YouSaid · the spoken record

Obrien

lines on the record: 875
first: 2010-06-29
most recent: 2017-08-30
sittings or episodes: 46
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“According to the United Nations team on the ground, it is resulting in widespread fear, panic and a real struggle to survive by civilians. We call on all parties to immediately cease all hostilities in order to prevent a further loss of life and further unacceptable human suffering. The current escalation in violence is causing severe damage to critical infrastructure - water, electricity and heating. Combined with low winter temperatures, the result is a deteriorating humanitarian situation. Today temperatures are -10Â°C but, -20Â°C is not unheard of at this time of the year. Adequate shelter, heating and access to water are therefore essential to people's survival. Shelling has damaged electricity and water systems, with a knock-on effect on the heating supply; once damaged, it could take days, or weeks, for systems to restart.”
2017-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7876 (2017) · source
“Mr. O'Brien: I thank Under-Secretary-General Jeffrey Feltman and His Excellency Mr. Apakan for their briefings. I am also grateful for this opportunity to join them in briefing the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine. Over three years into the conflict in eastern Ukraine, in what has become yet another protracted humanitarian crisis, we are now faced with a significant deterioration in the situation following the sudden and recent escalation in violence. That escalation on both sides of the contact line in Donetsk oblast near Avdiivka and Donetsk city has claimed the lives of four civilians, all women, since 18 January, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.”
2017-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7876 (2017) · source
“I also request that Council members, first, use their influence over the parties to the conflict to ensure that they respect international humanitarian law and provide timely, full and unimpeded humanitarian access; secondly, hold parties to the conflict accountable for breaching their obligation to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure; thirdly, facilitate an increase in commercial imports of essential supplies, facilitate the import of cranes to Hudaydah, support the rehabilitation of the port and extend the mandate of the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism for Yemen beyond April; fourthly, demand the resumption of commercial flights to Sana'a; and, fifthly, facilitate lines of credit for the purchase of staple food, including wheat, to traders and Yemeni banks, and urge the Government of Yemen to use funds from the first batch of newly printed Yemeni riyals optimally, equitably and without political bias and ensure that civil servants are paid throughout the country.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7871 (2017) · source
“In conclusion, I request that Council members once again call for an immediate ceasefire and cessation of hostilities. The Yemeni people need a political solution to the horrendous conflict they are caught up in.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7871 (2017) · source
“I welcome the efforts of the Saudi authorities and other partners to strengthen the dialogue and information-sharing with humanitarian partners to overcome the challenges faced in the delivery of humanitarian assistance in Yemen. For 2017, approximately $2 billion is required to support the humanitarian response, targeting 10 million of the most vulnerable people in Yemen. The increase over 2016 is directly tied to the breakdown of the socioeconomic order, increased suffering and the absence of a cessation of hostilities and a political settlement. The parties to the conflict are closing their ears to the desperate pleas of the Yemeni people and to those of the broader international community. I ask Member States to pledge generously at the forthcoming Yemen pledging conference, to be held late in March.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7871 (2017) · source
“Thanks to the swift intervention by humanitarian partners, which established 26 cholera treatment centres and launched a massive containment campaign through water and sanitation interventions, the cholera outbreak, which started in October, is now in decline. We must remain vigilant, as there are still more than 18,000 suspected cases. In recent weeks, there have been some improvements in overcoming bureaucratic impediments, especially in terms of issuing visas to humanitarian workers. Dialogue is also becoming more effective in leading to a better understanding with parties to the conflict and their responsibilities under international humanitarian law.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7871 (2017) · source
“Two of the cranes will be used exclusively by the United Nations, by the WFP, and help expedite the timely delivery of vital humanitarian aid supplies. In spite of the difficult conditions and tremendous challenges, the humanitarian community delivers. Together in 2016, we reached 5.6 million Yemenis in need with direct assistance and via a coordinated response in 22 governorates. There are five operational hubs - in Aden, Hudaydah, Ibb, Sa'ada, and Sana'a. More than 114 humanitarian organizations are working in Yemen and are delivering life-saving and life-sustaining assistance across the entire county. In the darkness of conflict, there are some glimpses of hope.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7871 (2017) · source
“Once goods are offloaded, there are often additional bureaucratic impediments that slow down the transport of commodities to their final destinations. All parties have to be held responsible for those impediments. Moreover, ports have been damaged and need to be repaired. Hudaydah port, Yemen's main port - through which 80 per cent of imports arrive and which was damaged in the conflict in 2015 - has not been rehabilitated. A vessel carrying four mobile cranes procured by the World Food Programme (WFP) has arrived in the Red Sea, but has been ordered by the Saudi authorities to leave Yemeni waters and is now anchored 50 miles off Yemen's coast. The vessel is awaiting the coalition's approval to berth at the port. Those cranes will boost the port's capacity in handling humanitarian cargo.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7871 (2017) · source
“Let me provide the Council with an update on the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM). As of 23 January, UNVIM. had cleared 324 vessels from 394 requests. Since the beginning of operations, more than 5 million metric tons of cargo have been discharged, including 2 million tons of food and just over 1 million tons of fuel. During this period, 54 vessels were not cleared; 20 vessel clearances were revoked, 28 cancelled and six declined. The Mechanism has completed 21 inspections of suspicious cargo or information presented. Delays in receiving clearances are also due to restrictions imposed by the Saudi-led coalition, such as the hampering of vessels' access to Yemeni Red Sea ports and in the absence of clear lists of prohibited items.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7871 (2017) · source
“Petroleum prices rose by more than 33 per cent. Cooking gas is now 60 per cent more expensive. The sharp decline in the Central Bank's foreign reserves combined with its move to Aden and lack of liquidity has had a ruinous socioeconomic impact. Yemen could run out of wheat within months unless traders can access lines of credit in the coming weeks. Foreign banks no longer accept financial transactions with many of Yemen's commercial banks. We must mobilize to sustain the traders' ability to import, replenish the country's stocks of staple food and reverse the trend of growing food insecurity and potential starvation. In addition, some humanitarian organizations are struggling to find enough cash to implement projects. The end result is a country in economic distress, which is translating into acute humanitarian need.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7871 (2017) · source
“In addition, 1.25 million civil servants, including nurses, doctors and teachers, do not receive salaries regularly. Yemen's middle class is growing poorer, and many are no longer able to provide for their families. While a batch ofmoney arrived in Aden earlier this month, no information has been received as to whether it will reach civil servants in all governorates. Yemen's contracting economy, the associated liquidity crisis and the continued depreciation of the local currency mean further hardship for Yemen's people. Ninety percent of Yemen's food and fuel and almost all medical supplies are imported. Only 40 per cent of pre-crisis amounts of fuel are now entering the country. Import restrictions are leading to price increases. For instance, in December the price ofwheat flour was 25 per cent higher than in the pre-crisis period.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7871 (2017) · source
“This could include addressing security concerns through previously established flight routing through Bisha, Saudi Arabia, or other airports within the Saudi-led coalition. Humanitarians now fill in for collapsing public institutions, which at this scale is beyond both our capacity and our remit. The health-care system is in decline. Public infrastructure such as bridges and ports, as well as water and sanitation systems, is being destroyed. The near-collapse of the country's social security and economic institutions has a multiplier effect on humanitarian needs. Yemen's poorest families, widows, orphans, people with disabilities and the elderly are no longer receiving a monthly allowance of 2,500 rials - about $10 - per person.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7871 (2017) · source
“The closure of Sana'a airport to commercial flights since 9 August has had a disproportionate impact on Yemen's civilians and further increases the humanitarian caseload. The lack ofin- country specialist medical care means that more than 20,000 Yemenis are unable to seek treatment abroad. Similarly, life-saving medicines cannot be flown in. Students are unable to resume their studies abroad, and Yemenis outside the country seeking to go home are unable to do so. In addition, the suspension of commercial flights has also meant thatjournalists can no longer travel to Sana'a and report on Yemen's grave humanitarian situation. We expect all parties to the conflict, including the Government of Yemen, to do the utmost with the Saudi-led coalition to reopen the airport and airspace to commercial flights.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7871 (2017) · source
“So far, the United Nations has verified more than 325 attacks on schools, health facilities, markets, roads, bridges and even water points. More than two thirds of the damage to public infrastructure is a result of airstrikes. Violations of international humanitarian and human rights law continue unabated and largely with impunity. Attacks against hospitals, schools and other protected civilian structures and facilities must stop immediately. International norms must be respected. Granting rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access is a key obligation under international humanitarian law. Yet people face major challenges in accessing humanitarian aid, and humanitarian actors face impediments to access people in need, including due to active fighting, insecurity, bureaucratic hurdles and a lack of funding.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7871 (2017) · source
“At least 2 million people need emergency food assistance to survive. Again, the situation for children is especially grave, as 2.2 million babies, boys and girls are acutely malnourished, and almost half a million children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition. This represents a 63 per cent increase since late 2015. Children are going to bed hungry every night. Shockingly, incidents of gender-based violence have reportedly increased by more than 63 per cent since before the conflict. As of this month, there have been 10,806 reported cases. To be clear, this means more rapes, more forced marriages, more child brides and many more unspeakable acts of violence against girls, boys and women compared with two years ago. All parties to the conflict are failing to take precautions to spare civilians and civilian infrastructure.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7871 (2017) · source
“Girls, boys, women and men are dying of hunger and diseases that are easily preventable and treatable. Unfortunately, vital food commodities and medicines cannot be imported easily owing to access restrictions imposed by all parties. People with chronic diseases, including high blood pressure and diabetes, who are not receiving life-sustaining treatment due to medical shortages are slowly dying. The conflict in Yemen is now the primary driver of the largest food-security emergency in the world. If there is no immediate action, famine is now a possible scenario for 2017. There are currently 14 million food-insecure people, of whom half are severely food-insecure. This means that Yemenis are not able to feed themselves adequately and are frequently forced to miss meals or eat food with poor nutritional value.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7871 (2017) · source
“A grim illustration of the impact on children is the air strikes two weeks ago near a petrol station next to a school in Sana'a governorate's Nihm district that resulted in the death of one schoolgirl and injury to four others. A week earlier, on 3 January, a school was completely destroyed in Sa'ada governorate's Safra district, reportedly - and luckily - without any child casualties. Since the hostilities began in March 2015, more than 1,400 children have been killed and over 2,140 injured. Another 1,441 children, some as young as 8, have been recruited by warring parties. The actual numbers are likely to be much higher. Beyond the direct casualties of the armed conflict, there are also the so-called silent deaths of Yemenis that go largely unnoticed and unrecorded.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7871 (2017) · source
“It is clear that in this fight the most affected are the ordinary Yemeni people, who continue to suffer. Overall, more than two thirds of the population - an alarming 18.8 million, as we have heard - is in need of humanitarian and protection assistance, including an astounding 10.3 million Yemenis who require immediate assistance to save or sustain their lives. This is about the size of the entire population of Sweden, and the numbers are rising. More than 2 million people are internally displaced. By 31 December, 7,469 Yemenis had been killed and 40,483 injured owing to the conflict. The true number is likely to be higher, as we report only cases by health facilities that are still functioning - a mere 45 per cent. Overall, the plight of children remains grim, with a child under the age of 5 dying every 10 minutes of preventable causes.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7871 (2017) · source
“Mr. O'Brien: Since my previous briefing (see S/PV.7797), the humanitarian situation in Yemen has further deteriorated, while the armed conflict has continued to intensify, with daily air strikes and armed clashes. In the past week, we received reports of at least 365 conflict-related security incidents, up from 231 in the previous week, and at least 100 airstrikes in Taiz governorate alone. During the last quarter of 2016, approximately 2,400 incidents consisting of air strikes, armed clashes and shelling were reported throughout Yemen. This is a 12 per cent increase from the previous three months. Today I am particularly concerned about civilians caught up in the crossfire in Mokha, Taiz governorate's coastal region. I have received reports that more than 5,000 families are fleeing.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7871 (2017) · source
“Fourthly, I ask that we all rally behind Staffan de Mistura's tireless efforts on behalf of the Secretary-General to find a political solution that brings an end to the conflict and meets the aspirations of the Syrian people. After a chronicle of missed opportunities, this is the time for the various parties to come together and bring an end to this horrendous chapter in Syria's history.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“I call on the States members of the Council to do all in their power, collectively and individually, to see the following implemented. First, they must ensure the current ceasefire is sustained, and that it results in increased access after months of stagnation. We need full implementation of the monthly access plan to reach all those in need. Secondly, they must ensure that all parties protect civilians and civilian infrastructure and abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law. Thirdly, they must recommit to ensure that the barbaric act of besiegement is immediately lifted across the entire country.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“After nearly six years of senseless and brutal conflict, we have all been longing for a glimmer of hope that the suffering of the Syrian people might finally be coming to an end. The past few weeks have seen far fewer civilians killed and injured since the ceasefire came into effect on 30 December 2016. In some parts of the country at least, it has given a respite for people who have told us loud and clear that all they want is to be safe and for their families to be protected from violence. But the ceasefire alone is not enough. We must maintain our outrage at what is occurring in Syria and what is being perpetrated against the Syrian people. Now is the time for advocacy and now is the time for renewed determination.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“Fighting has had an adverse impact on infrastructure such as water and power stations, affecting people's ability to access basic services. Food insecurity is also considered a major problem. Access to Raqqa by the United Nations has been highly constrained due to insecurity and ISIL's restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian assistance, with the last United Nations inter-agency convoy to Raqqa taking place in October 2013. Access and security permitting, which they currently do not, the United Nations and humanitarian partners do stand ready nonetheless to respond to further large-scale temporary displacement as military efforts to push ISIL out of Raqqa continue.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“Should such deprivation of water to civilians be determined to have been deliberate, those responsible may have committed a war crime. Accountability must be ensured for the perpetrators of such acts. Fourthly, I would draw the Council's attention to the military operation in Raqqa district, where I have serious concerns for the safety and security of over 400,000 people in need, including over 150,000 internally displaced people. So far, some 35,000 people have been displaced as a result ofthe fighting, although many have returned to their homes since the fighting has subsided. Humanitarian partners are providing a response to those displaced to the north towards Tell Abyad. The majority of the population of Raqqa district is reportedly facing critical problems in meeting immediate needs.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“Thirdly, I turn now to rural Damascus, where the situation remains deeply troubling. Fighting in the Wadi Barada area, just outside of Damascus city, continues and has already displaced an estimated 17,500 people. Water remains cut off from the main source since the fighting began, affecting the primary water supply for some 5.5 million people in Damascus and surrounding areas, who now only have minimal access to water. In response, technical teams comprising the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and water authorities, entered the Wadi Barada area on 13 and 14 January for a preliminary assessment of damages. However, following the assassination of a member of the reconciliation committee, fighting was rekindled and the assessment mission suspended before the repair works could commence.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“I am deeply concerned for the safety and protection of an estimated 93,500 people in the besieged western side of Deir ez-Zor in Syria following reports ofISIL attacks, resulting in the death and injury of scores of civilians. Since 15 January, ISIL reportedly took control of several areas including the main road and the Deir ez-Zor airport and is gaining ground in several more areas, splitting the besieged enclave in two. Beyond the temporary suspension of air drops by the World Food Programme, the Al-Assad National Hospital was temporarily closed. Water has reportedly also been cut for thousands of people living in ISIL- controlled areas around Deir ez-Zor due to fighting damaging power generators in the area. Mobile communication has reportedly stopped throughout the area.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“UNICEF continues emergency water trucking and the provision of fuel for operating wells, which together benefit nearly 1 million people - 400,000 people from water trucking and 600,000 people from public wells - across the city. And together with the Aleppo Department of Education, UNICEF and non-governmental organizations have provided education support to thousands of children and youth. We must make sure that the record and the positive balance are put in the public domain. The United Nations and others will remain committed and actively engaged in assisting all those in need in Aleppo who we can access, working tirelessly with our humanitarian partners to ease suffering and provide a basis for recovery. Secondly, I promised to provide an update on Deir ez-Zor.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“The United Nations and its partners have provided hundreds of stoves and other essential winterization items. Furthermore, the United Nations is supporting communal kitchens that provide hot meals for thousands, and a static clinic and, in coordination with the relevant authorities, commenced with the distribution of personal identity documents. In western Aleppo, over 50,000 are being supported as part of increased regular programming activities already being delivered on a daily basis to support the over 400,000 IDPs inside western parts of the city. That includes regular distribution of food and non-food items. The United Nations has recently provided 250 metric tons of medical supplies - enough for 300,000 treatment courses - to Aleppo city, and in December provided enough medicine for 430,000 treatments.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“I am deeply concerned about reports relating to the stockpiles of humanitarian supplies found in eastern Aleppo since the evacuation. I take that extremely seriously. We need to establish the facts and, as I speak, we are following up on those reports urgently. I emphasize to the Council that such matters draw into stark relief the need for unimpeded access of the United Nations and humanitarian partners to all areas in Syria, not only to allow us to deliver, but to monitor the needs and the appropriate distribution of assistance, even after materials have been pre-positioned. On the outskirts of eastern Aleppo city, there are 5,077 people who have been displaced to the Jibreen collective shelter. Parts of the shelter remain in need of rehabilitation, particularly winterization.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“Those funds will provide responses to immediate needs, assist with the rehabilitation of basic services and removal rubble and undertake other necessary steps to create the conditions where people can safely return to their homes. In eastern Aleppo, a total of over 65,000 people have been officially registered as having returned to or having stayed in the eastern districts of the city. Most now live in damaged houses or are scattered across various neighbourhoods, with Hanano hosting the largest number of returnees to date. Other neighbourhoods that registered high levels of returnees include Tariq Al-Bab, Al-Kalaseh and Bustan Al-Qaser. In those areas, the United Nations has been active in providing immediate relief. Food items, medical services, protection and education support have all been provided to those in need.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“The United Nations has had an ongoing presence in Aleppo since 2014 and responded immediately to the additional humanitarian needs caused by the displacement of so many. The level of assistance was immediately increased and the United Nations has since continued to address the needs of those people displaced from or returning to eastern Aleppo, alongside the brave humanitarians working for the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and International Committee of the Red Cross, as well as other national and international non-governmental organizations. Nearly 90 per cent of the supplies distributed by all partners are provided by the United Nations, and just last week $19 million was released from the OCHA-managed Syria Humanitarian Fund to support immediate life-saving and early recovery assistance for thousands ofpeople.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“Following the cut-off of running water to the some 1.8 million in Aleppo due to a technical problem - as we understand it - whose solution lies in ISIL-controlled territory outside of the city, the humanitarian situation has become even more difficult. Last month, OCHA provided Council members with a detailed overview of our response to those 36,000 people who evacuated into rural western Aleppo and Idlib. Those 36,000 people were provided with immediate life-saving assistance that is now part of the regular cross-border humanitarian programming that assists some 900,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Idlib, as well as elsewhere in the north. I will now brief the Council on the United Nations response in each of the main areas in which those affected by the Aleppo crisis have been displaced or returned to across the city itself.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“First, in Aleppo, humanitarian needs continue to be staggering. Since 24 November, nearly 160,000 people have been at least temporarily displaced from formerly besieged neighbourhoods of eastern Aleppo. This includes over 120,000 people displaced to Government- controlled areas in and around Aleppo city or having stayed in eastern Aleppo, and over 36,000 people evacuated to non-State armed group-controlled Idlib and rural western Aleppo. The humanitarian situation for many of those who have been displaced or have stayed has been difficult, and the cold winter has exacerbated the situation further.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“The reduction in numbers, however, should not be mistaken for progress in addressing the scourge of besiegement. Parties continue to use siege as a weapon of war, and in each of these cases we saw protracted periods of restricted aid, as well heavy fighting and bombing, as a precursor to the agreements that brought the areas back under Government of Syria control. I continue to call for an immediate end to all besiegement by all parties in this conflict. The act of besiegement does nothing other than to punish civilians, who already bear the brunt of this terrible conflict. Let me provide the Council with an update on four locations in Syria where humanitarian action remains greatly needed and, sadly, often contested: Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor, rural Damascus and Raqqa. I shall address each of these in turn.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“Madimayet Elsham in rural Damascus was delisted due to the significant improvement in humanitarian access and freedom of movement over the past three months following the signing and subsequent implementation of a local agreement. Hajar al-Aswad, in rural Damascus, was also removed due to the access that has been available through Yarmouk, Yelda and Al-Qadam. Further, population figures have been adjusted for other locations based on the latest and most accurate information received from the ground. This includes a reduction of 1,200 people for Fo'ah and Kafraya, in Idlib, following their evacuation from the two towns in December. Adjustments were also made for areas in the eastern Ghoutah enclave due to movements within the enclave, as well as for Zabadani and Khan al-Shih.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“They can rest assured that their actions have saved many lives of their fellow Syrian and global citizens, protecting them wherever possible and never desisting, despite relentless setbacks, threats and danger. And, ifI may, let me pause to take a moment to honour all those humanitarian aid workers who have been killed in their duties. As was noted last month, with the evacuation of eastern Aleppo the number of those besieged in Syria was reduced. Following a comprehensive review by the United Nations, it is now estimated that as of January some 643,780 people are living in 13 areas under siege. Three locations were removed from the previous list of 16 locations, where some 974,080 people were unable to move freely. The eastern neighbourhoods of Aleppo were removed following their full take-over by the Government of Syria in December.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“I will leave the WFP Deputy Executive Director to provide more context and reports on our United Nations airlift and air drops capacity, and activity, particularly at Hasaka and Deir ez-Zor. I pay a complete tribute to all the extraordinary steadfast and unflinchingly courageous aid workers - those from NGOs, Syrian, regional and international; those working cross-border from both Jordan and Turkey, as well as those within Syria; those across the United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, and my colleagues in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA); those with the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies; and the local communities and families that have set aside so much to help others.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“This has allowed United Nations partners to deliver medical supplies sufficient for 9 million treatments, including for 2 million people to be vaccinated. Some 3 million have been fed, many on a monthly basis. Assistance has been delivered to various parts of Aleppo, Idlib, Lattakia and Hama governorates in Turkey, and Dar'a and Quneitra governorates in Jordan. These operations complement the critical role played by international and Syrian NGOs, which provide assistance and services to millions more from neighbouring countries. In addition, the United Nations has completed 294 airlifts to Qamishly, delivering 10,000 metric tons of food; water, sanitation and hygiene products; and nutrition, education, shelter and non-food assistance on behalf of humanitarian actors, including 120,000 full food rations.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“The World Health Organization, which the Council will also hear from this morning, along with UNICEF, implemented their accelerated routine immunization campaign in northern Syria, vaccinating some 104,000 children in Jarablus and other parts of Aleppo governorate. Over the course of 2016, over 4 million non-food items were distributed across Syria, nutrition items were provided to some 3 million, and shelter was provided to nearly 300,000 people. Moreover, the vital humanitarian cross-border activities continued to represent a crucial element of the United Nations response. Since cross-border operations began in July 2014, following the adoption of resolution 2165 (2014), the United Nations has conducted more than 467 cross-border convoys, or nearly four a week on average.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“I say without, I hope, being seen as defensive, that the fault is not at the door of the United Nations or the non-governmental organizations (NGOs); it is the Syrian Government and the local governors who are responsible. I would ask Council members to direct their irritation and influence at them. We need to be allowed to pass - not as a favour but as a right - and safely. On the ground, despite enormous challenges, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners in Syria continue to deliver life-saving assistance and support to millions of people across the country every month. For example, the World Food Programme (WFP) - which the Council will hear more from in a few minutes - reached over 4 million people with food commodities in December alone.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“On 11 January, the United Nations Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator in Damascus sent a note verbale to the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a list of practical suggestions to speed up access, simplify procedures and get convoys moving. No response has yet been received. We have the capacity to deliver to hundreds of thousands of people in besieged and hard-to-reach areas every month, and we are ready to move should access be allowed by the parties to the conflict. We call on all Council members with influence over the Syrian authorities and on members of the humanitarian task force to do more to ensure the support of the Syrian Government to deliver life-saving assistance through the existing structures and mechanisms.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“And yet, despite these two positive factors, we continue to be blocked at every turn by lack of approvals at the central and local levels, disagreements on access routes, and the violation of agreed procedures at checkpoints by parties to the conflict. Are these important? Yes. We cannot "just plough on" or "just get on with it", as I have heard one member sitting around this say table to me, because if one brave aid worker drives through the check point without these facilitation letters and the command is then transmitted down the line, the checkpoint guard or their sniper takes the shot.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“In both December and January, the Syrian Government did respond within the agreed seven working days to our monthly inter-agency convoy plans, but subsequent administrative delays on the part of the Government - including in the approval of facilitation letters, approval by local governors and security committees, as well as broader restrictions on the part of all parties - continue to hamper our efforts and deprive the most vulnerable civilians of much- needed assistance. Let me be perfectly clear. We have a humanitarian task force whose sole purpose is to ensure access, and since 30 December we have had a ceasefire that has improved security in many areas.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“In December, one - just one - inter-agency convoy delivered assistance to 6,000 people out of a total of 930,250 people requested under the December inter-agency convoy plan. This is less than 1 per cent of what we aimed to achieve, and even in this one instance when we could deliver, over 23,000 medical items were removed from the United Nations inter-agency convoy. So far, in January the situation is not much better, with only one inter-agency convoy deployed to Moadamiya, on 7 January, reaching 40,000 people; however, this was a location that we had requested under last November's plan.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“Such access was not easily achieved, but took the hard work of the United Nations team in Damascus and in Geneva, with the support of influential Member States - especially the Russian Federation and the United States. Frustratingly, and with dire humanitarian consequences, significant challenges with cross-line access have re-emerged. Sadly, access has currently returned to the levels we saw before the humanitarian task force came into effect. That diminution in access is, in part, because the two-step approval process agreed by the Syrian authorities has become, in practice, a ten-step process. Despite high rates of in-principle approvals, only one or two approved convoys have reached their destinations in each of the last three months.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“We all owe it to the people of Syria, who have suffered so much, to do everything in our power to see the political process succeed and to see their hope restored. Sadly, in recent months, we have too often been unable to translate hope into humanitarian action. From the formation of the Task Force on Humanitarian Access, as part of the International Syria Support Group in early 2016, up until September last year, we saw unprecedented access to those most in need in Syria. By September of last year, over one and a quarter million people were reached via inter-agency convoys to besieged and hard-to-reach areas, compared to just 487,000 in all of2015.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“It is also our hope that further consolidation of the ceasefire will help to create a supportive environment for the resumption of intra-Syrian negotiations in Geneva, under the auspices and lead of the United Nations, as per relevant Security Council resolutions. Special Envoy de Mistura has just attended the Astana meeting and he will brief the Council, as the President mentioned, more fully on the political track, on 31 January. As we move towards United Nations talks, the collective hopes of the world are for a political solution based on resolution 2254 (2015) and the Geneva communique (S/2012/522, annex). There is no other solution, neither humanitarian nor, indeed, military - however emboldened some parties may feel following the full evacuation of eastern Aleppo.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“That will be an opportunity for the international community to reiterate and pledge their commitment to support the Syrian people. I also take hope in recent developments on the political track. This week we saw those who, despite years of fighting, were willing to set the past aside to sit alongside one another in Astana. The agreement by Russia, Turkey and Iran in Astana to establish a trilateral mechanism to observe and ensure full compliance with the ceasefire is a welcome development. Saving Syrian lives is the shared priority of all of us, and the United Nations stands ready to assist in the establishment of this mechanism.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“And yet, as we start 2017, and as hard as it is to imagine, there are some emerging reasons to hope. Since 30 December, a nationwide ceasefire continues to hold, despite some breaches. That has provided a rare moment of respite for many, and we must all do everything in our power to see that it is consolidated and extended. I have also just returned from Helsinki, where the world came together to support Syrians and the region. Even with continuing dire humanitarian needs, I took away a sense of hope from my meetings in Finland, none more so than in the steady determination of Syrian non-governmental organizations, with whom I had the honour to sit alongside as we discussed the humanitarian priorities for the coming year. Together with the European Union, the United Nations will host a conference on Syria in the beginning of April.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source
“We witnessed the destruction in Darayya, dubbed "Syria's capital of barrel bombs", and the relentless demolition of eastern Aleppo. We saw towns besieged, bombed and then emptied. We saw buses, intended to evacuate civilians, burning outside of Fo'ah. We have seen the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) recapture the ancient city ofPalmyra. And we have watched as these actions brought with them an atrocious, incalculable human toll. The Secretary- General, myself and my colleagues have called the situation a slaughterhouse, a complete meltdown of humanity, the apex of horror. There is no pretending; that is what daily life was like for millions of civilians across Syria throughout 2016 - so much suffering in just 12 months, and all of it under our collective watch.”
2017-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7870 (2017) · source