YouSaid · the spoken record

Qaddour

lines on the record
13
first
2021-09-15
most recent
2021-09-15
sittings or episodes
1
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un-security-council

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  1. “Lastly, I want to leave Council members with words not from myself, but from Ghaith, a Syrian nurse who administers vaccines to children in Syria, as his words perfectly capture the plight of aid workers and the dark reality on the ground: “Between one bomb and the next, it would feel like our life was flashing before our eyes, not just for me but for the children who hadn’t yet seen anything in this world.” Although Ghaith’s words are haunting, I think that compelling testimonies like his should propel us with the power and resolve to continue to protect those in peril.”

    2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source

  2. “Before I conclude, I want to take a moment to acknowledge and commemorate those who lost their lives this past year during their service, including Mariam Fathallah, Ammar Sheikh Ahmad, Anwar Al-Daher, Samira Al-Souqi, Subhi Al-Assi and countless others from agencies such as Hand in Hand, Big Heart, the Syrian American Medical Society, Shafak and Violet, among other incredible actors working on the ground.”

    2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source

  3. “The irony is that, although those organizations have absorbed the most risks as time has passed in Syria, often times those risks are passed down to them. Many organizations have therefore endured greater scrutiny over time and been forced to deal with more and more bureaucratic impediments. The notions of duty of care and the protection of aid workers and civilian populations still has a long way to go before being applied in a meaningful way that aligns with, and is proportional to, the risks faced by those agencies on a daily basis.”

    2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source

  4. “With operational considerations, I want to take this opportunity to expand on the risks aid agencies and aid workers face on the front line. Even with tremendous collaboration and a spirit of partnership with agencies further upstream, organizations that are on the ground will always be zero degrees of separation from the violence, fear and insecurity that comes with an imperative to provide services. Those actors will always be on unequal footing with agencies that are not on the ground, simply because the risks will never be shared in the same way. I know that might sound negative, but I say that rather to emphasize the reality and the need to explore those risks together, as Mr. Griffiths emphasized, and to share them with agencies at the forefront.”

    2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source

  5. “I know that, leading up to the mandate renewal, the Security Council heard a series of briefings and perspectives on the vital need for access. I will therefore not go into as much detail on that particular decision since it is in our close periphery. But I will say that difficult decisions have been made regarding how to reach different populations because of restricted access. The unfortunate thing is that, when you look at certain areas on the ground, there is often an over-saturation of services in areas with more fluid access — and, conversely, a visible neglect of other hard-to-reach areas. The bottom line is that access capability is not what should decide which communities are able to receive assistance.”

    2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source

  6. “That gap in service provision has been one of the most concerning recently. There are multiple facilities in those regions that are the only ones servicing those populations. A big reason for that is diminished funding. Certainly, there has been generosity from donors, but it must be said that in some cases there has been a 40 to 50 per cent decrease in funding for health services in Syria. That includes countless facilities managed by different health actors, including Al-Firdous Hospital in Daret Ezza, Al-Salam Hospital in Harem and Al-Rahma Hospital in Darkoush. Funding is one key element of the operational environment, but we also know the access piece has been at the top of all discussions leading up to the vote this past July.”

    2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source

  7. “That has also been the case with persons who live with disabilities, and although there has been some progress made with more tailored and specialized services for those individuals, we still have a very long way to go to ensure that their needs are fully met. Although COVID-19 seems to be the most salient concern for many countries, there are many other pressing health concerns occurring in parallel in Syria that still remain a priority, specifically in terms of chronic illnesses and infectious diseases. And as we approach the winter, we anticipate that the need to address those will become more necessary, since so many people will have inadequate shelter and warmth. A major concern is the gaps that have emerged for women, specifically in terms of access to maternal health services, which are so closely linked with children’s services.”

    2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source

  8. “Other areas are on lockdown, such as Harem, Salqin and Kafr Takhareem. And in the past, I have noted how lockdowns in a context where the economy has crumbled and people rely on a daily wage is essentially a death sentence, particularly as we see the inability to obtain food has led to numerous cases of malnutrition and instances starvation, specifically among infants and pregnant women. Throughout the pandemic, certain parts of the population have become more isolated, such as the elderly, who have been hard to reach and at the same time unable to access vital services that they need outside of their homes.”

    2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source

  9. “Another critical barrier to accessing school and the cause of delays to starting the school year is the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The crippled education system simply does not have the capacity to maintain or even facilitate remote learning in the way that one would see in other more stable and developed settings. That brings me to a more general reflection of where the COVID-19 pandemic and response stands in Syria — where less than 1.5 per cent of the population is vaccinated relative to the United States, where more than 50 per cent of the population is vaccinated. In north-west Syria, cases are dramatically increasing. Intensive care unit beds in hospitals are full. There is a massive shortage of vaccines and a delay in the roll-out, with in some areas, such as in Ras Al-Ayn and Tel Abyad, having no vaccines delivered to date.”

    2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source

  10. “Recently, we have seen an increase in children as young as 10 years old forced into heavy manual labour in construction and even mining. Those precarious working conditions pose risks for adults, let alone children who have been stripped of their ability to maintain a semblance of a normal and safe childhood and be afforded the right to healthy development. We have seen an increase in suicides, including among young people and even children, whose entire lives have been permeated by conflict. The atmosphere is palpable with hopelessness and despair. Many children are unable to go to school, in part due to continuous displacements but also to economic desperation in the country as a whole. Many families must make very difficult decisions to survive, often with regard to their children, who must work in order to support their household.”

    2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source

  11. “Specifically in terms of some of the most vulnerable groups, we are seeing increased violence in such overcrowded, contentious settings, especially for women in terms of intimate partner violence. We have also seen an increase in rape cases and other forms of sexual violence against children and adolescents in particular. Beyond addressing those incidents from a health standpoint, such as the clinical management of rape and individual psychological support, we have found that other key service areas, such as mechanisms to hold perpetrators accountable and safe housing measures, have not been fully integrated within the immediate needs of the population, given the volatile context. Similarly, the exploitation of children, including child recruitment and child labour, is on the rise.”

    2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source

  12. “Griffith emphasized in his briefing, namely, that the protection needs of the population are inextricably linked to every other concern we see in north-western Syria. Specifically, in the most recent period, we have seen an escalation of hostilities that has impacted civilians and aid workers themselves, including the recent attacks on Jabal Al-Zawiya, where populations were displaced to areas further north such as Salqin, Atme and Sarmada, among others. With the shrinking amount of space for people to find safety from the most rudimentary, physical standpoint, we are seeing other protection needs continue to rise. With so many residing in crowded camps and other temporary settlements, as I am sure Mr. Griffiths saw, the security risks have become exponential.”

    2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source

  13. “Ms. Qaddour: I thank you, Madam President, for allowing me to brief the Security Council once again after my previous briefing over a year ago (see S/2020/758). I also wish to thank Mr. Griffiths for his powerful briefing and congratulate him on his new role as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. I am here on behalf of an incredible team of over 2,000 aid workers on the ground in Syria from Syria Relief and Development, many of whom have been providing vital life-saving services for the past 10 years. Through my messages today, I am hoping to serve as a conduit on behalf of those aid workers and the many other outstanding non-governmental organizations in Syria that have continued to work in a context that is akin to hell. That is why I want to open by complementing what Mr.”

    2021-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8861 (2021) · source