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

“Notwithstanding all that, the humanitarian situation has been kept stable and the worst loss of life avoided so far this year. That is because the world's worst crisis has attracted the world's largest and one of the world's most effective humanitarian relief efforts. In the first half of the year, humanitarian organizations supported under the United Nations response plan provided assistance to more than 8 million of the most vulnerable Yemenis. The operation has been substantially scaled up and broadened since last year. While food distribution reached 3 million people a month last year, it has been dramatically expanded: we aim to reach 8 million people this month.”
2018-09-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8361 (2018) · source
“All that, together with a dramatic economic collapse in a country already among the world's poorest meant that, at the beginning of this year, fully three quarters of Yemenis - 75 per cent, that is, 22 million people - were in need of some kind of humanitarian assistance or protection. Many millions no longer have any regular source of income, including the families of teachers, health workers, water and sanitation workers and other public servants who have not been paid a regular salary in two years. Approximately 18 million people, including a high proportion of Yemen's children, are food insecure, and more than 8 million of them are severely food insecure, meaning they do not know where their next meal will come from. They need emergency food assistance to survive.”
2018-09-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8361 (2018) · source
“Mr. Lowcock: The Security Council has asked me to update it today on the humanitarian situation in Yemen. In a word, it is bleak. We are losing the fight against famine. The situation has deteriorated in an alarming way in recent weeks. We may now be approaching a tipping point, beyond which it will be impossible to prevent massive loss of life as a result of widespread famine across the country. As the Council knows, Yemen has for some time now been the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Years of very intense and protracted fighting all over the country have destroyed infrastructure, wrecked public services, displaced millions of people from their homes and livelihoods, and have led to what is believed to be the worst cholera outbreak the world has ever seen ravage the country.”
2018-09-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8361 (2018) · source
“What do we think the 3 million civilians, including those 1 million children, confined to Idlib make ofyesterday's agreement? Well, they have a simple question: Is this merely a stay of execution or is it the beginning of a reprieve, the first tiny glint of light at the very end of the darkest tunnel?”
2018-09-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8355 (2018) · source
“In the south-west of the country, most of the up to 325,000 people estimated to have been displaced in the area since late June are now reported to have returned to their areas of origin. But thousands still remained displaced and high levels of humanitarian need persist, including among returnees. The United Nations has continued to provide humanitarian aid in the area, with the agreement of the Government and in partnership with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and other humanitarian organizations, with efforts ongoing to ensure more sustained access across the area. That is urgently needed to address gaps issuing from the suspension of cross-border activities from Jordan in late June. Let me finish with a final word on Idlib.”
2018-09-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8355 (2018) · source
“In Deir ez-Zor, attention appears to have turned now to the last remaining enclave of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant in Syria, along the east bank of the Euphrates river in the southern parts of the governorate. That includes the towns ofHajin, Al-Soussa, Al-Sha'afa and Al-Baghouz. There are significant concerns for the safety and security of civilians living in those areas, with more than 20,000 people estimated to be displaced and reports of leaflets being dropped to warn civilians to leave before the start of the offensive. I call on parties once again to avoid civilian loss by respecting their international humanitarian law obligations of distinction, proportionality and precaution, and to allow civilians who wish to leave to move safely to other areas.”
2018-09-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8355 (2018) · source
“Further to the north, some 153,000 people are now estimated to have returned to Raqqa city since October 2017, although conditions remain unconducive for returns because of high levels of destruction and explosive hazard contamination. Efforts have been made to scale up the mine action response since earlier this year, including mine risk education activities and training. Humanitarian mine action organizations have also been carrying out mine removal operations in Raqqa city since June, focusing on key infrastructure, with a coordination mechanism available to include sites prioritized by the humanitarian community. However, much more needs to be done before the city is safe and conducive for returns.”
2018-09-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8355 (2018) · source
“At Rukban, on the Syria- Jordan border, the United Nations, in cooperation with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, remains ready to provide humanitarian assistance through an inter-agency convoy. What we need is official approval from the Government of Syria for the convoy to proceed and for the teams to accompany the convoy to deliver life-saving supplies and carry out needs assessment and distribution monitoring. We also need deconfliction and guarantees of safe passage from the Government of Syria, the Russian Federation, international coalition forces and the Government of Jordan. And we need written guarantees of safe passage by all non-State armed groups controlling the camp and present along the route.”
2018-09-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8355 (2018) · source
“Aid is also being prepositioned to ensure that those in need can continue to receive support in the face of further military escalation. Food rations for one week for more than 350,000 people and non-food items for 400,000 people have already been prepositioned in Idlib. Supplies have also been prepositioned in Homs, Aleppo and Latakia governorates, including food assistance for up to 1 million people and shelter kits and non-food items for up to 300,000 people. Hardly any of that would have been possible had the Council not renewed the provisions of resolution 2165 (2014) when it adopted resolution 2393 (2017), in December 2017. The resolution made a real difference, and millions of people depend on the activities it mandates. The humanitarian situation in other parts of the country remains difficult.”
2018-09-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8355 (2018) · source
“Regardless of location - whether within or outside the demilitarized zone - international humanitarian law obligations continue to apply. Warring parties cannot deliberately or carelessly disregard the distinction between civilians and combatants, or between civilian infrastructure and military objectives. The United Nations, along with other humanitarian organizations, continues to implement a major humanitarian assistance programme from across the border in Turkey, as mandated by Council resolutions. On average, we are reaching 2 million people each month in north-west Syria. This week alone, food for more than 260,000 people is being sent across the border, as are non-food items and tents for more than 60,000 people - most of it through the Bab Al-Hawa crossing into Idlib.”
2018-09-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8355 (2018) · source
“Whether from within or outside the proposed demilitarized area, should civilians deem it necessary to leave, they must be allowed to seek refuge elsewhere. In case of displacement, all possible measures must be taken so that affected civilians are received under satisfactory conditions of shelter, hygiene, health, safety and nutrition, and that members of the same family are not separated. It is also important that any screening to distinguish civilians from fighters be undertaken in accordance with international humanitarian law and clear standard operating procedures, while ensuring humane treatment and accounting for those who have been screened. Special protection and assistance measures should be in place for civilians, in particular women and children, who have been associated with, or are family members of, fighters.”
2018-09-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8355 (2018) · source
“It would have meant further untold suffering of vulnerable and terrified people from overcrowded sites in which basic services have been stretched to breaking point for months. There simply is no way for humanitarian agencies to protect and meet the needs of millions of extremely vulnerable people, including, as Mr. De Mistura reminded us, 1 million children, in the midst of a massive military onslaught. We therefore welcome yesterday's agreement because, if sustained and implemented in full respect of international humanitarian law, it may avert the catastrophe we have been warning against. To succeed, demilitarization requires the agreement of all parties. Short of such agreement, it is foreseeable that force would be used to demilitarize, and thus civilians would be exposed to the very harm we are trying to avoid.”
2018-09-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8355 (2018) · source
“Since the visit, of course, we have been totally focused on the danger that the looming Idlib catastrophe may totally upend our humanitarian agenda. As Mr. De Mistura has said, we welcome yesterday's news from Sochi. I want to be clear with the Council about what was at stake. From the Secretary-General down, we have consistently expressed alarm over the risks of a full- scale military offensive in north-west Syria. It was no exaggeration, merely a statement of fact, that such an onslaught would likely have presaged the worst humanitarian tragedy of the twenty-first century. Surveys of affected people undertaken last month showed that well over 2 million people could have been displaced in the event of a full-scale military operation.”
2018-09-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8355 (2018) · source
“Mr. Lowcock: As the Council is aware, I was in Damascus three weeks ago for talks with the Government. We had constructive discussions on a range of issues. Across much of the country, the situation is now calmer than it was when I last visited in January. However, humanitarian needs remain substantial and the Government expressed concern to me about the underfunding of the United Nations humanitarian response plan this year. I said that, in my judgment, addressing that would require improvement in needs assessment and access for humanitarian agencies, including my own Office, to assure both current and potential donors that help is genuinely targeted, in a neutral and impartial way, at the people in greatest need and, indeed, that such help reaches those same people.”
2018-09-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8355 (2018) · source
“That in turn requires safe, unimpeded and sustained access in line with the obligations of the parties to the conflict under international humanitarian law. The United Nations remains fully committed to working with the Syrian authorities and other stakeholders in that regard to demonstrate the principled nature of our collective effort and to ensure that we reach as many of the most vulnerable people as possible throughout the country.”
2018-07-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8320 (2018) · source
“That includes financial contributions to the projects in the Syria humanitarian assistance response plan, aid provided by neighbouring Governments and in-kind donations such as those provided by France, which were facilitated by the Russian Federation earlier this week and distributed in Douma yesterday. Unfortunately, the United Nations appeal for Syria this year remains substantially underfunded. Sustaining and increasing the confidence of donors depends on the ability of the United Nations and the humanitarian organizations, with which we work, first, to independently assess needs; secondly, to prioritize responses; and, thirdly, to provide assurance and evidence that help is reaching those in greatest need.”
2018-07-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8320 (2018) · source
“Humanitarian demining in Raqqa city and Deir ez-Zor remains a key priority, together with ongoing efforts to scale up broader humanitarian assistance. The humanitarian situation at Rukban, on the Jordan-Syria border, remains dire, with reports of diarrhoea and dehydration in the camp. Discussions on the deployment of an aid convoy to the area continue. Humanitarian organizations continue to reach millions ofpeople throughout Syria. More than 3 million people received food this past month, but in many areas, needs have continued to increase, in particular in the south-west and north-west, as well as in Raqqa. Our efforts to keep pace with the rapidly evolving situation depend on support from many Member States.”
2018-07-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8320 (2018) · source
“Humanitarian needs remain high in eastern Ghouta, although there are also reports of markets beginning to function again and some other normalizing activities. Close to 10,000 people from eastern Ghouta - mostly men between the ages of 15 and 65 - are reported to remain in displacement sites across rural Damascus. In the north-east, returns to Raqqa city have continued, despite risks related to high levels of explosive hazard contamination. There are also very serious concerns about civilians trapped in areas held by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham in the eastern part of Deir ez-Zor governorate, reports of civilian casualties in air strikes in Al-Sousa and Baghour Fukhani earlier this month, and hundreds of cases of diarrhoeal disease, including at least 12 deaths resulting from the consumption of contaminated water.”
2018-07-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8320 (2018) · source
“However, efforts continue to provide the necessary emergency support, in coordination with Syrian Arab Red Crescent and other local organizations. The United Nations and its partners continue to respond to the needs of people displaced from Afrin district in Tell Rifaat subdistrict, Nubul and Zahra towns, and in surrounding communities. Protection remains a key concern across the area, including in relation to freedom of movement for those wishing to return to their homes and relatedly ensuring that housing, land and property rights are fully respected. We also note worrying reports of insecurity in Afrin town itself, including two vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices being detonated late last month and killing 15 civilians and wounding 23.”
2018-07-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8320 (2018) · source
“The recent arrival of thousands of evacuees from the south-west follows a pattern seen elsewhere earlier this year, which resulted in nearly 120,000 people being displaced into the north-west from March to May. With violence continuing and the risk ofa further escalation looming, prepositioning of aid, together with efforts to scale up our ongoing response to immediate needs, is increasingly critical. I have briefed the Council many times on the appalling suffering of the people of Fo'ah and Kefraya, who have been besieged by armed groups for years. On 16 July, an agreement was reportedly reached to evacuate the towns with approximately 120 buses transporting people to the Mahalej shelter in Aleppo. The United Nations was not party to the agreement, and we have not had access to the evacuees.”
2018-07-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8320 (2018) · source
“Prepositioned supplies of shelter materials and basic household items for those people have now run out. That leaves displaced people exposed to soaring temperatures and desert winds. Access to water and sanitation is also of increasing concern, with deaths resulting from dehydration and contaminated water already reported. The response therefore now needs to be urgently scaled up across the south-west, and in Quneitra in particular. Since November 2017, the total number of people in need of assistance in Aleppo and Idlib governorates has increased by close to 600,000 to a total of 4.2 million people. Of those people, half are in acute need owing to new displacement, exposure to ongoing conflict, reduced access to food or water and other factors.”
2018-07-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8320 (2018) · source
“That has built on sustained efforts to preposition supplies through cross- border deliveries and now draws on programming from inside Syria, implemented through the Syrian Arab Red Crescent in agreement with the Government. That has included the delivery of food from the World Food Programme for approximately 200,000 people across Dar'a governorate in recent weeks. United Nations personnel went to Al-Sahwa and Kahil in Dar'a governorate to assess needs and deliver food on 12 July. On 15 July, United Nations personnel participated in a high-level mission to Nasib and Um Al-Mayazen in Dar'a, as well. However, an estimated 110,000 newly displaced people remain in Quneitra governorate in areas that have largely been cut off from sustained humanitarian assistance.”
2018-07-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8320 (2018) · source
“Mr. Lowcock: I am pleased to be here together with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict today. The appalling suffering that this war has wrought on Syria's children is truly unimaginable. Yet it is Syria's children who are the future of the country. Ensuring that their rights are respected, protected and fulfilled must be at the centre of all of our efforts. The Secretary-General's Envoy briefed the Security Council comprehensively in closed consultations on Wednesday on the hostilities in south-west Syria. I agree with everything that he said and I do not believe that I need to repeat it. What I would like to say is that the United Nations and its partners have mobilized a response, which is reaching tens of thousands of people across much of the south-west.”
2018-07-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8320 (2018) · source
“I again ask for the support of Council members for our efforts to ensure safe, unimpeded and sustained access, so we can help people like those in hard-to-reach areas who are in the greatest need.”
2018-05-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8269 (2018) · source
“United Nations convoys approved by the Government of Syria in those parts of the country under Government control provided food assistance for more than 2 million people last month. Cross-border deliveries, mandated under resolution 2393 (2017), provided food for nearly 850,000 people. We are, incidentally, due to present to the Council the review commissioned in that resolution next month. There are still more than 2 million people in hard- to-reach areas. Those 2 million people, in places like northern rural Horns, Douma and southern Damascus, are some of the most desperate in the country. Just six inter-agency convoys have reached those areas so far this year, helping 169,000 people. That is less than 20 per cent of the people we would like to be reaching.”
2018-05-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8269 (2018) · source
“Those involved 89 deaths and 135 injuries. We are investigating a number of cases of medical facilities being attacked shortly after having been deconflicted. I want to emphasize how concerned I am about that. It is an issue on which I may have to come back to the Council. I want to say finally a few words about the humanitarian response and the number of people we are helping despite all these problems. In Syria we are running one of the world's largest humanitarian operations, and it continues to save lives every day. A nationwide immunization awareness campaign took place from 22 to 30 April. Initial results indicate that nearly 325,000 children were vaccinated against measles and 1.3 million children under five years old were vaccinated against polio.”
2018-05-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8269 (2018) · source
“Many of the recent new arrivals in Idlib have come from northern rural Horns. Some 35,000 people were evacuated from that area earlier this month, after a significant escalation. An inter-agency convoy - the first in more than two months - is due to go to northern rural Homs tomorrow with assistance for nearly 93,000 people, following the receipt of facilitation letters on Sunday During last week's open debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict (see S/PV.8264), the Secretary-General spoke about medical facilities being routinely attacked and about medical personnel being targeted or prevented from carrying out their duties around the world. Violence against health-care and health personnel remains a grim hallmark ofthe conflict in Syria. Ninety-two attacks have been documented over the first four months of this year.”
2018-05-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8269 (2018) · source
“In Raqqa, the United Nations and its partners continue to provide assistance, including monthly food rations, household items, water trucking, psychosocial support for children and primary health-care services. However, while 135,000 people are now reported to have returned to Raqqa city, safety remains a very serious concern owing to high levels of explosive hazards. The situation in Idlib is alarming, with air strikes, clashes between armed groups, overcrowding and severely stretched basic services deepening the suffering of both displaced people who have fled to Idlib and host communities. More than 80,000 newly displaced people have arrived in Idlib since March. Keeping pace with the increase in needs in Idlib has involved redirecting resources from other activities.”
2018-05-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8269 (2018) · source
“The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reports that as few as 100 refugees may now remain in the camp. Humanitarian organizations have not been able to access Yarmouk, but UNRWA was allowed to carry out a rapid needs assessment in neighbouring Yalda yesterday. An inter-agency convoy to the area is now a key priority. I ask the Government to issue facilitation letters for that convoy. On Rukban, discussions continue on how to deliver aid safely. That long-running issue is still not resolved. Humanitarian agencies are working closely with the Syrian authorities, the United States, the Russian Federation and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to get agreement on a convoy.”
2018-05-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8269 (2018) · source
“Inside Afrin, humanitarian assistance provided from across the border has been critical for many people. Findings from a recent needs assessment tell us that most health facilities in rural areas remain closed, many medical personnel have fled and many schools, markets and bakeries are not functioning. We are still concerned about reports that people are being prevented from leaving areas of displacement in Tell Rifaat, although we hear that some may have been able to return to Afrin in recent days. Yarmouk camp and surrounding areas in southern Damascus saw fierce fighting in the past month, resulting in the loss of life and the displacement of an estimated 6,000 people - most of them Palestinian refugees. Last week, combatants and civilians began to be evacuated from Yarmouk.”
2018-05-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8269 (2018) · source
“That, and the needs of almost 200,000 people believed to have remained throughout the violence, makes access to the area even more critical. The Government has already approved an inter-agency convoy to bring assistance to 70,000 people in Douma as part of the current bi-monthly plan, but that convoy has not gone, because facilitation letters have not been provided. Therefore, I reiterate our request to the Government of Syria to facilitate access to eastern Ghouta, so that needs can be assessed and assistance and protection scaled up. The humanitarian situation in and around Afrin remains highly complex. The United Nations and others continue to provide assistance, including food, nutrition, shelter, water, sanitation, hygiene and protection services to people displaced from Afrin to Tell Rifaat and elsewhere.”
2018-05-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8269 (2018) · source
“The collaboration that underpinned that effort must now extend into eastern Ghouta itself, as people there begin to try to rebuild their lives. We are providing assistance through the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, but the United Nations itself has received authorization to visit eastern Ghouta only once since mid-March. That was for a visit to Sagba and Kafr Batna on 14 May. During that visit we observed the resumption of some services, with electricity, education and health facilities starting up, for example, and a limited number of businesses and markets reopening, but it was clear that there are huge unmet needs and extensive destruction of civilian infrastructure. The authorities report that more than 10,000 people have returned to eastern Ghouta from rural Damascus over the past two weeks.”
2018-05-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8269 (2018) · source
“Mr. Lowcock: I am going to start today with eastern Ghouta, about which the Security Council has had many discussions and we have provided many briefings over the past five months, not least in respect of resolution 2401 (2018). After it regained control of the area, the Government of Syria asked the United Nations to provide assistance to local people. I released $16 million for that from the Syria Humanitarian Fund, for which I am responsible. The United Nations asked for visas for additional staff to work on the problems of the area, some of which were granted. Over the past two months, local, national and international humanitarian organizations have worked in sites in neighbouring areas that are hosting people displaced from eastern Ghouta. We are providing food, water, shelter, medical services and protection.”
2018-05-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8269 (2018) · source
“As we approach the conference to be held in Brussels on 24 and 25 April, we have an immediate opportunity to make progress on easing the humanitarian suffering by ensuring that the humanitarian operations are fully funded. With an appeal that is currently less than 15 per cent funded, I cannot overstate the importance of sustaining and scaling up the international response.”
2018-04-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8236 (2018) · source
“On 25 March, the United Nations and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent delivered assistance to 50,000 people in need in Tell Rifaat. Overall, while these are positive developments, humanitarian partners are still struggling to gain sustained access to Afrin, and freedom of movement for internally displaced persons remains very limited. On 25 March the United Nations also submitted a request to the Syrian authorities for the deployment of an inter-agency surge team to scale up the United Nations operational capacity in Syria. Response to a request for an additional 17 United Nations staff to be deployed for a four-week period was received on 11 April, authorizing the deployment of 12 United Nations staff.”
2018-04-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8236 (2018) · source
“This extreme situation puts incredible pressure on the host communities and the humanitarian actors working cross-border to provide assistance and services. Fighting among non-State armed opposition groups in Idlib is further complicating the situation for those in need in the area. Those remaining in Afrin, as well as the 137,000 people who were displaced to Government- controlled Tell Rifaat and the surrounding areas, are also in dire need of humanitarian aid and must be granted freedom of movement. This includes those who need medical evacuation from Tell Rifaat to nearby Aleppo. Between 2 and 4 April, several Turkish-facilitated United Nations cross-border shipments consisting of food supplies, health and other relief items were sent to assist people in need in Afrin district.”
2018-04-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8236 (2018) · source
“The United Nations and partners are responding to the mounting humanitarian needs of the 155,000 people displaced from eastern Ghouta with food, shelter, health care and other assistance and protection services. However, for those in the overcrowded sites for internally displaced persons around eastern Ghouta, as well as for those who left on buses for Idlib and Aleppo governorates, the situation is precarious. Of the 155,000 who have been displaced, about 63,000 have moved north to Idlib and Aleppo, joining the nearly 400,000 people who have been displaced from southern Idlib since 15 December. As a result, there has been a 25 per cent increase in Idlib's displaced population, with 1.2 million of the governorate's 2 million people now displaced, many of them multiple times.”
2018-04-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8236 (2018) · source
“Humanitarian agencies are working closely with the United States, the Russian Federation and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to make this delivery possible, noting the importance of finalizing arrangements for the safety of the operation, since the current security guarantees permit movement only to an area some 10 kilometres outside Rukban. Discussions continue on how aid can be best delivered, providing safe delivery oflife-saving help to those in need. The town of Douma and other areas in eastern Ghouta are now under the control of the Government of Syria. After years of deprivation under siege, those who remain in the area still require urgent assistance that we, as the humanitarian community, have yet to be able to provide. Access to reach people throughout eastern Ghouta is critical.”
2018-04-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8236 (2018) · source
“It will also complement the ongoing response for those displaced and in need across north-eastern Syria, where nearly 900,000 people are receiving assistance each month. In Rukban, some 50,000 people continue to be in need of sustained humanitarian assistance. Water and basic health care are being provided from Jordan, but there is a pressing need for better service provision and, in some cases, for referrals elsewhere for medical help. People in that area last received assistance, delivered from Jordan, in early January. Approval for a United Nations inter-agency convoy from Damascus to Rukban was received from the Government of Syria on 18 March.”
2018-04-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8236 (2018) · source
“While public services are slowly resuming - with at least 37 bakeries operating, for example - the city lacks electricity and mobile communications, and water is being pumped at only a very limited capacity to the outskirts ofthe city. As many as 95 per cent ofhouseholds that have returned to Raqqa are food insecure. Health services are lacking or severely limited. Some schools have reopened, although they are lacking school materials and other supplies. Following the 1 April assessment, United Nations agencies are planning deliveries of humanitarian assistance and programmatic interventions. This response will support the ongoing activities of the humanitarian organizations already active inside Raqqa that are providing food, health care and other basic services.”
2018-04-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8236 (2018) · source
“On 1 April, the United Nations undertook an assessment mission to Raqqa. Since the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant was forced out of Raqqa in October, nearly 100,000 people have returned to Raqqa city. However, conditions are not conducive to returns, due to the high levels of unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive device contamination, widespread and severe infrastructural damage, and a lack of basic services. More than 50 casualties of remnants of war have been reported every week. With the onset of spring, we are concerned that Children playing outside will be particularly vulnerable. An estimated 70 to 80 per cent of all buildings inside Raqqa city have been destroyed or damaged.”
2018-04-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8236 (2018) · source
“Mr. Lowcock: Since the adoption ofresolution 2401 (2018), the Secretary-General has on many occasions called for its full implementation. However, rather than implement the resolution of the Council, we have seen parties to the conflict sustain intense military activity at an enormous human cost. Today, we have been asked to provide an update on the humanitarian situation in Raqqa and Rukban. We have also been asked to cover humanitarian issues in Syria at large, in particular in Ghouta, Idlib and Afrin. Let me start with Raqqa city and Rukban. The population of those two places total only about 1 per cent of the number of Syrians in need of humanitarian help, but their needs are no less important than those of the 99 per cent of their compatriots needing assistance in other parts of the country.”
2018-04-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8236 (2018) · source
“That adds a further dimension to the civil war and puts many civilians at great risk. I want to remind all parties that they have obligations under international humanitarian law. Restraint is needed to avoid any escalation that would worsen still further the suffering of ordinary people. While the humanitarian response can do, and is doing, a lot, it cannot resolve this crisis. I therefore echo the Special Envoy's call for all parties to engage meaningfully with the United Nations without preconditions to achieve a lasting negotiated settlement towards sustainable peace.”
2018-04-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8235 (2018) · source
“Yemeni public servants who are doing so much themselves to prepare for and respond to the crisis need their salaries paid. Most health and sanitation workers have still not been paid for more than a year and a half. The impact ofair strikes, shelling and fighting on the civilian population, particularly in Al-Hudaydah, Taiz, Saada, Hadramut and Hajjah governorates is deeply worrying. Civilian lives are lost. Public infrastructure is destroyed. Displacement is increasing. Mines and the remnants of war affect agricultural production and the Wider economy, as well as threatening civilian life. Some 3 million women and girls are at risk of sexual and gender-based violence. Like the Special Envoy, Itoo remain very concerned about missiles being launched into Saudi Arabia from within Yemen.”
2018-04-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8235 (2018) · source
“Unless steps are taken now in high-risk districts, we will risk another major cholera outbreak. Last year's outbreak of cholera and watery diarrhoea struck more than a million people. The effects continue to linger. As we enter the rainy season, the conditions that created this outbreak are still present. Applying the lessons from last year, we are doing everything we can to respond. Agencies are pre-positioning supplies, chlorinating water sources and launching a vaccination campaign. As with other challenges, a successful response requires safe, unimpeded and unhindered access across and into Yemen for humanitarian staff and humanitarian supplies. We need predictable fuel imports to keep hospitals and water treatment plants running.”
2018-04-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8235 (2018) · source
“Humanitarian staff continue to face delays with regard to visas and project approvals, restrictions on imports and customs clearance, and long delays and searches at checkpoints. In recent weeks, some of the media in Sana'a have depicted humanitarian operations inaccurately and unjustly, and humanitarian staff have been detained. We are also concerned about insecurity in parts of the country, particularly in the south. While we have partial access to all of Yemen's 333 districts, restrictions and insecurity mean that an estimated 1.2 million people in need of assistance live in areas inaccessible to humanitarian organizations. All impediments that prevent humanitarians from reaching people must stop. Looking ahead, we continue to face enormous challenges.”
2018-04-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8235 (2018) · source
“Price increases, especially of food, are forcing hundreds of thousands of destitute families to turn to humanitarian assistance for their very survival. We are also concerned that Sana'a airport remains closed to commercial traffic, thereby preventing thousands of critically ill patients from travelling abroad to seek treatment unavailable in Yemen. On several occasions, over the past month, military activities conducted in the proximity of the airport have affected humanitarian flights. Last week, there were serious incidents close to humanitarian locations that had been deconflicted. We are working closely with all parties to ensure that they are not repeated. Within Yemen, bureaucratic impediments imposed by decision-makers in Sana'a are affecting relief operations.”
2018-04-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8235 (2018) · source
“Commercial shortages and delays at ports have led to sharp increases in the price of food and household necessities. Ports are the lifeline of Yemen. We are doing our part to ensure that they can function properly. I am pleased to confirm that steps are being taken to further strengthen the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism, which screens commercial shipments to Al-Hudaydah and Saleef ports. We are encouraging all those concerned to accelerate the normalization of commercial shipments into Al-Hudaydah and Saleef, as well as to Yemen's other ports. We are worried that shipping companies are reluctant to enter Yemeni waters. The reasons are related to problems with foreign exchange and the banking sector, as well as the ports, but the result is that insufficient food is being imported. That needs to be addressed.”
2018-04-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8235 (2018) · source
“That was not just an exceptionally large contribution; it was also prompt, swift, unearmarked and unconditional, and it has already been fully disbursed. All parties to the conflict must take practical steps to protect civilians and facilitate humanitarian access, in line with their obligations under international humanitarian law. The record on that issue remains mixed. There have been improvements. United Nations humanitarian flights and vessels are moving regularly. That is positive, but we remain very concerned about commercial imports through all of Yemen's ports, most particularly Al-Hudaydah and Saleef. Before the war, Yemen relied on imports to cover 90 per cent of staple foods and nearly all its medicine and fuel needs.”
2018-04-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8235 (2018) · source
“Every week, dozens of humanitarian movements, including food convoys, and hundreds of specific humanitarian locations are deconflicted by the parties to the conflict. We are able to reach people in all 333 districts, and in each district we aim to collect data on how many people receive aid every month. Earlier this month, Sweden, Switzerland and the Secretary-General co-chaired a pledging conference for Yemen. In the words of the Secretary-General, "It was a remarkable success of international solidarity". Forty Member States and regional organizations pledged more than $2 billion. I thank them for that generosity. Allow me particularly to recognize the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for their $930 million contribution to the humanitarian response plan.”
2018-04-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8235 (2018) · source