YouSaid · the spoken record

Marcaillou

lines on the record

14

first

2019-10-24

most recent

2019-10-24

sittings or episodes

1

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un-security-council

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1. “The registration of the operators will be done by the Government of Syria. In the absence of national humanitarian mine action capacity, the Government has also agreed that UNMAS will undertake to accredit, coordinate and assess the work of such operators. The humanitarian response plan for Syria, the humanitarian needs overview and strict adherence to the humanitarian principles of impartiality, neutrality, independence and humanity will continue to frame UNMAS activities.”

   2019-10-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8645 (2019) · source

2. “The aim is to achieve consistent and coherent messaging on explosive hazard-risk education from the area of departure to the area of resettlement when the conditions are met for voluntary, dignified and safe return. Since 2016, the humanitarian response plan for Syria has increasingly prioritized mine action, risk education, victim assistance and explosive hazard survey and clearance. As clearance of explosive hazards is the only means of definitively removing the threat, plans for the identification of explosive contamination and surveys, as well marking, fencing off and removal, are currently under discussion. The Government of Syria has agreed that UNMAS should now consider reinforcing the implementation of its activities with the assistance of international mine action operators.”

   2019-10-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8645 (2019) · source

3. “With the evacuation by international mine action non-governmental organizations earlier this month, owing to recent military developments in the country, there are currently no humanitarian mine action operations in north-eastern Syria. On behalf of the humanitarian mine action sector, I would like to stress the importance of continuity and of the resumption of humanitarian mine action in that area of the country. UNMAS works closely with the Office ofthe United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, in Syria and in neighbouring countries that host Syrian refugees on the integration of mine action into national returnee response plans.”

   2019-10-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8645 (2019) · source

4. “Risk-education materials have been distributed to over 280,000 at-risk individuals and more than 100 schools. Approximately 3,800 survivors of explosive hazards have received victim assistance services, varying from physical rehabilitation, continued medical support and psychological support. In the absence of an UNMAS presence in north- eastern Syria, UNMAS has made available standardized risk-awareness materials to be distributed to affected populations as part of the ongoing emergency humanitarian response. UNMAS continues to stand ready to support United Nations inter-agency missions, including assessment missions.”

   2019-10-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8645 (2019) · source

5. “The launch of the Mine Action subsector on 9 October in Damascus, during my visit, was well attended by the humanitarian sector, comprising humanitarian civil society operators and United Nations entities. Their statements at that meeting evidenced the sector's interest and need to benefit from the platform in order to enhance coordination, exchange information and support the prioritization of tasks. Pursuant to resolution 2449 (2018), 365 communities in Aleppo, Idlib and northern Hama governorates were surveyed and more than 370 hazardous items were identified and marked through collective efforts by the Mine Action subcluster between January and July. In addition, some 677,000 people received direct risk education in 73 subdistricts ranked from highly severe to catastrophic in accordance with the protection severity scale.”

   2019-10-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8645 (2019) · source

6. “In support to the United Nations country team, UNMAS has provided train-the-trainers sessions for 32 agency staff in 2019, enabling them to deliver explosive hazards-risk awareness briefings to their colleagues working to provide humanitarian aid and relief in locations where explosive hazards impact their safety. The United Nations staff who were trained are based in different regional sub-offices, including in north- eastern Syria. Earlier this year, UNMAS launched a one-month awareness campaign on social media and through text messaging, reaching all subscribers of the two Syrian telecommunication companies. That allowed us to reach out to over 55 million people with brief messages on risk-education awareness.”

   2019-10-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8645 (2019) · source

7. “Since January 2019, UNMAS in Damascus has trained 70 risk-education facilitators, who have since been deployed to rural Damascus. To date, they have reached out to some 18,000 people in 60 communities; current plans are to conduct outreach in southern governorates before December. That number is insignificant compared to the 11.5 million people in need, but it is a start, and we intend to use all means and tools at our disposal to reach a greater number of Syrians throughout the country. In addition, this month UNMAS has also started its risk-education activities in Hama governorate, where an estimated 46 communities severely affected by explosive hazards will be reached by the end of the year. Training trainers and national staffworking in United Nations local outposts will also contribute to expanding our outreach.”

   2019-10-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8645 (2019) · source

8. “UNMAS has been supporting the humanitarian mine action sector in Syria since 2016 at the request of the Resident Humanitarian Coordinator at the time and in line with resolution 2165 (2014). In October 2018, UNMAS opened its Damascus office, and in January 2019, we were ready with Syria-specific material and gender and age-tailored curricula to complement the explosive-hazard-risk education of UNICEF. Since then, UNMAS has been working towards the expansion of humanitarian mine action activities across Syria. The objective of UNMAS is to reduce the impact of explosive hazards on the civilian population, including by providing overall coordination of the humanitarian mine action sector to address the most urgent needs more safely and more effectively.”

   2019-10-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8645 (2019) · source

9. “During my mission to Syria earlier this month, all members of the Damascus-based humanitarian country team and the mine action sub-sector affirmed that humanitarian access is impeded by the contamination of a wide variety of explosive ordnance. During my visit to Aleppo, I personally witnessed the level of destruction and contamination of areas where people come back to live when, together with my colleagues from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and UNICEF, based in Aleppo, we also visited damaged and destroyed schools, where children had been recently killed and wounded by explosive ordnance when they had just run back to school to play.”

   2019-10-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8645 (2019) · source

10. “That provides one of the main incomes of communities in need. It is extremely difficult to prevent people looking for an income and a way of surviving from accessing rural areas although they are contaminated. That is the reality that we the United Nations see nearly every day when we are operating in the country. While men and boys are considered to be more exposed to the direct immediate threat of explosive incidents, women and girls are also affected by the indirect impact linked to limitations in freedom of movement and the exacerbation of underlying vulnerabilities. Moreover, the death and injuries of men and boys now compel women to increasingly take on their husbands' former activities, thereby increasing their exposure to the threat of explosives.”

    2019-10-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8645 (2019) · source

11. “The explosive ordnance contamination affects agricultural land, roads, homes and critical civilian infrastructure, such as schools and health centres, but also water and electricity plants in need of repair. The contamination severely impacts the lives and livelihoods of the population and further amplifies the social and economic crisis. Internally displaced persons fleeing violence are among the most vulnerable, as are those who are farming, herding and removing rubble - activities reported to be among the most risk-prone activities in Syria. Available reports show that about 50 per cent of accidents take place in rural areas and one out of every four accidents occurs in the immediate vicinity of residential buildings. By way of information, the truffle season is just starting in the Aleppo governorate.”

    2019-10-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8645 (2019) · source

12. “Based on available data, for each known explosive accident, an average of 1.5 people are killed and two people are physically injured, with approximately one in three survivors suffering the amputation of at least one limb. The number of casualties from explosive hazards is increasingly putting pressure on an already weakened and struggling health sector. In addition, we must not forget the overwhelming number of civilians suffering from eight years of psychotrauma inflicted by explosions and the consequences that that kind of trauma will have, for instance, on children's learning ability as well as on individuals' behaviour, including community as well as gender-based violence.”

    2019-10-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8645 (2019) · source

13. “While the full scale of contamination is not known, preliminary findings for the 2020 Humanitarian Needs Overview indicate that 2,563 communities are contaminated with explosive ordnance, affecting some 11.5 million people. That is a dramatic increase from the 2019 figures, when 10.2 million people were estimated to be at risk in 1,980 communities. So far, the year 2019 recorded an average of 184 explosive incidents a day. The impact of explosive hazards on communities is immediate and devastating and the extensive use of improvised explosive devices further compounds the complexity of the threat. Most times, explosive hazard incidents result in serious injury and/or death, leading to long- term physical and psychological trauma for survivors and their families.”

    2019-10-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8645 (2019) · source

14. “I am honoured and pleased to be present among members to brief the Security Council today on an unusual angle for the Council on the situation in Syria. Allow me to thank the Council for the opportunity to share information that the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) can contribute to its deliberations. (spoke in English) I want to begin by affirming the full commitment of the UnitedNations Mine Action Service to alleviating the suffering of the people of Syria, where a humanitarian crisis is further exacerbated by the contamination of explosive ordnance. In Syria, mine action is considered by all stakeholders to be an immediate and essential requirement to respond adequately to humanitarian needs in the country.”

    2019-10-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8645 (2019) · source