YouSaid · the spoken record

Mark Lowcock

lines on the record: 336
first: 2020-03-30
most recent: 2021-05-26
sittings or episodes: 28
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

“Distributions are under way, with plans to reach more than 3 million people identified as those most in need. Current funding, however, will only allow us to reach 2.3 million of those 3 million people. I thank the donors who are supporting the effort, but more is needed.”
2020-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1257 (2020) · source
“As another year comes to an end, families in Syria remain without respite after almost a decade of conflict. Millions have been displaced and impoverished. Millions have suffered trauma and deep personal loss. Even as active conflict in some areas has subsided, economic decay and the compounding impact of COVID-19 are driving deterioration in people’s lives and experiences. Food insecurity and malnutrition are expected to rise significantly, as is the overall number of people in need of humanitarian assistance. An escalation of hostilities would be all the more devastating against that backdrop. As we have briefed the Council for the past few months, one immediate concern is getting winter assistance to families, as temperatures are now dropping.”
2020-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1257 (2020) · source
“Those incidents exemplify how vulnerable humanitarian operations in the north-east are to disruption. When aid is suspended, those most in need are the ones who suffer, and such suffering is needless. International humanitarian law requires that all parties allow and facilitate the rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need. In addition, three children died in a fire at the camp in Al-Hol last week, reportedly caused by a kerosene cooker. That tragic incident once again underscores the challenging conditions at Al-Hol. It is simply no place for children — tens of thousands of children — to grow up. Tent fires usually increase in the winter, as families try to keep warm with whatever means available to them. Unfortunately, we have to expect more such incidents in the coming months.”
2020-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1257 (2020) · source
“Water supply from the Ayn Al-Bayda pumping station to Al-Bab could meet those needs and should immediately resume. My next point is humanitarian access. In October, a humanitarian organization delivering WFP food assistance in north-east Syria was instructed by the Syrian Government to stop distributing food aid to around 220,000 people in non-Government controlled areas of Raqqah governorate. Distributions to all areas were able to resume earlier this month after a two-month disruption. Moreover, in the north-east, in late November, local authorities suspended operations of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) in Al-Hol and Al-Roj camps, which together accommodate some 65,000 people, which disrupted food distributions and waste management, as well as some health-care services. SARC activities resumed on 1 December.”
2020-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1257 (2020) · source
“That is the fifteenth disruption this year, and it affects almost half a million people in Al-Hassakeh, forcing them to resort to potentially unsafe alternative sources of water.Humanitarian organizations are trucking more than 2,000 cubic metres of water to the area every day and are working to scale up further, but that is neither enough nor sustainable. A solution therefore must be found to ensure an uninterrupted water supply from Allouk. In the meantime, safe access to water and electricity installations must continue for the technical teams. In the north-west, water shortages also continue to be reported in Al-Bab city and surrounding areas, affecting 185,000 people. Electricity from Turkish providers last month increased pumping at local wells, but supply continues to fall short of needs.”
2020-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1257 (2020) · source
“In areas of displacement in the north-west, up to 37 per cent of mothers are also malnourished. My next point is the protection of civilians from hostilities in recent weeks, putting civilians at risk in the north-west and increasingly in an area such as Ayn Issa. We all know the immediate and devastating human cost of military escalations in Syria. I echo the calls of the Secretary-General and the Special Envoy for a nationwide ceasefire. Infrastructure that is indispensable to civilians’ survival must also be protected. Allouk water station again stopped pumping water on 3 December as a result of a disruption in the power supply to the station.”
2020-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1257 (2020) · source
“Both remain in short supply, and reports continue of long queues at bakeries and petrol stations. The market price of a standard reference food basket is higher now than at any point since price monitoring by the World Food Programme (WFP) began in Syria in 2013. More than 80 per cent of displaced families across the country now say that their income does not cover their needs. Families in which women are the primary breadwinners are even worse off. They make 30 per cent less, on average, than other displaced families. The impact on the most vulnerable is clear from the data. In the north-west, child stunting increased by 5 per cent this year. We estimate that 34 per cent of children in north-west Syria — more than one in three children under the age of five — suffer from stunting.”
2020-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1257 (2020) · source
“The World Health Organization and UNICEF are working with education providers to strengthen COVID-19 preventive actions in schools. Beyond the immediate health impact, we are extremely worried about the secondary effects of the pandemic, including on access to education. An analysis recently by Save the Children found that an estimated two thirds of children in northern Syria are out of school. Apart from COVID-19, teachers say that children are dropping out because of rising poverty. That brings me to my second point, which is the impact of the economic crisis. As my Deputy told the Security Council last month (see S/2020/1147, annex 1), even subsidized prices of essentials have surged. Prices of subsidized bread have doubled, and prices of subsidized diesel have more than doubled, since September.”
2020-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1257 (2020) · source
“I will focus today on five areas: first, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19); secondly, the humanitarian impact of the economic crisis; thirdly, the protection of civilians; fourthly, humanitarian access; and, lastly, our assessment of the humanitarian situation as 2020 draws to a close. The number of reported COVID-19 cases in Syria continues to rise, although limited testing in all parts of the country makes the extent of the outbreak impossible to assess with any certainty. Bed occupancy rates of 100 per cent are being reported in Sweida, Homs and other governorates, but we also know that many people who are sick are reluctant to seek in-patient treatment. The number of reported cases in schools, which are often overcrowded and often suffer poor or damaged infrastructure, more than tripled during November.”
2020-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1257 (2020) · source
“Lastly, humanitarian agencies, if they scale up their assistance as necessary, need to receive all possible resources, particularly in order to deal with severe food insecurity. We therefore need additional resources for the Humanitarian Response Plan. And I once again urge donors to please give generously and quickly.”
2020-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1237 (2020) · source
“First and foremost, all actors with any influence must work to de-escalate the violence. Humanitarian partners are worried that a spike in violence in early 2021 is likely as the dry season starts, because we have seen such spikes in previous years and we worry particularly about their effects on people. That could be catastrophic and would push many more people to the brink. We also need to see efforts continue to find political solutions, obviously, in order to end the violence that causes such famine trends. Secondly, humanitarian agencies frankly need more support from the Government of South Sudan for safe and unhindered access so that they can reach people who desperately need help.”
2020-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1237 (2020) · source
“Health-care clinics and food warehouses have been looted on at least 20 occasions in Jonglei and Pibor. Some 144 aid workers had to be relocated this year because of threats to their security. Most abhorrently, as Mr. Shearer said, nine aid workers have been killed this year in South Sudan, eight of them in Jonglei and Pibor. Two more aid workers have been killed since I last briefed the Council in September. That is unacceptable. All aid workers, from local and international NGOs, the International Committee of the Red Cross and United Nations agencies, which continue to stay and deliver in an extremely challenging environment, must be protected. Let me conclude by reiterating three things that need to happen now to prevent the famine problem worsening.”
2020-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1237 (2020) · source
“The humanitarian response in country has kept millions from sliding into famine. Aid agencies have assisted more than 6 million people across the country this year. UNICEF, the WFP and the agencies, especially the NGOs they work with, have already treated nearly 600,000 children affected by acute malnutrition, and I am pleased to report that 94 per cent of those children have recovered. That shows how effective support can be if people get the help they need on time and aid workers are able to do their job. Once again, however, as Mr. Shearer also alluded to, it is getting harder for aid workers to deliver assistance in South Sudan, especially in the parts of the country that are facing the most severe food insecurity. Access in Greater Pibor Administrative Area has been particularly difficult this year.”
2020-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1237 (2020) · source
“We need more funding to ensure that food, livelihoods, health-care services and other life-saving programmes are supported in the six counties that I talked about earlier, as well as across the entire country. At nearly $2 billion, the South Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan for 2020 is the largest ever for the country. It is currently only two-thirds funded as we approach the end of the year. We expect needs to be even higher next year. Early funding would help a lot to get ahead of needs, which we can expect to see increase in early 2021 as a result of the dry season, as Mr. Shearer alluded to. I want to pay special credit to our humanitarian colleagues in South Sudan, led ably and with great dedication by Mr. Shearer’s deputy, Alain Noudéhou. Most humanitarian workers in South Sudan are themselves South Sudanese.”
2020-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1237 (2020) · source
“I have provided $39 million from CERF to South Sudan so far this year, a substantial proportion of which is for addressing rising food insecurity. That includes the $7 million allocation I made the other day as part of the overall special CERF allocation for dealing globally with food insecurity. Humanitarian agencies and non-governmental agencies (NGOs) in South Sudan are scaling up a response across sectors in all of the worst-affected six counties. Agencies working on food security were able to distribute emergency food to nearly 78,000 people in Pibor in November. The World Food Programme (WFP) has expanded its air fleet so that we can get food, nutrition and health-care services delivered more quickly in a challenging logistical and security environment. But we need to do more.”
2020-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1237 (2020) · source
“Considerably more than 1 million children under the age of five are predicted to be malnourished. That is the highest number in four years. Families facing the most severe food security problems have already exhausted their emergency coping strategies and consequently rely on food aid if they are going to survive. Under such extreme conditions, people, especially women and girls, are left with little choice but to adopt harmful coping mechanisms. Girls are more likely to be forced into early marriage or drop out of school. In many cases, as we know, when girls drop out of school, they never return. What are humanitarian partners doing to try to meet the growing need to stave off famine? The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and South Sudan Humanitarian Fund continue to play an important role.”
2020-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1237 (2020) · source
“Two consecutive years of intense flooding have subsequently made the situation worse. More than half a million people in Jonglei and the Greater Pibor Administrative Area and close to 400,000 people in Warrap state have been affected by the compounded effects of flooding and fighting. On top of that, COVID-19, with its socioeconomic impact, has made life even harder. South Sudan’s economy continues to contract, partly as a result of falling oil prices. Essential commodity and food prices are increasing in the face of a rapidly depreciating exchange rate and subsequent inflation. Overall this year, 7.5 million people in South Sudan — which, we should remember, is more than 60 per cent of the entire country — are in need of humanitarian assistance. That number is likely to increase once the IPC results are finalized.”
2020-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1237 (2020) · source
“Millions of South Sudanese people have been pushed to the breaking point. Violence, flooding, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and a deteriorating economy are making an already bad humanitarian crisis much worse, especially in the six counties that I just mentioned. Violence continues to be one of the main drivers of severe food insecurity in South Sudan, and, correspondingly, we see the highest levels of acute food insecurity in the places most affected by violence. In the first of half of the year, four successive waves of major violence in Jonglei and the Greater Pibor Administrative Area displaced nearly 160,000 people. In Warrap state, where three of the counties with IPC phase 5 classification are located, nearly 100,000 people were displaced, owing to violence from May to June.”
2020-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1237 (2020) · source
“The Real-Time Quality Review of the global Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), which was just completed, identified five counties in Jonglei, Warrap, and Northern Bahr el Ghazal states — Akobo, Aweil South, Tonj East, Tonj North and Tonj South — where between 5 and 10 per cent of the population are living in IPC phase 5, meaning they face “catastrophic” levels of food insecurity. In some places, the number of people in IPC phase 5 is going to grow from now to July 2021. Although this analysis at the country level continues to be finalized, the IPC Review Committee also presented a “famine likely” situation in western Pibor county last week. It would therefore be fair to say that our fears from September have now materialized in these six counties. How did we get here?”
2020-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1237 (2020) · source
“Back in September, if members recall, I briefed the Security Council on worsening food insecurity in South Sudan (see S/2020/930, annex I), and one day after that, with David Beasley and Qu Dongyu, I warned the Council of multiple famines looming. Since then, I have also provided the Council with a detailed description of what a famine does to a human being’s body and mind in a briefing I gave to members on Yemen (see S/2020/1109, annex II). Unfortunately, people in parts of South Sudan, as Special Representative David Shearer alluded to, are on the brink of famine today.”
2020-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1237 (2020) · source
“Our immediate message on the economy therefore remains the same. Yemen’s partners must provide a regular supply of foreign exchange to stave off the worst economic collapse and the famine that would follow. My final point is progress towards peace. Martin Griffiths just briefed the Council on the status of the joint declaration and its humanitarian and economic confidence-building measures. Many of those measures, including a nationwide ceasefire, resuming salary payments and reopening the Sana’a airport, could be game-changers, especially if they come along with more money for the relief effort. In conclusion, when I think about what famine would mean, I am at a loss to understand why more is not being done to prevent it.”
2020-11-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1109 (2020) · source
“Yemen’s currency continues to lose value. In the south, the exchange rate is hovering around 840 rials to the United States dollar — the lowest rate in its history. The Government is unable to defend the currency or subsidize imports because it lacks the foreign-currency reserves. Essential fuel imports through Al-Hudaydah also remain far below the requirements as a result of the still unresolved political dispute between the Government and the Ansar Allah authorities over revenue management. That dispute prompted the Government to suspend commercial fuel imports through Al-Hudaydah in June, although the Government has also allowed some vessels through on an exceptional basis, and fuel imports through other ports have reportedly increased. The parties must work with Martin Griffiths’s team to resolve the underlying fuel dispute.”
2020-11-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1109 (2020) · source
“With seven weeks left in the year, our response plan has received $1.5 billion, or about 45 per cent of requirements. At this time last year, we had received twice as much — almost $3 billion. David Beasley will give Council members more detail on the implications for emergency food aid. Beyond that, 9 million Yemenis could lose access to basic health services, and the treatment of more than half a million malnourished children could stop. More money for the aid operation is the quickest and most efficient way to support famine prevention efforts right now. So, I implore donors to fulfil outstanding pledges and to increase their support. More than $200 million in pledges this year, including new funding announced in September, has still not been paid. The fourth issue is Yemen’s economic decline, which is exacerbating the risk of famine.”
2020-11-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1109 (2020) · source
“There has been important progress on some of the problems, including assessments and project approvals. On Sunday, a long-planned pilot finally began in Sana’a to introduce the biometric registration of emergency food aid recipients. David Beasley will talk more about that. Those are important steps, but much more remains to be done. Tomorrow, senior donor and agency officials, convened by Sweden and the European Union, will meet to review developments and to plan for the future. The Council will also be expecting me to update members on the FSO Safer tanker. We are yet to receive official approval for the assessment and the initial repair mission. After several more rounds of extensive discussions, the Ansar Allah authorities continue to indicate that they will approve the mission. My third point is funding for the humanitarian response.”
2020-11-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1109 (2020) · source
“It would also help to stop the slide towards famine, as the data confirm that the worst hunger is in conflict-affected areas. The Secretary- General called for a global ceasefire in the face of COVID-19 in March — a call that he then reiterated specifically for Yemen. The second issue is safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access. We recently saw two disturbing attacks against humanitarian staff. On 19 October, a Turkish Red Crescent worker was shot and seriously injured in Aden. On 2 November, a grenade was thrown at an aid agency compound, also in Aden. We strongly condemn those attacks. We are also concerned by the delays and administrative constraints that humanitarian agencies are increasingly facing in some parts of the south. In the north, restrictions have been substantially more severe.”
2020-11-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1109 (2020) · source
“To do so again, the world must act now on the five issues on which I will brief the Council again today: first, the protection of civilians; secondly, humanitarian access; thirdly, funding for the aid operation; fourthly, the economy; and, fifthly, progress towards peace. The first issue is the protection of civilians. Fighting continues along 48 front lines across the country, with the fiercest clashes occurring recently in Ma’rib, Al-Jawf, Taiz and Al-Dhale’e. The prospects of further escalation in Ma’rib, where 1 million displaced people are living, or renewed clashes in Al-Hudaydah, whose port is a lifeline for millions in the north, remain deeply concerning. A nationwide ceasefire, as we have long advocated, would go a long way towards protecting civilians.”
2020-11-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1109 (2020) · source
“It is the fate that the world has left hanging over millions of Yemeni men, women and especially children. The Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen wrote decades ago that the history of famines is “full of blood-boiling tales of callousness and malevolence”. In other words, people who could stop famines simply chose not to. That too is the case in Yemen today. Yemenis are not “going hungry”. They are being starved. All of us — parties to the conflict, Security Council members, donors, humanitarian organizations and others — should do everything that we can to stop that. Time is running out. We prevented famine two years ago.”
2020-11-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1109 (2020) · source
“As they starve, people, especially children, are therefore likelier to fall sick or die from diseases that they may have otherwise resisted. There is no shortage of diseases in Yemen that will prey on those weakened immune systems. They include cholera, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), other respiratory infections and illnesses such as malaria, dengue and diphtheria. For those who manage to escape disease but still find nothing to eat, their vital organs will start to wither and then fail. Eventually, the body starts to devour its own muscles, including the heart. Many will experience hallucinations and convulsions before the heart finally stops. It is a terrible, agonizing and humiliating death, and it is particularly cruel in a world, such as ours, where there is in fact more than enough food for everyone.”
2020-11-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1109 (2020) · source
“The most urgent task in Yemen today is to prevent widespread famine. The data released last week have again confirmed that the risk is growing. As the Security Council will hear from David Beasley, malnutrition has never been worse. In some parts of the country, one child in four is now acutely malnourished. Words such as “acutely malnourished”, “food insecurity” and “excess mortality” are dispassionate, neutral, technical terms that obscure the horrors inflicted on the body and on the soul by famine. So how do the people, the actual human beings, whom we describe in those technical terms actually experience them? With no food, the body’s metabolism slows down to preserve energy for its vital organs. Hungry and weak, people often become fatigued, irritable and confused. The immune system loses strength.”
2020-11-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1109 (2020) · source
“Council members will recall the horrific scenes of last winter, when military operations in the north-west displaced almost 1 million people over the course of 3 months, with many families fleeing on foot and sleeping in the open in the freezing cold. Most of these families are still displaced. Many of them are in shelters that will not protect them from the winter weather. Our colleagues on the ground are working tirelessly to get families in all of Syria the supplies they need before temperatures drop. To do that, they need resources, they need access, and they must be protected.”
2020-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1049 (2020) · source
“The Syria Humanitarian Fund, which my Office administers, last month made its largest ever allocation, in the amount of $40 million, in support of projects across 93 Syrian subdistricts. Those projects are intended to help 1.3 million people. The Syria Cross-border Humanitarian Fund is also preparing its next allocation for north-western Syria, which will prioritize life-saving winterization assistance. Humanitarian agencies plan to reach 3.1 million people across Syria with such assistance during the imminent winter season. Donors have been supporting this effort, with over 70 per cent of funding for the winterization response received, but a further $24 million is still needed.”
2020-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1049 (2020) · source
“Humanitarian agencies have continued to address the logistical and operational challenges resulting from the reduction to one authorized border crossing into north- western Syria. The trans-shipment hub at the remaining authorized crossing at Bab Al-Hawa has been expanded, doubling its physical size to meet the increases in demand, while also ensuring compliance with COVID-19 physical distancing measures for staff. On the Syrian side of the border, roadworks are under way on the route leading into areas previously serviced through the Bab Al-Salam crossing. The aim is to complete the most urgent road repairs ahead of the winter season. There are, however, very significant challenges. My final point is on the assistance humanitarian agencies continue to provide across Syria.”
2020-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1049 (2020) · source
“Out of 13 items of personal protective equipment needed, those 20 facilities received just 1 item through a cross- line delivery, and even that will last less than a month. Turning to Rukban, where 12,000 civilians continue living in unsustainable conditions, the United Nations continues its efforts to deliver life-saving assistance to those who wish to remain. But, again, there has been no meaningful progress since I last updated the Council (see S/PV.8770). I also want to say a few words on access to education. Around 100 schools in Hasakah were closed by local authorities in August and have not reopened, even as other schools in the governorate reopened in September. Senior United Nations staff in the region are talking to the relevant people in the hope of making progress. I do hope that will be possible, in everyone’s interests.”
2020-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1049 (2020) · source
“Cross- line assistance, so far, is simply not delivering at the scale or frequency required to meet the current health needs in north-eastern Syria. Let me illustrate that through a few examples. One of the hospitals received cross-line supplies in the form of 450 gowns is April. But they got nothing else and have had nothing at all since April. Another hospital reports that cross-line deliveries have covered only 2 per cent of the types of essential pharmaceuticals needed in its maternity wing. A third hospital reports that its maternity wing has received no cross-line supplies at all. At the primary health-care level, 20 facilities report that cross-line deliveries have supplied less than 20 per cent of the types of medicines they need, and in quantities that will last them less than two months.”
2020-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1049 (2020) · source
“Staying in the north-east, the distribution of 85 metric tons of medical supplies from the last World Health Organization cross-line overland shipment to reach the region, in July, was completed last month. Council members may recall that that shipment was originally intended for cross-border delivery from Erbil, back in January. It has now reached the north-east in reduced quantity and at greater cost. All hospitals in the north-east that previously depended on United Nations- supported cross-border operations have now received medical items from cross-line deliveries on at least one occasion. There has also been some progress in reaching the primary health centres and mobile medical units. But focusing on single instances of access does not paint a full picture.”
2020-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1049 (2020) · source
“The fuel crisis is also affecting civilians in a serious way, as well as hindering aid supply lines. People are queuing for hours — in some cases days — for fuel in some areas. Several aid convoys have been delayed in recent weeks due to the lack of fuel. Turning now to my fourth point, humanitarian access, technical teams have been able to conduct maintenance and rehabilitation work at the Allouk water station since late August. The resulting increase in pumping capacity, although still limited, will benefit almost half a million people in Hasakah. But water shortages continue to be reported in the area, and it is important that regular access to the station for both maintenance workers and humanitarian staff is established and sustained.”
2020-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1049 (2020) · source
“Recent assessments in the north-west point to an increase in child marriage, linked to deteriorating socioeconomic circumstances. The more desperate a family’s situation becomes, the more they are forced to make previously unthinkable choices. Bread shortages are being reported in a number of regions, especially in the south. Syria used to produce enough wheat to meet domestic demand, but current wheat-flour production falls short of national consumption by around one million metric tons. Seasonal wildfires have been among the factors limiting food production. More than 35,000 hectares of agricultural land are estimated to have burned this year. That will have a long-term impact on food production and the livelihoods of at least 40,000 families.”
2020-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1049 (2020) · source
“Violence directed against civilians, including humanitarian workers, is unacceptable and must never be normalized. They must be protected. Relocations of displaced people from multiple camps and collective shelters in north-eastern Syria are under way and more have been announced by local authorities. This includes relocations from collective shelters to Tala’h camp near Hasakah city. I stress that all such movements must be fully informed and voluntary. My next point is on the humanitarian impact of the economic crisis. Food prices, while relatively stable in August and September, remain more than 90 per cent higher than six months ago, with a year-on-year increase of 236 per cent. That leaves many families unable to afford basic goods. The impact of the economic downturn is hardest on the most vulnerable.”
2020-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1049 (2020) · source
“This is the third time air strikes have been reported in Idlib over the past week, with reports of at least five civilians injured, including three children. An alarming degree of insecurity has also continued in the Idlib, Afrin and Azaz to Jarabulus areas. On 6 October, a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device in Al-Bab city killed at least 18 civilians, including five children, and injured at least 62, including 11 children. Among the injured are three non-governmental organization staff who work in the local COVID-19 referral system. On 15 October, two Syrian aid workers and their driver travelling from a project site in Salqin city were injured by shrapnel resulting from a drone attack on another car travelling in the area.”
2020-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1049 (2020) · source
“The United Nations COVID-19 response in Syria requires an additional $211 million, including to maintain health supply lines; improve water and sanitation in displacement camps, shelters and settlements; and to make schools safer for returning students and teachers. My second point is on violence and insecurity affecting civilians and aid workers. Shelling in front-line areas in the north-west, as well as air strikes in Idlib, have continued. Shelling on Jorin village in north-western Hama governorate killed 20 civilians in a single day on 24 September. Yesterday’s air strike in the Armanaz subdistrict, which Geir Pedersen has also referred to, reportedly hit an area close to displacement camps.”
2020-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1049 (2020) · source
“In the north-west, confirmed cases have increased sixfold over the past month, with cases also rising in displacement camps and settlements. Health care workers increasingly fear being overwhelmed. We are monitoring with particular concern the COVID-19 outbreak in Al-Bab in Aleppo governorate. Some 30 per cent of the confirmed cases in the north-west are in the Al-Bab area. The rapid spread of the virus there is not surprising. Water shortages have affected 185,000 people in the area since 2017, when the supply from the Ayn Al- Bayda pumping station stopped. Shortly after, Al-Bab became — and has remained — one of the top four subdistricts reporting water-borne diseases.”
2020-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1049 (2020) · source
“Also, as in many other countries, some are suspending surgeries or adapting wards to take in more patients. We are particularly worried about the densely populated areas: urban centres, such as Damascus, Aleppo and Homs, and crowded displacement camps, settlements and collective shelters in the north-west and north-east. Eighteen cases have so far been confirmed among health workers and distribution staff working at Al-Hol camp. Another five cases have been confirmed among camp residents. Testing, as in most of the country, is extremely limited, so the only thing these figures really tells us is that COVID-19 has taken hold at the camp. Some 65,000 people remain at Al-Hol, 94 per cent of whom are women and children.”
2020-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1049 (2020) · source
“I will focus today on five areas: first, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak; secondly, violence and insecurity affecting civilians; thirdly, the humanitarian impact of the economic crisis; fourthly, humanitarian access; and fifthly, the assistance being provided by humanitarian organizations across Syria. Where cases of COVID-19 in Syria are confirmed, they are overwhelmingly the result of community transmission. Ninety-two per cent of officially confirmed infections cannot be traced back to a known case. As in other many countries, the scale of the outbreak is therefore likely to be far greater than the confirmed cases — currently at about 13,500 — suggest. Health-care facilities in some areas are reported to be unable to absorb all suspected cases.”
2020-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1049 (2020) · source
“History proves that, even in the midst of conflict, famine can be prevented. But in order to prevent it, we must act. And we have to act in time to make a difference. Unfortunately, in too many places, time is now running out.”
2020-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/930 (2020) · source
“There are concrete measures the Council and Member States more widely can take. First, they can press for peaceful and negotiated political solutions to bring armed conflicts to an end. Secondly, they can ensure that the parties to conflict respect international humanitarian law. Thirdly, they can mitigate the economic impact of armed conflict and related violence, including by mobilizing the international financial institutions. And, fourthly, and by far most important of all, they can scale up support for humanitarian operations and take bigger and more ambitious steps to support the economies of countries facing severe, large-scale hunger. Growing food insecurity is one of the major consequences of COVID-19, as we told the Council on 9 September when we briefed it on the issues covered by resolution 2532 (2020).”
2020-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/930 (2020) · source
“This year more than 200 humanitarian workers have been attacked, including dozens in countries I have mentioned today. Humanitarian operations face repeated attacks and other forms of obstruction on movement and access. International humanitarian law is an important line of defence against food insecurity in conflict. Starvation as a method of warfare is prohibited, as is the destruction of objects that are indispensable to civilians’ survival. The problem is that too many people do not comply with the law. Parties must allow and facilitate humanitarian access and protect aid workers and assets. Within the humanitarian system, we are doing what we can to meet growing needs. But the humanitarian agencies are in danger of being overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the needs, and that will get worse in the absence of a lot more financial help.”
2020-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/930 (2020) · source
“Some 14 million people are experiencing crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity — the highest figures in a decade. In Burkina Faso alone, 3.3 million people are now acutely food insecure and famine conditions are growing. As I told the Council on 9 September (see S/2020/897), the pandemic is dramatically increasing wider humanitarian need. Things are going to get worse. I do not think we have seen the peak of the pandemic yet, but the indirect impact is already deepening poverty, destroying livelihoods, undermining education, disrupting immunization and exacerbating food insecurity, fragility and violence. Humanitarian aid helps to avert food insecurity. And humanitarian workers are committed to staying and delivering. But they face unacceptable risks.”
2020-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/930 (2020) · source
“Nearly 22 million people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are now acutely food insecure, the highest number in the world — a result of COVID-19 compounding the impact of decades of conflict. In north-east Nigeria, as we told the Council in the white note, violence by extremist non-State armed groups is largely responsible for driving up humanitarian need. I am pleased to report that we have had constructive engagement in recent days with the Nigerian authorities, and the Government has taken important steps to improve access to people in need, which we look forward to building on further. In the Sahel, an upsurge in violence and armed group attacks has forcibly displaced more than 1 million people, most of whom are dependent on agriculture.”
2020-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/930 (2020) · source
“And now David Beasley and his colleagues at the World Food Programme project that the number of people suffering from acute hunger will almost double this year, to 270 million people. In the same vein, the World Bank predicts that the number of people in extreme poverty is set to rise for the first time since the 1990s. As always, the most vulnerable pay the biggest price — women, children, the disabled and the elderly. David Beasley and Qu Dongyu will talk in more detail about some of the countries we are most concerned about, and I briefed the earlier in the week on two of them, South Sudan and Yemen. (see S/PV.8757). I would like to touch briefly on three other places. I am particularly concerned about the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
2020-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/930 (2020) · source
“Conflict disrupts all aspects of life. Civilians are injured and killed. They are driven from their homes, losing land and livelihoods. Their farms, food supplies, livestock, infrastructure and public services are damaged or destroyed. That drives up the price of food and other basic necessities, like water and fuel. Over time, conflict tears apart the social fabric, undermines public institutions and erodes economic growth and development. The human and economic cost is astronomical. In the 10 most affected countries, the average cost of conflict is estimated at around 40 per cent of the gross domestic product. And we can now see that COVID-19 is making hunger much worse. We know from the 2019 report of the Global Network Against Food Crises that 135 million people were facing acute food insecurity even before COVID-19.”
2020-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/930 (2020) · source