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

“As I was constantly told by the Ukrainian men and women I met during my October 2017 Visit, peace remains the only true solution to their dire humanitarian situation.”
2018-05-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8270 (2018) · source
“After four years, eastern Ukraine is now a protracted protection crisis, requiring an approach that addresses undeniable humanitarian needs while simultaneously reinforcing resilience. Humanitarian and development actors are therefore seeking to apply a new way of working. The practical approach taken in Ukraine is already generating dividends. Before I conclude, I once again call on all the parties to the conflict in Ukraine to respect international human rights law and international humanitarian law. They must take constant care to spare civilians and critical civilian infrastructure. Finally, I urge the world to stand in solidarity with the millions of Ukrainians who urgently need our support. I also urge political leaders to make every effort to end the conflict.”
2018-05-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8270 (2018) · source
“Multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis often goes undetected or untreated. It is essential for patients to be able to access appropriate treatment. After significant effort, I am pleased to inform the Council that the United Nations recently secured more humanitarian access in the non-Government-controlled area. We hope that will facilitate the scaling up the delivery of critically needed impartial, independent and neutral humanitarian aid to millions ofpeople in need. I appeal for urgent funding to support those efforts. This conflict has stretched millions of Ukrainians to the breaking point. Many displaced people have exhausted their savings and means of survival. In addition to the daily hostilities, they face such risks as trafficking, transactional sex, drug use and alcoholism.”
2018-05-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8270 (2018) · source
“Only 10 days ago, two schools in the Donetsk region were shelled when hundreds of children were attending classes. Wars have limits. The parties to the conflict must take all feasible precautions to avoid and minimize civilian harm. Humanitarians aim to reach 2.3 million people with vital assistance and protection services in 2018. However, we face immense access and funding challenges. We have received only 13 per cent of the $187 million that we appealed for in the humanitarian response plan, which has forced such agencies as the World Food Programme to withdraw from Ukraine, although 1.2 million people are food insecure. The health situation is also severe. Millions of people have limited access to health care. Measles and hepatitis outbreaks are frequent. HIV/AIDS prevalence among pregnant women is unacceptably high.”
2018-05-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8270 (2018) · source
“Last week before the Security Council, the Secretary-General and 80 States Members of the United Nations called for enhanced protection for civilians through adherence to the rules of war (see S/PV.8267). Those rules must be respected by all the parties to the conflict in Ukraine. Despite repeated appeals, water- treatment workers and facilities have been targeted on 34 occasions in 2018. The Donetsk filtration station, which supplies water to over 345,000 people, has come under fire eight times in the past 40 days, with five workers having been injured last month. Over 600,000 people are regularly exposed to hostilities along the contact line. Families live in damp basements, and more than 100,000 children attend schools with windows lined with sand bags. More than 40,000 homes have been destroyed or damaged.”
2018-05-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8270 (2018) · source
“Civilians risk shelling, sniper fire and landmines as they make the arduous journey through the five official checkpoints, where processing time can range from hours to days. I travelled across the contact line last year and spoke to people waiting in long lines at one of the checkpoints. Many of them were elderly. Ukraine has the highest proportion of elderly people affected by conflict in the world. They must cross the contact line every 60 days to register in the Government-controlled area as internally displaced persons (IDPs). It is the only way they can access their meagre pensions of $30 to $60 per month. I commend the Government of Ukraine for adopting a national IDP plan to address the situation of 1.5 million registered IDPs. The success of the plan requires a whole-of-Government approach and sufficient allocation of resources.”
2018-05-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8270 (2018) · source
“Ms. Mueller: I thank you, Mr. President, for this opportunity to brief the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine. After four years, millions of civilians - men, women and children - continue to bear the brunt of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which has become yet another protracted crisis. Over 2,700 civilians have been killed and up to 9,000 civilians have been injured since the outbreak of hostilities. The conflict-affected area is one of the most mine-contaminated areas in the world. Landmines maimed or killed 238 civilians in 2017. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs documents 1 million crossings per month of the 457-kilometre contact line that divides eastern Ukraine.”
2018-05-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8270 (2018) · source
“To quote the Secretary General in his opening remarks in a video message to the second Brussels Conference on Syria two days ago: "At the recent Security Council retreat just a few days ago in Sweden, I sensed a strong commitment to humanitarian access - and to overcoming the obstacles to the delivery of aid to all Syrians." We owe it to the people of Syria to build on the momentum and to see concrete improvements on the ground.”
2018-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8242 (2018) · source
“The wounded and the sick must be afforded the treatment and care they need. Secondly, safe, sustained and unimpeded access to all in need must be ensured so that aid can reach those in need. That means facilitation letters must be issued, allowing cross-line convoys to deploy every week, while at the same time we must see access to areas that recently experienced a change of control open up for regular deliveries. Thirdly, when convoys deploy, medical items must stop being removed. There is no reason why items previously agreed with the authorities for delivery are removed at the last minute. These are critical life-saving items and they must be allowed on our trucks.”
2018-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8242 (2018) · source
“After seven years of a conflict that continues to see escalation after escalation, the needs of Syrians have never been higher. The Brussels Conference showed the clear resolve of the international community to place Syria at the top of its agenda and to ensure that immediate life-saving assistance is available to all in need. However, those commitments must now turn into to concrete action. Resolution 2401 (2018) urgently needs to be implemented. The resolution underlines a number of areas for implementation, but let me highlight three in particular where I believe progress is possible now: First, we need to see firm steps taken to ensure that all parties respect the rules of war. Civilians must be provided protection, with constant care taken to spare them and the infrastructure they rely on. Attacks on hospitals in particular must end.”
2018-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8242 (2018) · source
“The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent received permission from the Syrian authorities on 8 March to organize a humanitarian convoy from Damascus, and on 19 March the United Nations received permission to join that mission. Initially, the humanitarian operation was conceived as a drop-off operation, with aid distributed by local leaders. More recently, discussions have included entering the camp to deliver assistance directly to the people. The United Nations continues to work closely with the United States and the Russian Federation to make that possible and ensure that those in need can safely receive the aid they desperately need. At the same time, basic health-care services and water continue to be provided cross-border from Jordan.”
2018-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8242 (2018) · source
“Some schools have reopened, although they lack school materials and other supplies. Following the 1 April assessment, United Nations agencies are planning deliveries to complement the ongoing activities of humanitarian organizations already active inside Raqqa. It will also complement the response for those displaced and in need across north-eastern Syria, where 900,000 people receive assistance each month. I would now like to turn to Rukban, where 50,000 people along the Syria-Jordan border remain in critical need of assistance, having last been provided aid from Jordan in January.”
2018-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8242 (2018) · source
“Since ISIL was forced out of Raqqa in October, nearly 100,000 people have returned to Raqqa city. However, conditions are not conducive to returns due to the high levels of unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive device contamination, widespread and severe infrastructural damage, and a lack of basic services. Every week, there have been more than 50 casualties reported due to remnants of war. An estimated 70 to 80 per cent of buildings inside Raqqa city are destroyed or damaged. While public services are slowly resuming, with bakeries opening and limited access to health services, the city lacks electricity and mobile communications, and water is pumped in only a very limited capacity to the outskirts of the city. Up to 95 per cent of households that have returned to Raqqa are food-insecure.”
2018-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8242 (2018) · source
“Many internally displaced persons reportedly continue to be prevented from moving on to Aleppo city, and people with medical referrals currently have to wait up to 15 days for clearance to travel to Aleppo city for medical care. While there have been some reports of returns taking place to Afrin, the movement back to Afrin also remains extremely limited as people are allegedly being prevented from returning. The United Nations and its partners have scaled up the response to the displaced with regular deliveries to the area. Between 2 and 4 April, through cross-border operations from Turkey, United Nations agencies sent food assistance for over 20,000 people, as well as health-care and other items of critical need. Sustained access to those in Afrin is needed. On 1 April, the United Nations undertook an assessment mission to Raqqa.”
2018-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8242 (2018) · source
“This extreme situation places incredible pressure on the host communities. In addition, in recent weeks air strikes have hit hospitals and markets and have come very close to IDP shelters, reportedly killing scores of civilians, including many women and children. Fighting between Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham and other non-State armed opposition groups have added further insecurity. Relief organizations are providing assistance, including health care, clean water and sanitation, and education. In order to sustain the assistance, funding is needed. In Aleppo governorate, between mid-January and mid-March an estimated 137,000 people were displaced by hostilities in Afrin district. The majority of people fled to Tell Rifaat and surrounding areas. Freedom of movement remains an issue for those who have been displaced.”
2018-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8242 (2018) · source
“The United Nations has received reports of air strikes and ground-based strikes resulting in scores of civilian casualties, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and displacement. This comes amidst reports ofnegotiations for a localized agreement between the parties to the conflict. In Idlib governorate, the situation remains catastrophic, with almost 400,000 people displaced since mid-December, in addition to the tens ofthousands who were displaced from eastern Ghouta and eastern Qalamoun. There are simply no more sites or shelters available for the vast majority of new arrivals. There has been a 25 per cent increase in Idlib's displaced population as compared to one year ago, with 1.2 million ofthe 2 million people in the governorate now displaced, many of them multiple times.”
2018-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8242 (2018) · source
“Late last week, hostilities between Government forces and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the besieged area of Yarmouk and neighbouring areas, resulted in reports of civilian casualties and destruction of civilian infrastructure. The access points for over 66,000 people in need are virtually closed. The United Nations stands ready to deliver humanitarian assistance to people in need in southern Damascus areas, but the required approvals and guarantees of safe passage are necessary. At the same time, there has been an alarming escalation of violence between Government forces and non-State armed opposition groups in northern rural Horns and southern Hama governorate, impacting an estimated 210,000 people in the area.”
2018-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8242 (2018) · source
“While eastern Ghouta is no longer besieged as it has come under the control of the Government of Syria, the United Nations has not yet been granted access to Douma, where an estimated 70,000 individuals remain in dire need of humanitarian assistance after years of besiegement and months under intensified shelling and air strikes. The United Nations was last permitted to reach Douma over a month ago, on 15 March, with food assistance for only 26,100 individuals. The United Nations also requires urgent access to the formerly besieged areas of Nashabiyah, Kafr Batna, Saqba and Hamuriyah, where we expect needs to be great. In and around eastern Ghouta alone, there is currently a funding gap of $95 million to assist the population in need.”
2018-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8242 (2018) · source
“The United Nations and its partners are responding to the mounting humanitarian needs of those displaced by providing food, shelter, health care and other assistance and protection services. However, assistance alone is not enough; additional sites urgently need to be made functional so as to ensure adequate living space for all internally displaced persons. Approximately 71,000 people have been transported to north-western Syria since mid-March from eastern Ghouta and eastern Qalamoun. In Idlib, lack of accommodation, continued fighting and insecurity are ongoing challenges. The latest movements saw people accommodated in the Euphrates Shield area of northern Aleppo. Humanitarian access to these areas remains limited, however, and subject to the restrictions imposed by the local authorities in place.”
2018-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8242 (2018) · source
“Despite resolution 2401 (2018), attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure have reached some of the highest levels since the conflict began. In the first three months of 2018, the United Nations verified 72 attacks on health-care facilities, as compared to 112 attacks in all of 2017. At the same time, cross-line access remains extremely constricted, with only five convoys deploying so far in 2018. A strong response from Member States has never been more in need. Over 160,000 people left eastern Ghouta between 9 March and 15 April, following weeks of fighting. Of those, 92,000 went to sites for internally displaced in rural Damascus. Nearly 45,000 of those people remain at the sites, which are at nearly double their capacity.”
2018-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8242 (2018) · source
“Ms. Mueller: As we speak, the second Brussels Conference on supporting the future of Syria and the region is reaching its conclusion. The meeting, hosted by the European Union and co-chaired by the United Nations, has been an important opportunity to renew and strengthen the commitment of the international community to the Syrian people. The Conference reconfirmed the importance of delivering needs-based humanitarian assistance to all civilians, in line with the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence. Significant funds are being raised in support of that goal. The commitments being made in Brussels come at a critical time, as the needs inside Syria could not be higher. Of the 13.1 million people in need, some 5.6 million are in acute need.”
2018-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8242 (2018) · source
“While the exceptional delivery of assistance from Jordan in early January was a positive development, a sustainable solution is required. Fifthly, more effective arrangements are needed to enable the United Nations to support the work of Syrian non-governmental organizations and to enable international non-governmental organizations to perform the stronger role they can, and are ready to, play in relieving the suffering. I hope that we will be able to report to the Security Council next month on real progress achieved in those five key areas, and that, month after month, we will move forward until they are all fully addressed.”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“First, we need to finalize the United Nations humanitarian response plan for 2018, for which we will be seeking $3.5 billion to meet the needs of more than 13 million people in all parts of Syria. Secondly, it is important that there be an agreement on medical evacuations for hundreds of critically ill people trapped in besieged eastern Ghouta. People in other besieged areas should get the same assistance. Thirdly, humanitarian access needs to improve. The United Nations has requested agreement for three to four United Nations and Syrian Arab Red Crescent inter-agency cross-line convoys each week. We need consistent access to all people in need. Fourthly, we must reach agreement on the United Nations-supported aid convoys from Damascus to Rukban in south-eastern Syria.”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“Cross-border assistance also continued to reach hundreds of thousands of people in need, as 653 trucks delivered food assistance to more than 500,000 people, health assistance for over 600,000 treatments, as well as other support for hundreds of thousands. After almost eight years of conflict, people's needs are as vast as they are critical. The United Nations and its partners will continue to deliver to millions of people in need. The United Nations also stands ready to bolster such support, but requires efficient and effective mechanisms to ensure the safe and rapid delivery of aid. To that end, the Emergency Relief Coordinator has identified five areas where the United Nations is looking to make concrete progress.”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“The United Nations remains in discussion with Turkish authorities on restarting operations as quickly as possible to ensure the continued delivery of assistance, which hundreds of thousands of Syrians rely upon every month. Those access challenges underscore the importance of using all the modalities of delivery at our disposal. Despite prevailing challenges, the United Nations and its partners have continued to reach millions of people in need each month. For example, in December, regular programming from within the country resulted in the delivery of humanitarian assistance to millions of people, including over 3 million people who received food assistance through 1,500 deliveries. The United Nations and its partners also provided health, protection and education services.”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“The situation has been further compounded by the refusal of the Governor of Hassakah to issue facilitation letters for our deliveries. While the cross-border operations of our partners continue, such assistance is not sufficient to meet the needs in the north-east. To solve the situation, I call on all parties and those with influence over them to engage now to see that access to those areas resume. Finally, due to insecurity in the north-west, which has included numerous rocket attacks from within Syria into Turkey, on 20 January the United Nations temporarily suspended cross-border deliveries at the two authorized border crossing points in Turkey.”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“Discussions about convoys have stalled over requirements to lower the number of beneficiaries and about splitting convoys in a way that would not allow us to provide food or other essential items. Our deliveries must continue to be based on humanitarian principles and international humanitarian law, impartially based on civilian need. At the same time, the United Nations is also seeing access to areas previously reached under regular programming coming to a halt. Local authorities in north-east Syria have twice held humanitarian convoys at the checkpoint with Government-controlled areas in eastern Aleppo. Furthermore, local authorities have requested changes related to the operations of our non-governmental partners, which in turn has blocked our assistance delivery to much ofnorth-east Syria.”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“Risk from explosive hazards is not limited to Raqqa; there are indications that substantial contamination also exists throughout Deir ez-Zor governorate, where there has been little or no mine surveying or clearance. Despite the desperate humanitarian needs in many areas in Syria, the United Nations and humanitarian partners continue to face serious challenges in accessing those in need. Last month, I briefed the Council that none of our cross-line convoys were able to reach besieged locations and that only two convoys had accessed hard-to-reach areas. This month, the United Nations and its partners have had no access to any such locations at all. Not one convoy has been able to deploy.”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“However, humanitarian partners continue to emphasize that, given the high prevalence of landmines, booby traps and unexploded ordinance, Raqqa is not safe for civilian returns. Deaths and injuries due to explosions have been reported with alarming frequency, and trauma cases nearly doubled in recent months. More than 534 civilians have been injured in blasts since the expulsion of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant from the city in October 2017, of whom 112 people died. Each week, between 30 and 50 civilians continue to arrive at trauma centres in Raqqa after being wounded by improvised explosive devices concealed in their homes and neighbourhoods.”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“I urge all parties, and all those with influence over the parties, to see to it that all such medical evacuations take place without conditions or delay. With reference to all of the flashpoints I have highlighted, I call on the parties to ensure the protection of civilians and civilian and medical infrastructure, in line with international humanitarian law, and to ensure the safe, sustained and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance to all in need. I would also like to take this opportunity to reiterate my concern about the protection situation in the city of Raqqa, where returns continue despite the widespread presence of explosive remnants of war. Nearly 60,000 individuals have reportedly returned since the end of hostilities in October 2017.”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“In the first 10 days of the year, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights documented at least 81 civilians killed in the enclave, including 25 women and 30 children. Scores of residential buildings in the area have been damaged or destroyed in recent weeks. I also note with concern that shelling continues from eastern Ghouta into Damascus, resulting in civilian deaths and injuries. Although 29 patients in urgent need of medical care were allowed out of eastern Ghouta in late December, hundreds more, most of them women and children, require immediate medical attention. So far, there have been 21 civilian deaths among those waiting for and needing medical evacuation. Their needs are critical, and the law is clear.”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“That was the second reported strike on the facility in nine days. Further north, in Afrin, in Aleppo governorate, the United Nations is carefully monitoring the situation of over 300,000 people living in the district, which is experiencing fighting. We have reports of civilian casualties and that approximately 15,000 people have been displaced within the district, with another 1,000 displaced to Aleppo governorate. We have also received reports that local authorities inside Afrin are restricting civilian movement, particularly for those who want to leave. I am also concerned about the situation in eastern Ghouta and areas of Damascus, where civilian deaths and destruction of civilian infrastructure continue to be reported.”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“Air strikes and fighting in southern Idlib and northern Hama have resulted in more than 270,000 displacements since 15 December 2017, driving people from their homes to other areas of Idlib. Camps for displaced people are overstretched, forcing most of those displaced to seek shelter in some 160 makeshift settlements. During the cold and wet winter months, many families have nothing else but improvised tents, which they share with others. Attacks on medical facilities and vital infrastructure continue, with reports of at least 16 attacks on health- care facilities during the month of December alone. Yesterday Medecins Sans Frontieres reported that air strikes had hit a hospital it supports in the Saraqib district of Idlib, causing five deaths, injuring others and seriously damaging the facility, which is now closed.”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“During the visit, he heard individual stories from some of the people caught up in the violence and conflict. In Homs, he saw entire districts of the city reduced to rubble. The visit was the first for an Emergency Relief Coordinator in more than two years. It was an important opportunity to see ways in which the United Nations can support people in need. It was also a chance to hold discussions with the Government of Syria and our humanitarian partners on how to address some of the most pressing humanitarian needs. As fighting continues, I am particularly concerned about the safety and protection of civilians caught up in the violence in north-west Syria, where hostilities have reportedly caused numerous deaths and injuries.”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“Ms. Mueller: I thank you, Mr. President, for this opportunity to provide the Security Council with an update on the humanitarian situation in Syria. Years of conflict have caused immeasurable human suffering and left countless civilians dead, injured or missing. The United Nations estimates that 13.1 million people are in need of protection and humanitarian assistance, including 6.1 million people who are displaced within the country. Another 5.5 million people have fled the conflict across borders into neighbouring countries. The Council will have heard at first-hand the account of the Emergency Relief Coordinator in his statement to the Security Council on 22 January with regard to his visit to Syria, in which he highlighted the plight of the Syrian people.”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“Humanitarian workers need to be able to safely deliver aid, when and where it is most needed. The people of South Sudan deserve nothing less.”
2018-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8166 (2018) · source
“In conclusion, I call upon the members of the Security Council to help mobilize timely investment in the 2018 humanitarian response plan to ensure that life-saving assistance reaches those most in need; to use their influence to ensure that the parties to conflict comply with all their obligations under international humanitarian law; to ensure that the parties to the conflict respect and protect civilians, including humanitarian workers, and civilian objects, including humanitarian assets, and to make sure that the parties to the conflict meet their obligations to allow and facilitate the rapid and unimpeded passage of impartial humanitarian relief for civilians in need. Such obligations were acknowledged and restated in the President's decree on access and in the cessation of hostilities agreement.”
2018-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8166 (2018) · source
“More than 2.1 million people benefited from water and sanitation programming; 900,000 people were provided with vital emergency items, including blankets and mosquito nets; more than 390,000 children benefited from educational programming; and over 560,000 people received services addressing gender-based violence. In 2018, humanitarian partners hope to assist even more people to avert a further deterioration in humanitarian conditions. That includes providing protection services to 4 million people and food security and livelihood support to 5.5 million.”
2018-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8166 (2018) · source
“Obligations under international humanitarian law remain in effect for as long as the armed conflict lasts. Ijoin the Secretary-General and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission in calling upon the parties to the conflict to adhere to international humanitarian law and to ensure safe and unhindered humanitarian access, as specified in the 21 December agreement on the cessation of hostilities. Despite the challenges, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners reached more than 5.4 million people in South Sudan last year. Over 5.1 million people received food assistance and emergency livelihoods support. More than 2.5 million people received emergency health kits, and some 900,000 children and pregnant and breastfeeding women received emergency nutritional assistance.”
2018-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8166 (2018) · source
“In 2017, at least 28 aid workers were killed in the line of duty, and over 1,100 incidents were reported, the highest annual count since the start of the conflict. Those incidents included killings, kidnappings, attacks against humanitarian assets and bureaucratic impediments. An example of the latter is the increased fees for work permits for foreign nationals - from $100 to as much as $4,000 - imposed by South Sudan's Labour Ministry. The challenging operating environment is restricting the ongoing dry season prepositioning of supplies and overall programme delivery. Health, nutrition, food security and the provision of other life-saving assistance and support are regularly interrupted and hundreds of thousands of people are without access to assistance for extended periods of time.”
2018-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8166 (2018) · source
“Yet, overall, access challenges have continued to delay and interrupt the humanitarian response. Last month, in Unity state, truck drivers delivering humanitarian supplies by road from Juba reported a total of 66 checkpoints controlled by SPLA and different non-State actors, with some charging fees. This month, in the Upper Nile region, the SPLA and the national security mounted a new roadblock along the Aburoc- Kodok road, demanding payment for commercial and humanitarian vehicles. I would also like to highlight that in December, humanitarian organizations relocated 65 aid workers due to fighting, bringing the total number of relocations for 2017 to over 600. Unfortunately, such access challenges follow a long-established pattern.”
2018-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8166 (2018) · source
“The implementation of the Republican Order for the Free, Unimpeded and Unhindered Movement of Humanitarian Assistance Convoys, issued by the President in November, has been inconsistent, and the humanitarian access situation across South Sudan remains highly complex and unpredictable. However, there have been some positive developments. Last week, the International Organization for Migration announced that, for the past month, it has been able to provide consistent primary health care in Greater Baggari, an area south of Wau that was cut off from assistance by the SPLA for more than a year. In Western Equatoria, a humanitarian convoy delivering assistance to Congolese refugees in Yambio County was completed safely for the first time this month without force protection.”
2018-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8166 (2018) · source
“Since the last briefing to the Council on this topic (see S/PV.8132), violations of international humanitarian law and human rights violations and abuses have continued to be perpetrated by both the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition. Civilians have continued to be killed and forcibly displaced by clashes between the parties, including in Yei River state and Lasu in Central Equatoria and Northern Liech in Greater Upper Nile. Several thousand people have fled to Ethiopia and Uganda just this month.”
2018-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8166 (2018) · source
“Last year, the traditionally surplus food-producing areas of Greater Equatoria and Western Bahr el Ghazal saw a significant decline, producing between 30 and 50 per cent less cereal than in 2016. Ongoing clashes surrounding food production are of serious concern this year. I am also deeply disturbed by the continued high rates of sexual violence. In 2018, humanitarian partners estimate that 1.8 million women and girls are at risk of gender-based violence. In response to such staggering figures, partners are aiming to scale up support services to reach nearly 400,000 more vulnerable people than last year.”
2018-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8166 (2018) · source
“Women and children are particularly vulnerable to food insecurity and their situation is projected to deteriorate. An estimated 250,000 children will be affected by severe acute malnutrition in 2018, requiring urgent life-saving interventions. The new Executive Director of UNICEF, Henrietta Fore, underscored that point during her recent visit to South Sudan. The alarming levels of food insecurity and malnutrition are closely linked to people's inability to plant or harvest due to the ongoing conflict and constraints upon their freedom of movement. Cultivation continues to be severely limited by widespread violence, displacement and destruction of assets.”
2018-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8166 (2018) · source
“Only through timely, adequate funding will the United Nations and humanitarian partners be able to procure and pre-position supplies during the ongoing dry season to ensure that we can prevent an already critical humanitarian situation from worsening. According to the most recent food security analysis, 5.1 million people are currently estimated to be severely food insecure. That is an increase from the October to December period, and an increase when compared to this time last year. Some 1.5 million people are in emergency-level food insecurity, just one step away from famine, and around 20,000 people are already in famine conditions. The next lean season, which begins in March, is likely to see food security worsen, and could see famine conditions spread to several new locations across the country.”
2018-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8166 (2018) · source
“Ms. Mueller: I thank you, Mr. President, for this opportunity to brief the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in South Sudan. Following the briefing provided to the Council on 7 December 2017 by the Emergency Relief Coordinator (see S/PV.8124), humanitarian partners launched the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan for South Sudan. Under the plan, humanitarian partners are seeking to assist 6 million people with life-saving aid and protection, which is more than half of the entire population of the country, even after more than 2 million South Sudanese already fled the country as refugees. An additional 1.9 million people are displaced within the country. This highly prioritized humanitarian response plan requires $1.7 billion. Leveraging new funding in the coming weeks will be critical.”
2018-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8166 (2018) · source
“None of us should stand silent while civilians suffer and while fear tactics and the denial of food water, medical supplies, and other forms of aid are used as methods of war. What we and the Syrian people look to the Security Council and to the international community for today is that all parties uphold their basic obligations under international humanitarian law and human rights law; that civilians are protected; that attacks on civilian infrastructure be stopped; that regular and unhindered access to all modalities, including medical supplies, be allowed; and that the horrific practice of siege end.”
2017-07-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8015 (2017) · source
“Since then, the modality has been a success with United Nations cross- border deliveries providing a lifeline for millions of people in nine governorates. With more than 15,000 trucks monitored and confirmed by the United Nations Monitoring Mechanism during this period for the integrity of their consignments without incident, the importance of United Nations cross-border operations is surely beyond question. As it remains a vital lifeline to so many need, that modality to deliver aid must be preserved during the coming months. The conflict in Syria may be complex, but ensuring that people are protected and supported is our imperative as humanitarians and human beings.”
2017-07-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8015 (2017) · source
“The latest and only available data as of May shows that humanitarians collectively reached 8.5 million people in a single month, including 4.4 million women and girls and 4.1 million men and boys with multisectoral assistance. Of particular note is the beginning of the polio vaccination campaign this week by the World Health Organization, UNICEF and other health partners, which is targeting 450,000 children in Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa. Thus far, 27 polio cases have been confirmed. I call on all parties to ensure the safety of and access for the vaccination campaign teams. As members are aware, the polio virus respects no borders or any political, religious or security affiliations, and we must contain it. This month marks the third anniversary of the adoption of resolution 2165 (2014).”
2017-07-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8015 (2017) · source