YouSaid · the spoken record

Mueller

lines on the record: 261
first: 2017-07-27
most recent: 2020-02-27
sittings or episodes: 20
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

“We do not want to leave for Europe. We want to stay here in Idlib and rebuild our lives. All we are asking is for the misery to stop; for the killing to stop. We want the right to live.” I echo the Secretary-General’s renewed call for an immediate ceasefire to end the humanitarian catastrophe and avoid an uncontrollable escalation.”
2020-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8734 (2020) · source
“Planning is ongoing to support informed and voluntary departures. I call on all parties to facilitate those efforts, as well as to assist those who remain, until durable solutions can be found for all people in Rukban. Humanitarian needs across the country remain immense and are worsening. The number of people assessed as food insecure has increased in 2019 by 1.3 million, reaching 7.9 million people in 2020. As I said at the start of my briefing, the terrible human toll of the situation in north-western Syria demands the Council’s attention and action. I would like to close with a message from the Syrian women in Idlib with whom I spoke last week. They said to me: “We are Syrian women, mothers and humanitarian workers. We are doing all we can to keep working, in spite of the conditions; in spite of what is happening here.”
2020-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8734 (2020) · source
“The World Health Organization is engaging actively with the Government of Syria to bring that assistance into Syria by air and ensure that that vital medical assistance urgently reaches all Syrians in need in the north-east. The shipment process was initiated today. I now turn to the situation in Rukban. More than 19,400 people, almost half of the population, have now left the Rukban area — the vast majority through self-organized departures. In January, the United Nations conducted four inter-agency assessment missions to areas of return in Homs, hosting around 10,000 people who were formerly in Rukban. Those families are living in extremely difficult conditions. Almost all are living in makeshift tents. Many are struggling to meet their immediate food needs. Our information indicates that thousands still wish to leave Rukban.”
2020-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8734 (2020) · source
“This is a welcome development and one that we hope will indeed translate into all types of required medical supplies and equipment reaching all people in need in the north-east, wherever they are located. If viable alternatives to Al-Yarubiyah are not found for medical items, the gap between the humanitarian response and humanitarian needs will increase further. If medicine runs out and medical facilities are unable to carry out life-saving procedures, deaths will occur. The first shortages are expected as early as March for medical facilities providing reproductive health care, which were previously supported by cross-border operations. A larger gap in medical items could occur by May. A shipment of essential medical items intended for transport to north-eastern Syria via Al-Yarubiyah remains in Iraq.”
2020-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8734 (2020) · source
“Thirdly, approval by the Government of Syria to allow access all areas and facilities within north-eastern Syria to ensure assistance reaches all people in need, impartially and without discrimination is required. While aid has been delivered to north-eastern Syria, this assistance needs to actually reach all people in need, regardless of where they live or who is operating the medical facilities they use. Fourthly, aid deliveries by local authorities in north-eastern Syria should be facilitated to all locations without delay. It is also the responsibility of local authorities to ensure that aid is not impeded. Yesterday, in response to our requests for overland access to north-eastern Syria, we received general approval from the Government of Syria to transfer medical assistance by land to all parts of the country.”
2020-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8734 (2020) · source
“First, there must be timely approval by the Government of Syria to import all necessary medical supplies into the country. The report highlights that expedited approval for some imports has already taken place, with the recent approval of 11 of 36 requests submitted by the World Health Organization (WHO). Secondly, a simplified, expedited and reliable approval process by the Government of Syria to enable regular and predictable deliveries from Damascus into the north-east by land is necessary. The United Nations Population Fund reports that a first road delivery of medical items has been sent to Qamishli. Approval of a specific request by the WHO for delivery by land remains pending.”
2020-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8734 (2020) · source
“The Government would also need to consent to the delivery of humanitarian assistance through cross-border operations into the north-east, at safe and logistically feasible border crossings, using the most direct routes” (S/2020/139, para. 46). Should the required steps to enable the delivery of aid from Damascus not be taken, and in the absence of consent from the Syrian Government and neighbouring countries to use border crossings into north-eastern Syria, the report further concludes that “the Security Council would need to authorize the United Nations and its implementing partners to use additional crossings” (ibid., para. 48). Of the alternatives, in the current context, the Tall Abyad crossing is deemed the most feasible option. The report lists four requirements for the cross- line modalities to work effectively.”
2020-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8734 (2020) · source
“With the adoption of resolution 2504 (2020) and the removal of Al-Ramtha and Al-Yarubiyah as authorized crossing points, the Council requested the Secretary- General to report on the feasibility of using alternative modalities to the Al-Yarubiyah crossing “to ensure that humanitarian assistance, including medical and surgical supplies, reaches people in need throughout Syria through the most direct routes, and in accordance with the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence” (resolution 2504 (2020), para. 6). The Secretary-General’s report concludes that, “[i]n order for all humanitarian needs to be met, the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic would need to facilitate greater cross-line access to the north-east of the country, in particular for medical assistance.”
2020-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8734 (2020) · source
“The majority — 1.34 million people — are in areas outside of Syrian Government control. In the second half of 2019, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners scaled up the response in north-eastern Syria, reaching hundreds of thousands of people with supplies from within Syria and through the Al-Yarubiyah border crossing, via the cross-border modality. Nonetheless, significant gaps remained. Until 10 January, the United Nations provided cross-border assistance into north-eastern Syria via Al-Yarubiyah crossing — mainly health and medical items that could not otherwise be consistently delivered to people in need. We briefed the Security Council on the importance of renewing Al-Yarubiyah as an authorized crossing point, warning that any reduction in humanitarian access would cause further suffering.”
2020-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8734 (2020) · source
“I thank donors for generously contributing over $100 million this month alone towards our $500 million appeal for the humanitarian response in north-western Syria over the next five months. This amount includes the release of $42 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund. I would now like to turn to the situation in north- eastern Syria. In north-eastern Syria, civilians remain extremely vulnerable. Over the past weeks, renewed hostilities in and around Tall Tamr sub-district have displaced an additional 1,600 civilians to Qamishli, while another 800 people have arrived in Raqqa. This displacement adds to the hundreds of thousands of people already displaced in north- eastern Syria. Across the north-east, an estimated 1.9 million people require humanitarian assistance.”
2020-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8734 (2020) · source
“In January, food assistance for some 1.4 million people was delivered via the cross- border mechanism, as were health supplies for almost half a million people and non-food items for more than 230,000 people. That is more than in any other month since the cross-border operation was authorized in 2014. Despite these immense efforts, the women in Idlib told me that simply getting food, clean water and heating is a daily struggle. The cross-border modality is absolutely essential to our response in north-western Syria. People in need in Idlib cannot currently be reached at this scale in such a timely and direct manner through any other means. As the Secretary-General has stated, the Security Council has a critical role to play in support of these humanitarian efforts.”
2020-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8734 (2020) · source
“The Secretary-General has stated that international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians have been systematically ignored. He warned that fighting is now advancing into areas with the highest concentrations of people. Hospitals, schools, camps and other sites where displaced families have sought shelter are not being spared. In the last 10 days, a camp hosting more than 800 people was hit by shelling in Dana, which is now the most crowded of the sub-districts of Idlib governorate. Idlib Central Hospital was among several facilities struck this week, causing multiple casualties. Operations at the facility had to be suspended, except for emergency medical treatment. A massive humanitarian operation is under way in north-western Syria.”
2020-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8734 (2020) · source
“Our latest available data indicate that almost 950,000 people have fled the advancing front lines in north-western Syria since 1 December. Most have moved into the north-west of Idlib governorate, a small area along Syria’s border with Turkey that already hosts hundreds of thousands of displaced people. Many of these exhausted families have moved over and over and over again — all amid freezing conditions. The women from Idlib described to me the day-to-day reality of living in this overcrowded environment. One had found shelter in a basement with 15 other adults and 20 children. There was no privacy. Some women told me they could not change their clothes for weeks. Violence against women, they said, had become routine.”
2020-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8734 (2020) · source
“Last week I spoke via video link with 14 Syrian women in Idlib and northern Aleppo. All are humanitarian workers helping their own communities; almost all have been displaced with their families from other parts of Syria, some multiple times. What is happening in north-western Syria, they said, is beyond imagination. It is not humanly tolerable. They told me of children so traumatized they no longer speak. One of the women, who works as a midwife in Idlib city, told me she can see how the intensely stressful situation is affecting her patients. Early deliveries, miscarriages and low-weight births are on the rise. Pregnant women are asking her for caesarean deliveries out of fear of going into labour while on the move and without medical care.”
2020-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8734 (2020) · source
“Ms. Mueller: I will begin my briefing today with the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in north- western Syria, which continues to demand the Council’s attention and action. I will also speak to the importance of the cross-border operation — a critical lifeline into the north-west. Secondly, I will brief the Council on the delivery of assistance to north-eastern Syria following the adoption of resolution 2504 (2020), including the Secretary- General’s report on the feasibility of alternatives to the use of the Al-Yarubiyah border crossing. Finally, I will touch on the humanitarian situation in Rukban and deepening humanitarian needs in many other parts of the country. UNICEF Executive Director Fore will further brief on the impact of the crisis on families in Syria.”
2020-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8734 (2020) · source
“In conclusion, I reiterate Special Coordinator Mladenov’s call to this organ, urging leaders on all sides to summon the necessary political will to take concrete steps in support of ending the occupation and realizing a lasting peace, resulting in two democratic States, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“I continue to urge all parties — Israeli and Palestinian — to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law. The basic needs of Palestinians in Gaza and in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, must be met, including by allowing the entry of essential supplies and humanitarian relief. Lethal force in law enforcement operations must be used only when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life. Ultimately, the solution for the occupied Palestinian territory is neither humanitarian nor development action, but lies in political discourse and agreement.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“Aside from funding, strong support by Member States is required to ensure that humanitarian partners are able to operate according to humanitarian principles and counter the impact of unsubstantiated allegations against operational partners. In order to decrease vulnerabilities in the longer term, it is vital that all parties work towards the policy shifts required to reduce humanitarian need and uphold obligations under international law. We saw improvements in Gaza in 2019 that, if developed and expanded to the West Bank, have the potential to generate positive change in 2020. We must galvanize our efforts as the international community to ensure that Palestinian families are increasingly able to live in dignity.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“I urge Member States to increase their support to humanitarian operations in the occupied Palestinian territory to both the humanitarian response plan and the United Nations Occupied Palestinian Territory Humanitarian Fund. The Humanitarian Fund allocated $27.4 million in 2019, benefiting 1.1 million people. Providing funding to UNRWA, the largest humanitarian actor in the occupied Palestinian territory, is also critical in order to prevent deterioration, especially in Gaza. Member States are also encouraged to support interventions that strengthen humanitarian development collaboration and reduce Palestinians’ reliance on humanitarian aid. Such strategic assistance is critical where deterioration risks further destabilization in an already volatile region.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“The combined impact of many of those challenges places pressure on families to leave their communities, contributing to a coercive environment that places them at risk of forcible transfer. Operating space for humanitarian actors is constrained by both the Israeli and the Palestinian authorities. Efforts to delegitimize humanitarian action in the occupied Palestinian territory continue to undermine our ability to provide protection and assistance to people in need. We are also facing record- low funding levels. The humanitarian response plan for 2020 is highly prioritized and requests $348 million to provide basic food, protection, health care, shelter and water and sanitation to 1.5 million of the most vulnerable Palestinians. Over 75 per cent of the requested funds are for Gaza.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“Such attacks undermine the physical security and livelihoods of Palestinians. Despite the Israeli authorities’ efforts to prevent and address such violence, concerns remain about serious gaps in accountability that may contribute to the prevalence of settler attacks. There were 112 Palestinian attacks against Israeli civilians in 2019, including settlers, in the West Bank and Israel, resulting in three deaths and 26 injuries, along with damage to Israeli property. In addition, 26 Palestinians were killed and 3,455 were injured by Israeli forces in the West Bank in search-and-arrest operations, demonstrations and clashes. There are concerns about excessive use of force by Israel in the context of law enforcement operations during protests and other clashes.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“Earlier this month, on 2 January, the Israeli authorities, citing a lack of prior coordination, seized a vehicle that was used to transport medical staff and equipment to a mobile health clinic in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, impeding residents’ access to health care. Through a range of legal and administrative measures, Israel has enabled the establishment and expansion of Israeli settlements in the heart of Palestinian neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem and Hebron city, at times resulting in the forced eviction of Palestinian families. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recorded 340 attacks in 2019 carried out by Israelis, including settlers, resulting in two fatalities, 135 injuries and property damage, including to more than 6,200 fruit-bearing trees, representing a 100 per cent increase as compared to 2017.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“The number of structures demolished in East Jerusalem is the highest in two decades. Over 12,500 demolition orders are pending today against Palestinian properties in Area C, and nearly one third of the homes in East Jerusalem face a risk of demolition because they lack building permits. Such measures increase the vulnerability of communities, generating the need for humanitarian support; but the aid provided to those Palestinians is also impacted. A total of 126 structures demolished or confiscated in 2019 had been provided as humanitarian assistance. An estimated 162,000 Palestinians across Area C have limited access to primary health-care services, relying only on mobile clinics.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“That is most extreme in Area C, comprising 60 per cent of the West Bank, where the planning regime makes it virtually impossible for Palestinians to develop adequate housing and infrastructure. Most public land is allocated to Israeli settlements or to military use and most private land is zoned as agricultural or “green” areas. Homes, clinics, schools, water cisterns and animal shelters without permits face the risk of demolition or confiscation. In 2019, 620 structures were demolished across the West Bank — mainly in Area C and East Jerusalem — displacing over 900 Palestinians and affecting access to services and livelihoods for tens of thousands of people. That represents an increase of 35 per cent in demolitions and nearly double the number of displaced persons as compared to 2018.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“She spoke of the anxiety over simple activities, such as transport to school without the threat of harassment from Israeli settlers, entry by the Israeli military into the community and her fear that she cannot protect her children. Families there are not connected to the water or electricity networks. Although they have lived in the area since the 1970s, the Israeli authorities consider their presence illegal. Jamil and Manar’s experience mirrors that of many Palestinians in the West Bank, where families face difficulty in securing adequate shelter, accessing basic services and protecting their children and the elderly. Economic development is undermined by Israeli administrative and physical constraints that fragment the territory, limiting Palestinian access to land and natural resources.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“It will be key for Israel to further relax restrictions on movement, alongside adopting measures that stimulate the economy, in line with resolution 1860 (2009). The Palestinian Authority must refrain from impeding the allocation of resources to people in Gaza as a way of exerting pressure on Hamas, which must prioritize people’s needs in Gaza. All parties must uphold their international legal obligations. In the West Bank, I visited a Palestinian Bedouin community in the Jordan Valley. I met Jamil and Manar, a young couple, who described the pressures that their community faces, including home demolitions, the constant threat of further demolition of their property and restrictions on movement. Manar, a 24-year-old mother, described her personal fears and challenges, shared by her family and neighbours.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“The number of people leaving Gaza through the Egyptian-controlled Rafah crossing increased by nearly 40 per cent in 2019, as compared to 2018. Israel expanded the permissible fishing area along the southern and central parts of Gaza’s coast to 15 nautical miles offshore, allowing access to deeper waters. Funding provided by the Government of Qatar enabled the electricity supply to increase in 2019 to an average of 12 hours a day. And, as Under-Secretary-General DiCarlo said, by the end of 2019, 37,000 jobs had been created by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank. Such improvements give me hope for Gaza if we build on that momentum.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“UNICEF reports rising rates of school dropout, child labour and child marriage and an estimated 270,000 children suffer from some form of mental disorder. Similarly, I have seen how the lives and well-being of residents in Israeli communities around Gaza are disrupted by rocket fire from Palestinian armed groups, with mental health impacts, particularly among children. Within that larger picture, however, there is room for cautious optimism. The number of people permitted by the Israeli authorities to leave Gaza increased by 46 per cent in 2019, as compared to 2018, and reached the highest level since 2007. The volume of goods exiting Gaza increased by 20 per cent, as compared to 2018. December 2019 witnessed the largest number of goods exiting in any month, also since 2007.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“That is exacerbated by the long-standing political and administrative Palestinian divide, which has reduced the capacity of service providers in Gaza to provide basic services. Nearly half of essential medicines and approximately 30 per cent of essential supplies stand at less than one month’s supply. According to the World Health Organization, Israel’s restrictions on imports have impacted access to medical supplies and the maintenance of medical equipment. Amid a decline in external aid, high unemployment and economic recession, vulnerable people in Gaza are trapped in a cycle of deepening poverty and insecurity, with few opportunities to become self-reliant. They resort to harmful coping mechanisms that impact children the most.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“While the efforts of the Government of Israel to ease movement by increasing the number of permits for people to leave Gaza are acknowledged, the approval rate of permit applications for patients to leave Gaza through the Erez crossing for medical treatment was 65 per cent on average in 2019. According to UNICEF, more than a third of the children who left Gaza for medical treatment between October 2018 and July 2019 were unaccompanied by a parent due to not being allowed to exit. It is also acknowledged that efforts have been made by the Israeli authorities to ease the import and export of goods and to reduce the number of restricted items on the dual-use list. However, significant limits that undermine the economy and impede the ability to improve essential services and infrastructure remain.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“Nevertheless, 29 Palestinian civilians, as well as 33 members of armed groups, were killed in Israeli air strikes and five Israeli civilians were killed by Palestinian indiscriminate rocket fire. I urge all parties to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian harm in the course of hostilities. Unemployment in Gaza is at 45 per cent, with youth unemployment at over 60 per cent. Some 46 per cent of the population live below the $5.5 poverty line and an estimated 60 per cent of households are food insecure. The young people whom I met in Gaza, like anywhere else in the world, simply ask for peace and the opportunity for a productive life.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“The large number of injuries from the demonstrations has overstretched Gaza’s already limited health services, which suffer from acute shortages in drugs, personnel, equipment and electricity. More than 1,200 people required limb reconstruction and some 150 underwent amputations, all of whom need long-term rehabilitation. The World Health Organization also reported more than 200 incidents involving health workers in Gaza in 2019, resulting in 270 injured. Since the start of 2019, there have been multiple escalations in hostilities between armed groups in Gaza and Israel, most of which were fortunately contained thanks to an intense joint United Nations and Egyptian mediation effort.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“But I also saw tremendous potential: for example, young women such as Bissan, who, at the age of 21, had already started a charity to help. Razan, another young woman, told me: “We have people here with high-level skills and abilities, with innovative ways of thinking, but we need opportunities.” In 2019, violence during the Great March of Return demonstrations at the Gaza fence caused injury and claimed lives. Since March 2018, more than 210 Palestinians, including 46 children, had been killed and more than 8,000 had been shot with live ammunition. While there were fewer casualties in the latter part of 2019, we continue to have concerns about Israel’s excessive use of force during the demonstrations and the instrumentalization of Palestinian children by Hamas.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“In Gaza, I met Salwa, a 53-year-old cancer survivor, who told me how she was overwhelmed with a sense of fear and devastation while battling her illness and trying to care for her family. She was allowed to leave Gaza to receive medical treatment in the West Bank, but her permit was subsequently denied without explanation, interrupting critical treatment, deepening her anxiety and creating a sense of hopelessness. I also met Anas, a 24-year-old medical graduate, who spoke about the limited options for youth and how movement restrictions have severely curtailed opportunities for a productive life. He expressed concern that the energy and passion of Palestinians in Gaza is being lost, making young people more susceptible to extremism and driving too many to attempt suicide. Those stories underscore the fragility in Gaza.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“One in every two Palestinians — some 2.4 million people — need humanitarian aid in 2020, due to a protection crisis resulting from occupation, the blockade on Gaza, recurrent cycles of violence and over a decade of Hamas control, which has fuelled the internal Palestinian political divide. Widespread humanitarian access and civilian movement restrictions, increasing demolitions and destruction of property, the excessive use of force, restrictive planning regimes, forced displacement, and impediments to livelihood and economic opportunity, combine as drivers of chronic vulnerability and humanitarian need. Humanitarian partners work to meet those growing needs in the face of increasing constraints on operations and record- low funding.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“Ms. Mueller: I thank you, Sir, for this opportunity to update the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territory. I have just returned from a six-day mission to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, where I heard from Palestinian and Israeli people, as well as representatives of the international community and humanitarian partners. Those meetings conveyed hardships and challenges, and opportunities for positive change. Today Palestinian families throughout the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and in Gaza struggle to live in dignity across a fragmented territory.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“OHCHR has recorded growing instances of detentions, improvised explosive attacks and assassination attempts against both pro-Government and former opposition-linked individuals. Such patterns of violence pose considerable risks to civilians and their efforts to pursue a safe and dignified life. As this is the final scheduled humanitarian briefing on Syria for this year, I would like to conclude with a genuine wish that the year ahead will be a better one for the people of Syria.”
2019-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8694 (2019) · source
“Thirdly and finally, insecurity continues to endanger civilians across much of Syria, including areas away from front lines. Earlier this month, for example, OHCHR warned about the increasing number of incidents in northern Syria involving improvised explosive devices in marketplaces, residential neighbourhoods and other populated areas. Some 49 incidents have been verified since late October, 43 of which were in areas under the control of Turkish forces and affiliated non-State armed groups. At least 78 civilians were killed, and more than 300 persons were injured in those incidents. Similarly, in south-western Syria, civilians face persistent risks amid continued violence.”
2019-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8694 (2019) · source
“The factors behind recent economic shocks may be debated, but basic indicators present a concerning economic outlook for civilians in Syria - the cost ofliving grows, income stagnates and currency loses value. We know that the most vulnerable populations are the ones least able to afford the increasing cost of living. Communities struggle to respond to sudden emergencies if they are just getting by. Families will adopt more extreme measures to cope with chronic hardship. Humanitarian organizations will seek more ways to ensure that the poorest and those on the brink of poverty do not slip into an even worse state. We need to ensure the life and dignity of those in need, including by finding new ways to restore essential and lifesaving services.”
2019-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8694 (2019) · source
“I am pleased to confirm that, earlier this month, the Under-Secretary-General selected Syria to receive a provisional allocation of $25 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund Underfunded Emergencies Window. Those funds will be used to support the most critical collective priorities within the humanitarian response plan. Much more support is required to sustain humanitarian operations in Syria and neighbouring countries. We will count on donor generosity during the year ahead to help humanitarians reach more people in need with the most appropriate and effective assistance. Secondly, the economic situation across Syria stands to compound humanitarian needs. Syria's currency has lost half of its value this year.”
2019-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8694 (2019) · source
“First, the scale of humanitarian needs in Syria will remain vast. As members will have seen in the Global Humanitarian Overview 2020, which was released earlier this month, current estimates project that some 11 million people in Syria will need regular humanitarian assistance. Five million of those are in acute need of assistance. The United Nations estimates that the overall financial requirements for the humanitarian response in 2020 will be similar to the $3.3 billion requested in 2019. Moreover, across the region, some 5.6 million Syrian refugees need assistance, more than 70 per cent of whom live in poverty. The current plan to assist that refugee population and their host community remains considerable, with projected costs of $5.2 billion. Financial support for both the response in Syria and the wider region remains vital.”
2019-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8694 (2019) · source
“In the meantime, I am encouraged that, earlier this month, the Syrian Government permitted the United Nations to conduct monitoring missions to the two shelters in Horns where people from Rukban pass through. We hope that such access will continue in the weeks to come. Across the country, I urge all parties - States and armed groups - to spare civilians and civilian infrastructure and to facilitate humanitarian activities without hindrance. For humanitarian reasons and as a matter of international humanitarian law, human suffering must be minimized. Before the Security Council concludes its work for the year, I would like to draw members' attention to several trends that may become more significant in 2020 for civilians living through the Syrian crisis. Three of those deserve special consideration.”
2019-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8694 (2019) · source
“Despite repeated efforts, the United Nations and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent have been unable to return to the area since September to support voluntary departures to shelters in Government-controlled areas. Efforts continue in order to secure the necessary agreements from all parties for a humanitarian mission to proceed in a safe manner. We remain hopeful that it will proceed in the weeks ahead. Many Rukban residents express their desire to leave the area. At least 640 people have left the camp for areas under the Syrian Government through their own means since the previous United Nations and Syrian Arab Red Crescent mission. Others are expected to follow. Financial constraints, however, prevent others from being able to leave the camp without support.”
2019-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8694 (2019) · source
“As the Secretary-General notes in his latest report, he counts on "Security Council members to ensure that the United Nations is authorized to meet the needs of all who need humanitarian assistance, including by the swift renewal of the modalities set out in its resolution 2165 (2014) and subsequent resolutions" (S/2019/949, para. 55). In a letter to Council members yesterday, the Emergency Relief Coordinator made clear the position of the United Nations on the importance of maintaining all four border crossings, including Tall Abyad. The timely renewal of cross-border resolution is vital to ensuring that lifesaving work in Syria continues. In Rukban, efforts continue to assist the remaining population until durable solutions can be found for them.”
2019-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8694 (2019) · source
“As the Under-Secretary-General stressed in his briefing last month, the humanitarian situation in north-west and north-east Syria would be markedly worse without the cross-border operation. The aid provided through the modalities set out in the relevant resolutions have staved off an even larger humanitarian crisis inside Syria. Without the cross- border operation, we would see an immediate end of aid supporting millions of civilians. That would cause a rapid increase in hunger and disease, resulting in death, suffering and further displacement - including across borders - for a vulnerable population that has already suffered unspeakable tragedy as a result of almost nine years of conflict.”
2019-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8694 (2019) · source
“The delivery of humanitarian assistance must be allowed without interference by the parties. Finally, monitoring missions must be allowed to confirm that needs are being met. We expect all parties to the conflict to facilitate a sustained and scaled-up coordinated response. The situation in Al-Hol camp also requires a dedicated and urgent response. As noted in the Secretary-General's report, some 46,400 people remain in the camp, 94 per cent of whom are women and children. I join OHCHR in urging Governments to immediately take back their nationals, who are the most vulnerable. Many of those individuals, including orphans and unaccompanied children, may require further assistance, given the presence of potential abuse and trauma. Ultimately, though, the best chance they have of a better future is for their Governments to respond.”
2019-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8694 (2019) · source
“Humanitarian organizations have mounted a significant response so as to assist the hundreds of thousands of people affected by hostilities in the north- east. As the Secretary-General notes, humanitarian organizations in the area have been very adaptive in order to ensure that the necessary assistance reaches those most in need. With approximately 1.8 million people in need in north-east Syria, the task is considerable. Rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access remains essential for all facets of the ongoing humanitarian response in the north-east. Assessments must be facilitated in order to identify the most pressing needs and vulnerable populations. Supply lines via the M4 highway and various border crossings must remain open for humanitarian cargo.”
2019-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8694 (2019) · source
“In this context, the internal United Nations Headquarters board of inquiry established by the Secretary-General continues its work to investigate a series of incidents that have occurred in north-west Syria since September 2018 causing damage or destruction to civilian facilities. In north-east Syria, the humanitarian situation remains serious, even as hostilities have decreased in recent weeks. After Turkey and allied non-State armed groups launched Operation Peace Spring in the area between Tall Abyad and Ra's Al-Ayn in Syria on 9 October, more than 200,000 people fled the area. As of 26 November, 123,000 people had returned to their areas of origin. More than 70,000 people remain displaced from Al-Hasakah, Raqqa and Aleppo governorates. Nearly 17,000 people have fled to Iraq.”
2019-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8694 (2019) · source
“In recent months, the World Food Programme has increased the number of people to be assisted via its cross-border modalities to more than 1 million people per month. Tens of thousands of people have received supplies, services and support, including education materials, non-food items, clean water, shelter, emergency nutrition and winter supplies. By some measures, the intensity of hostilities remains below levels seen in the middle of the year, when fighting was most acute in northern Hama and southern Idlib. Nonetheless, the impact of current hostilities in north-west Syria remains concerning. As the Secretary-General continues to warn, "A full-scale military offensive would result in a devastating humanitarian cost for the 3 million people living in the area. It must be avoided" (S/2019/949, para. 51).”
2019-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8694 (2019) · source
“Rain, cold and other winter conditions have compounded hardship for many displaced families and their host communities. At the same time, the price of fuel required for heating remains above the national average, owing to a supply shortage and inflation linked to the depreciation of the Syrian pound on the unofficial market. Earlier this month, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs received reports of families in Idlib burning tires, old clothes and other household items to stay warm. Humanitarian organizations are doing everything possible to assist the most vulnerable. Partners continue to provide food assistance to newly displaced households, increase health-care services in areas that are receiving an influx of internally displaced persons and provide emergency protection services.”
2019-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8694 (2019) · source