YouSaid · the spoken record

Rajasingham

lines on the record

169

first

2019-03-27

most recent

2023-12-20

sittings or episodes

13

sources

un-security-council

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1. “The recent opening of Mukalla airport to humanitarian flights will go a long way towards addressing this challenge. Humanitarians have also been directly targeted. Over several days in late December, the premises of four international humanitarian organizations in Al Dhale’e were attacked with rocket-propelled grenades. These unprecedented attacks wounded one person and damaged property. As a result, 14 organizations suspended programmes benefiting 217,000 people in the area, although some of the most critical activities continued without interruption. We are grateful to the Government of Yemen, local authorities and other stakeholders for working closely with us to improve security. Humanitarian organizations in the area are now working to resume their activities safely.”

   2020-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8704 (2020) · source

2. “Our donors have made it clear that they are watching this issue very closely as they make funding decisions for this year. On a separate note, we were encouraged that senior Ansar Allah officials recently agreed, without conditions, to the assessment of the FSO SAFER oil tanker, which is decaying off the coast of Al-Hudaydah and at risk of rupturing. We were therefore disappointed when other Ansar Allah officials later reversed this position. We are following up with the authorities now to confirm how we might proceed. In the south, humanitarian agencies also face constraints, and we are concerned that these recently seem to be intensifying. Ongoing volatility remains an issue. Periodic clashes in Shabwah have prevented aid convoys from travelling along the southern coast several times, including just two weeks ago.”

   2020-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8704 (2020) · source

3. “Our most recent data show that access constraints are affecting 6.7 million people who need assistance across the country. This figure has never been so high. In recent briefings, Council members have heard about the bureaucratic impediments, harassment and violence that humanitarian agencies are facing in northern Yemen. Serious problems persist. Too many staff are harassed and threatened. Others are arbitrarily detained or unable to move freely, sometimes for extended periods. Humanitarian premises have been forcibly entered. Missions continue to be delayed or cancelled, which means people do not receive the help they need on time. We are engaging continuously with the Ansar Allah authorities on these concerns and hope to find practical solutions to ensure we can deliver assistance in accordance with humanitarian principles.”

   2020-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8704 (2020) · source

4. “Such smaller-scale incidents occur in a constant stream and receive less attention than they should. Critical civilian infrastructure is not spared either. On 26 December 2019, mortars once again struck the Red Sea Mills in Al-Hudaydah, forcing the World Food Programme to temporarily suspend milling. It is unacceptable that civilians should so disproportionately bear the brunt of this conflict. At all times, the parties must uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law to avoid harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure. The best way to end such harm is to build on the de-escalation measures the Special Envoy has described and to move as quickly as possible to a nationwide ceasefire. The second issue is also an obligation under international humanitarian law: unhindered humanitarian access.”

   2020-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8704 (2020) · source

5. “Civilian casualties in 2019 were approximately 35 per cent lower than the previous year, and civilian fatalities are down by almost half. However, it is still a very dangerous place. In recent weeks, we have seen hostilities flare up once again along several front lines, particularly in Al-Dhale’e, Al-Hudaydah and Shabwah. Although clashes have been mostly contained, we continue to see mass-casualty incidents across the country. On 25 December, a market in Sa’ada was attacked for the third time in a month, killing at least 8 civilians, while 89 civilians have been killed or wounded in attacks at the same market since November 2019. Every day, we receive reports of civilians killed or injured when shells land on their homes; snipers fire on their communities; or landmines or other munitions explode.”

   2020-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8704 (2020) · source

6. “Mr. Rajasingham: Every month, we brief the Security Council on five priority issues in Yemen: first, respect for international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians; secondly, humanitarian access; thirdly, funding for the United Nations aid operation; fourthly, the Yemeni economy; and, lastly, progress towards achieving peace. Last year, we saw improvements on many of those issues. The Special Envoy also outlined earlier important steps forward on the political track, but events over the past two months remind us how volatile the situation remains. First, with regard to the protection of civilians, Yemen is on the whole less dangerous for civilians than it was before the Stockholm Agreement a year ago.”

   2020-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8704 (2020) · source

7. “Humanitarian organizations have shown that they can deliver. An average of 5.5 million people were reached with assistance inside Syria each month last year, from Damascus and through cross-border channels. Continued international engagement and support will allow us to build on this in 2019, sustaining and further strengthening what is one of the largest and most complex aid operations ever implemented. We remain firmly committed to implementing principled, needs-based humanitarian action across all areas of Syria, working with Syrian counterparts and communities. Protection, saving lives and restoring dignity will remain at the centre of our efforts.”

   2019-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8493 (2019) · source

8. “Close to $2.2 billion were provided against the 2018 humanitarian response plan alone, covering 65 per cent of the requirements requested for operations inside Syria. We appeal for the pledges made in Brussels to be quickly converted into contributions for 2019. We commend the Government of Turkey for its hospitality in hosting close to two-thirds of the total number of registered Syrian refugees and facilitating help to millions more inside Syria, including through cross-border operations authorized by the Security Council. In addition, we express our appreciation to the Governments and people of Jordan and Lebanon, which are hosting the highest numbers of refugees per capita in the world, as well as those of Iraq and Egypt, where efforts towards inclusive policies are making a huge difference to refugees' lives.”

   2019-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8493 (2019) · source

9. “International support for efforts to respond to the needs of millions of Syrians remains critical. At the third Brussels Conference on Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region, on 14 March, international donors pledged a record $7 billion to meet needs inside Syria and ensure support for refugees and host communities in neighbouring countries. The Conference was a resounding demonstration of the international community's continued solidarity with the people of Syria and Syria's neighbours, who continue to host millions of refugees at great economic cost. We reiterate our thanks to the donor community for the new funding announced in Brussels and the billions more that have been provided since the crisis began, saving countless lives.”

   2019-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8493 (2019) · source

10. “The deployment of a third convoy has therefore been requested to allow essential needs to be met ahead of the Ramadan period, which begins in early May. Food, medicine and other life-saving supplies delivered in February are already running low, and the replenishment of stocks will become increasingly urgent over the coming weeks. Earlier this month, the Secretary-General noted that "[a]s the conflict enters its ninth year, Syrians continue to suffer from one of the worst conflicts of our time". The Secretary-General appealed for the protection of civilians in Idlib and broader respect for international humanitarian and human rights law, and highlighted the importance of continued improvements in sustained humanitarian access. The scale of the humanitarian challenges facing the people of Syria remains staggering by any measure.”

    2019-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8493 (2019) · source

11. “Discussions are ongoing with the main parties involved, including the Government of Syria, the Russian Federation, the United States and the Government of Jordan, to further clarify the process and address the concerns that have been raised by people in Rukban. The United Nations continues to reiterate the importance of a carefully planned, principled approach that ensures respect for core protection standards and does not expose vulnerable, and in many cases traumatized, displaced people to additional harm. All movements must be voluntary, safe, well-informed and dignified, with humanitarian access assured throughout. In parallel, the United Nations also continues to strongly advocate for additional humanitarian assistance for those who remain in Rukban.”

    2019-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8493 (2019) · source

12. “The United Nations welcomes efforts in support of durable solutions for the more than 41,000 people who remain stranded in the makeshift Rukban settlement. Some 95 per cent of people surveyed by United Nations and Syrian Arab Red Crescent teams last month expressed a desire to leave the settlement, although most also highlighted various protection concerns. Movement out of Rukban has taken place in recent days. Some 362 people left the settlement on 23 March, passing through a Government checkpoint and transit site and arriving, on 24 March, at a collective shelter in Homs city, where they received humanitarian assistance from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, with United Nations support. Further gradual movement is expected in the coming weeks.”

    2019-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8493 (2019) · source

13. “The parties have clear obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law to treat all persons within their power humanely and allow persons deprived of their liberty to communicate with their families. Special protections are also provided to all children under the age of 18, including those affiliated with fighters. In Hajin, Baghouz and other areas most directly affected by counter-ISIL operations, the extensive destruction of homes and infrastructure is reported, and high levels of explosive hazard contamination will represent an additional serious obstacle to the safe return of the tens of thousands of civilians displaced from the area. The rapid mobilization of explosive hazard clearance capacities is needed, in line with the parties' obligations under international humanitarian law.”

    2019-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8493 (2019) · source

14. “In line with humanitarian principles, needs-based assistance is also being provided to women and children from third countries, including family members of suspected foreign fighters. But the situation remains extremely challenging, with the rate of new arrivals far exceeding the capacity of the site. Expansion efforts are under way. It is critical that Member States continue to support humanitarian organizations impartially by providing life-saving assistance in Al-Hol. The situation in Al-Hol and south-east Deir ez-Zor presents a number of complex protection challenges. Among them is the notable absence of adult males and adolescent boys over the age of 15 in the camp.”

    2019-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8493 (2019) · source

15. “It is estimated that, since early December, more than 140 people have died either on the way to Al-Hol or shortly after arrival in the camp; of those, some 80 per cent were children under the age of five. The population ofAl-Hol now exceeds 72,000 - an increase ofmore than 25,000 over the past month - with indications that more people could still be on the way. The United Nations and its humanitarian partners have rapidly mobilized a major relief operation and continue to scale up the response, in many cases redirecting capacities and stocks from other parts of the country. Food, shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene, non-food items and health and protection services are now being provided for new arrivals.”

    2019-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8493 (2019) · source

16. “It is critical that respect for international humanitarian law and human rights be at the centre of the parties' military efforts to address the challenging situation on the ground in the north-west. Tens of thousands of displaced people - the vast majority of whom are women and children - have continuedtoarriveatAl-HolcampinHasakahgovernorate from south-east Deir ez-Zor governorate. Most new arrivals are in extremely poor health, with many showing signs of distress and suffering from trauma injuries, malnutrition and fatigue. They have undergone a gruelling journey of hundreds of kilometres in open trucks, in many cases after an extended period of exposure to intense hostilities and after years of living in a situation of extreme deprivation and human rights abuse under the rule of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).”

    2019-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8493 (2019) · source

17. “Health facilities, including a hospital in Saraqib city, which had been deconflicted with the parties through established procedures and schools are reported to have been hit. Last August, the Secretary-General spoke about the "growing risks of a humanitarian catastrophe in the event of a full-scale military operation in Idlib". Today, those risks continue to loom large. Humanitarian organizations continue to respond to needs in Idlib and to prepare for the possibility of further deterioration, but, as we have stated previously, a full-scale military onslaught in the area would overwhelm humanitarian response capacities. We therefore reiterate the Secretary-General's call on all parties to exercise restraint and to prioritize the protection of civilians.”

    2019-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8493 (2019) · source

18. “The agreement to establish a demilitarized zone, announced by the Russian Federation and Turkey on 17 September 2018, was followed by a reduction in violence across much of the north-west. But recent weeks have seen an alarming spike in civilian casualties and new displacement, with increased shelling along the front lines, an intensification of air strikes and a growing number of attacks involving improvised explosive devices in urban areas, including Idlib city. Residential areas in Aleppo city have also been targeted with mortar and sniper fire. Last month alone, 90 people were killed, of whom nearly half were children. At least 86,000 people have also reportedly been displaced by this latest upsurge of violence.”

    2019-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8493 (2019) · source

19. “Mr. Rajasingham: This month marks the eighth year since the Syrian crisis began - eight years of lives being uprooted; eight years of families being torn apart; eight years of children being needlessly exposed to traumatic violence. Eight years on, the humanitarian crisis in Syria is far from over. United Nations assessments indicate that 11.7 million people require humanitarian assistance and protection inside the country in 2019. More than 5.6 million Syrians live as refugees across the region. And while violence has decreased in many locations, in others, recent weeks have seen increasing numbers of civilians being killed and injured. The situation in Idlib and surrounding areas in the north-west of Syria remains of grave concern.”

    2019-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8493 (2019) · source