, restrictions on monitoring or interference with principled humanitarian action. We are particularly concerned that the operating environment is becoming ever-more restrictive in northern Yemen. At the same time, we are concerned that Cabinet Decree 75, imposed by the Government of Yemen last year, continues to hinder commercial fuel imports, which are needed to pump water and keep hospital generators running, among other critical functions. As of yesterday, four vessels carrying the equivalent of half an average month's commercial fuel imports were being denied entry by the Government of Yemen under Decree 75.”
2019-02-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8464 (2019) · source
“Nutrition programmes last year treated 310,000 children for severe malnutrition, about 20,000 more children than originally planned. None of that would have been possible without the generous funding provided by all our donors in 2018: nearly $2.6 billion, or 83 per cent of the humanitarian response plan requirements. The single-most important contribution was the $930 million we received from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It was not just a large commitment; it was also transferred in a single payment early in the year. Without it, the scale-up I have described would not have been possible. As the largest humanitarian operation in the world, agencies in Yemen face obstacles beyond funding. The operating environment is far from what it should be.”
2019-02-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8464 (2019) · source
“At the beginning of last year, 107 districts were facing extreme food insecurity. By the end of the year, 45 of those districts were no longer at the pre-famine stage, because ofthe massive, synchronized and rapid scale-up of all forms of humanitarian assistance. Working through public institutions, UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and non-governmental organizations stemmed the largest cholera outbreak in modern history, reducing the number of new cases from 1 million in 2017 to about 370,000 in 2018. UNICEF, WHO and nutrition partners, also working through public institutions, helped to identify and cure a higher percentage of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition than in any comparable operation globally.”
2019-02-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8464 (2019) · source
“The United Nations-coordinated humanitarian relief operation in Yemen is the biggest in the world. It has delivered impressive results. More than 250 humanitarian agencies, most of them Yemeni organizations, worked together in 2018 to assist nearly 8 million people across the country every month. We delivered a step-change in the operation last year. The World Food Programme reached more than 10 million people last December, which was a record achievement. Compared to 2017, the number of people who received health assistance increased by 40 per cent last year, to 12 million, and the number of people who were helped with water, hygiene and sanitation needs rose by 20 per cent, to 11.5 million. Of the many milestones achieved last year, three stand out in terms of impact, scale and efficiency.”
2019-02-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8464 (2019) · source
“Violence has declined in Al-Hudaydah following the Stockholm Agreement, but it has continued elsewhere and escalated in some front- line areas, particularly in Hajjah. Amid the conflict, the economy continues to unravel. The Yemeni rial is again losing value. The exchange rate is around 600 rials to the dollar, down from about 400, which was the level it recovered to following substantial injections of foreign exchange into the Central Bank by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in late 2018. As the rate falls, so the price of food for ordinary people rises. In short, things are very bad. Unfortunately, aid agencies are running out of money. Among the many challenges the aid operation faces, funding is quickly becoming the biggest. We expect current resources to be used up by the end of March, just six weeks from now.”
2019-02-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8464 (2019) · source
“Almost 20 million people lack access to adequate health care, and nearly 18 million do not have enough clean water or access to adequate sanitation. More than 3 million people, including 2 million children, are acutely malnourished. Some 3.3 million remain displaced from their homes, including 685,000 who have fled fighting along the west coast since June 2018. Those numbers are considerably worse than they were last year. Conflict and a failure to respect international humanitarian law, together with the economic collapse in mid-2018, are the driving forces behind that deterioration. The most severe needs are in areas of active hostilities or with large numbers of forcibly displaced people.”
2019-02-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8464 (2019) · source
“Mr. Lowcock: Last week, my office released the 2019 Humanitarian Needs Overview for Yemen. Agencies pooled data from more than 100 earlier assessments. We also collected new data from nearly 7,000 locations in 331 of Yemen's 333 districts, and we conducted more than 22,000 interviews. With a stronger evidence base than ever, the 2019 Humanitarian Needs Overview represents an authoritative analysis of the scale, drivers and trajectory of Yemen's crisis, and it paints a bleak picture. About 80 per cent of the population, 24 million people, need humanitarian assistance and protection. Some 20 million people need help securing food, including nearly 10 million who are just a step away from famine. Nearly 240,000 of those people are right now facing catastrophic levels of hunger.”
2019-02-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8464 (2019) · source
“First, support from all Member States is needed to ensure that the parties respect and protect civilians, with particular attention to the north-west and north- east of the country. Once again, a full military offensive in Idlib and the surrounding areas must be avoided at all costs. Secondly, the humanitarian convoy to Rukban must be allowed to proceed as planned. Thirdly, all parties must facilitate safe, regular and sustained humanitarian access so that we can carry out additional needs assessments, deliver to all areas where needs are most severe and monitor the impact our interventions. Fourthly, to go back to where I started, financing for the immediate lifesaving needs in Syria is needed to help people through this bitter winter, but also to ensure the humanitarian programmes in our 2019 humanitarian response plan are well funded.”
2019-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8454 (2019) · source
“Those documents are based on a thorough assessment ofneeds undertaken over the course of the past year, including in areas that have recently seen changes in control, such as eastern Ghouta, south-west Idlib and the south of the country. Monitoring and evaluation remain central to our efforts. In the past three months of 2018, for example, the United Nations, with the agreement of the Government, undertook nearly 1,000 missions across Syria, 75 per cent of which were for monitoring and evaluation purposes, thereby allowing us to understand in greater detail and report credibly to donors on how their money is being used. I would like to conclude by reiterating some current priorities for which we seek the Council's help.”
2019-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8454 (2019) · source
“I am therefore pleased to be able to confirm that the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) yesterday launched its first project out of Damascus, following the opening of its office last year. About 25 young Syrian men and women are being trained in explosive hazard risk education. UNMAS remains ready to deploy and assist with humanitarian mine action in Raqqa, should such a deployment be authorized by the authorities. Humanitarian organizations are fully mobilized throughout Syria to meet the needs of the people. In consultation with the Government and guided by humanitarian principles, we are now finalizing our 2019 humanitarian needs overview. We are working to ensure that our humanitarian response plan is completed in advance of the upcoming Brussels conference.”
2019-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8454 (2019) · source
“We are scaling up our efforts to respond in Al-Hol, but people continue to arrive in critical condition, with many reporting that they were relocated involuntarily, that their documentation has been confiscated, that their movement continues to be restricted and that they would prefer to seek shelter with family members or acquaintances in Deir ez-Zor. I call on all parties once more to do their utmost to protect civilians and allow them freedom of movement to seek safety and basic services in a location oftheir choosing. We have frequently reported to the Council about the unacceptable risk that mines, unexploded ordnance and other explosive hazards continue to pose across Syria.”
2019-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8454 (2019) · source
“Turning to the north-east of the country, we are concerned about the humanitarian impact of ongoing military operations in south-east Deir ez-Zor, where thousands have been displaced and an unknown number of people remain trapped under the control of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. Continuing and intense air strikes and ground fighting have caused scores of civilian casualties and damaged critical infrastructure. About 20,000 people, most of them women and children, have been displaced since December from the Hajin area to Al-Hol camp in Hasakah governorate. They have been exposed to hostilities, explosive hazards, intense cold and prolonged security screenings, throughout which they have received minimal assistance. We have received reports of 25 children having died, either in transit or shortly after reaching the camp.”
2019-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8454 (2019) · source
“However, protection for the accompanying personnel must be provided at the offloading point and the accommodation site, and security is needed inside the informal settlement, where distributions will take place, where vaccination points will be established and where enumerators will conduct the survey. We received verbal approval on 27 January from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Damascus for the convoy to proceed. Security guarantees have also been received from the Russian Federation and international coalition forces. Planning is now under way for the loading of the trucks to begin before the end of the week, and for them to set off by 5 February. We call on all parties to ensure that goes ahead without any further delay.”
2019-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8454 (2019) · source
“Monitoring will be further enhanced, from the offloading site up to the distribution points where beneficiaries collect their assistance, with about 250 United Nations and Syrian Arab Red Crescent personnel accompanying the convoy. The team plans to stay in Rukban for at least a week to ensure sufficient time to monitor distributions, carry out the intention survey and vaccinate as many children as possible. In terms of security, to avoid any interference, we have agreed that, from the entry to the 55-kilometre exclusion zone up to the offloading site, there will be a 5-kilometre buffer zone between the armed groups present in the area and the convoy.”
2019-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8454 (2019) · source
“Again, the cold is making the situation even worse. It is therefore critical that the parties support a second convoy to Rukban. The United Nations has been engaged on multiple fronts to ensure it can happen, including by addressing concerns expressed by the Russian Federation and the Government of Syria about the security of the convoy and monitoring arrangements for aid distributions. The convoy will include more than 100 trucks of relief supplies, focusing on food, winterization support and health, nutrition, household and water and sanitation items. The vaccination campaign from the first convoy will be continued, and the team will conduct an intention survey to help identify a durable solution for those people in the informal settlement.”
2019-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8454 (2019) · source