YouSaid · the spoken record

Thomas-Greenfield

lines on the record: 1,605
first: 2021-05-27
most recent: 2023-12-22
sittings or episodes: 219
sources: un-security-council

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

“We continue to encourage both Israelis and Palestinians to exercise restraint and refrain from provocative actions and rhetoric, including settlement activity, the annexation of territory, evictions, demolitions, incitement to violence and compensating individuals in prison for acts of terrorism. We hope to partner with Israel and the Palestinian Authority in maintaining calm and keeping flash points like the situation in Jerusalem — whether in the Old City, on the Temple Mount/Al-Haram Al-Sharif or in Sheikh Jarrah — from reigniting the situation. As the immediacy of the most recent escalation recedes, we must make good on our commitments to provide humanitarian assistance and support recovery efforts in Gaza. To that end, the United States continues to provide critical humanitarian aid to vulnerable Palestinian refugees.”
2021-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8826 (2021) · source
“I thank Ms. Hastings for her briefing. Once again, I would like to express my deep appreciation for the work of the United Nations, particularly her team and Special Coordinator Wennesland. I also thank Ms. Oppenheimer for her participation today. I welcome and acknowledge the participation of the Permanent Representative of Israel and the Permanent Observer of the Observer State of Palestine. The United States remains committed to a two-State solution. And we will continue to oppose efforts to single out Israel unfairly in United Nations forums. Israelis and Palestinians deserve equal measures of freedom, dignity, security and prosperity. Violence threatens those goals directly. We are therefore encouraged that the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Gaza- based militants, for the most part, continues to hold.”
2021-07-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8826 (2021) · source
“Today let us therefore recommit ourselves to protecting them, to holding those who threaten them accountable and to ensuring that they have the space and the resources that they need to serve the world.”
2021-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8822 (2021) · source
“Finally, as noted by the briefers, policies addressing humanitarian assistance, sanctions and counter- terrorism issues are often intertwined. We must make sure that those policies are not conflicting, but mutually reinforcing and do not compromise security. We therefore support discussions on how to facilitate humanitarian assistance in contexts where there are applicable Security Council sanctions, while seeking to ensure that Member States are fully complying with their international obligations under international humanitarian law. Humanitarian workers represent the best of us, and they deserve our protection — and, as Mr. Mardini said, without exceptions.”
2021-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8822 (2021) · source
“And in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, access by road and by air, along with electricity, telecoms, banking, activity and fuel supplies essential to aid delivery, are being denied. This is unconscionable, especially in the very place that woke the modern world up to the scourge of hunger. Aid workers must be permitted to provide unhindered humanitarian assistance in this region and stave off terrible famine. In every humanitarian crisis around the world, the coronavirus disease has created more need and more difficult working conditions for aid workers. That is why we support the Secretary-General’s statement and the Security Council’s resolve in resolution 2532 (2020) calling for a global ceasefire, while continuing to conduct legitimate counter-terrorism operations.”
2021-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8822 (2021) · source
“In Syria, one of the worst humanitarian crises, the Al-Assad regime has put far too many conditions and limitations on the ability to deliver aid. In Venezuela, one in three people is food insecure and, for far too long, the World Food Programme was not able to reach desperately hungry people. We are greatly relieved it is finally able to begin operations, which represents a major breakthrough in humanitarian access. Now it is time to press forward. We call on others to join the United States in urging the Maduro regime to work with the United Nations so that the Organization can again publish an independent humanitarian-needs assessment to support the humanitarian response.”
2021-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8822 (2021) · source
“It is our collective duty to ensure these impartial actors are protected. And it is our responsibility to listen to local and national aid workers, actively solicit their input and implement real solutions for their security. We therefore call on Member States and all parties to conflicts to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law and respect and protect the independence and neutrality of humanitarian organizations. It is time to give aid workers the protection and the security they deserve so that they can do the world most important work, namely, saving lives and creating livelihoods. Beyond the danger faced by aid workers, humanitarian access is too often restricted in other ways.”
2021-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8822 (2021) · source
“I have spent my career supporting their work, visiting refugee camps, meeting with humanitarian workers and seeing their life-saving work in action. Personally, I can only imagine how stressful it must be to do this difficult and dangerous work, day in and day out. The world owes humanitarian workers our unending gratitude. And yet, somehow, perversely, these heroes are being attacked, kidnapped and sometimes killed. These appalling incidents are far too common. Just last month mine clearers from the HALO Trust in Afghanistan were attacked, and three Doctors Without Borders aid workers in Tigray were killed. And we heard so many other examples today. Again, these humanitarian actors are not armed. Their security depends on host nations, parties to armed conflict, peacekeepers, communities and Member States.”
2021-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8822 (2021) · source
“I thank the French presidency for bringing us together to discuss this pressing issue. I also would like to thank Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed, Director General Mardini and Delegate Director Grosjean for their compelling remarks. A new and sickening trend has emerged: the deliberate targeting of humanitarian workers. We have heard with horror today from briefers the prevalence of such attacks: attacks against doctors, aid workers, drivers and people delivering food, clean water and medicines, as well as attacks against hospitals and against schools. Humanitarian workers are the world’s superheroes. They go into war zones unarmed. They do not support any side to any conflict. They voluntarily risk life and limb purely to save lives and alleviate suffering.”
2021-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8822 (2021) · source
“A Libyan-led and -owned ceasefire monitoring mission will have an important role in verifying the departure of mercenaries and, eventually, other foreign forces. To that end, we are encouraged that the Joint Military Commission is developing its plans for the ceasefire monitoring mechanism in consultation with UNSMIL, including the small number of observers already deployed. The international community clearly and fully supports the Libyan people on their road to national elections. We must now do everything we can to help ensure that potential spoilers, both internal and external, do not derail months of hard-fought progress. In this final stretch, it is important, and it is incumbent upon all of the parties, to support the Libyan people.”
2021-07-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8820 (2021) · source
“We have seen the LPDF continue discussions in recent weeks on the path forward to elections facilitated by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and Special Envoy Kubiš. Today he described to us those efforts and called on all parties to do what is necessary to achieve the elections. It is essentials that the members of the LPDF rededicate themselves to those discussions. The Security Council must also continue to support efforts to resolve the issues surrounding military de-escalation and call for the immediate departure of foreign forces and mercenaries. We must again stress the importance of the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement; anything less, as Mr. Kubiš stated, would threaten the ceasefire.”
2021-07-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8820 (2021) · source
“The electoral process must be Libyan-owned, Libyan-led and free from foreign interference or malign influence. Many of us here participated at the second Berlin Conference a few weeks ago. We were pleased to see such a robust turnout, including the participation of the interim Libyan Government. Berlin was successful in demonstrating a resounding commitment to supporting national elections on 24 December, echoing resolution 2570 (2021), adopted unanimously in April. It is clear that the international community expects national elections to take place, as agreed in the road map adopted by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF). To go from road map to reality, constitutional and legislative arrangements must be adopted — I cannot say that more clearly.”
2021-07-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8820 (2021) · source
“I thank you, Mr. President, for presiding over today’s meeting. I also thank Special Envoy Kubiš for his very useful briefing. I would like to join others in welcoming the presence of the Cabinet Minister from Kenya, the Minister for Foreign Affairs from Tunisia, the Libyan Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister from Germany and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States. A political solution in Libya is possible. It is necessary and urgent. But it requires elections on 24 December, as planned. Parties must come together to ensure that happens by putting needed legal and constitutional frameworks in place. National elections will advance both democratic progress and Libyan unity, by allowing the 7 million Libyans throughout the country to have a voice in shaping Libya’s future. The elections must not be delayed.”
2021-07-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8820 (2021) · source
“There is more we can do — and should do — in the weeks and months ahead. I want to conclude where I started, that is, by thanking the co-penholders — Ireland and Norway — for their strong leadership and responsible stewardship of the negotiations. They made this humanitarian agreement possible. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to all my colleagues, whose alignment on this agreement will save countless lives.”
2021-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8817 (2021) · source
“Today’s successful adoption averted a catastrophe for a population that has already suffered too much. Courageous United Nations front-line and non-governmental organization workers can now make their plans and secure their procurements to deliver necessary aid through this literal lifeline. Starving children will receive food. Sick mothers will receive medicine. A people ravaged by COVID-19 will receive vaccines. While we had urged the Security Council to go even further and expand the humanitarian access that is so desperately needed today, the Council has made a decision to save lives. I am therefore thankful for our humanitarian agreement. Today’s reauthorization will not completely fill the vast needs on the ground, but it will provide crucial relief. We will continue working to expand all forms of access.”
2021-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8817 (2021) · source
“It is an important moment for our global recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, because vaccines can now flow into Syria. It is important that the United States and Russia were able to come together on a humanitarian initiative that serves the interests of the Syrian people. It is an important moment for the United Nations and for the Security Council, which today showed we can do more than just talk — we can work together to find solutions and deliver action on the world’s most pressing challenges. With the reauthorization of the Syria cross-border humanitarian mechanism for the next 12 months, the United Nations can now get back to its important business of saving lives through the delivery of food, shelter, medicine and other humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people.”
2021-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8817 (2021) · source
“Let me start by expressing deep gratitude to the co-penholders for the extraordinary efforts they made to get us to this point today. I also want to thank all of the members of the Security Council for their support. Thanks to resolution 2585 (2021), millions of Syrians can breathe a sigh of relief tonight knowing that vital humanitarian aid will continue to flow into Idlib through the Bab Al-Hawa border crossing after tomorrow. Parents can sleep tonight knowing that their children will be fed for the next 12 months. The humanitarian agreement we have reached here will literally save lives. Today’s vote is therefore an important moment. It is a moment for millions of Syrians who will not have to worry about starving to death in the coming weeks.”
2021-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8817 (2021) · source
“We also urge representatives of the Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt to continue to discuss with our Government the full range of possible means to de-escalate tensions and to demonstrate flexibility in their approach to resolving this matter peacefully. We call on all parties to refrain from making any statements or taking any actions that might jeopardize the negotiation process and to commit themselves to a negotiated solution that is acceptable to everyone. Reaching a solution on the GERD would pave the way for additional cooperation on water resources, regional development and economic integration. We reaffirm our commitment to working with Egypt, Ethiopia and the Sudan, as well as our allies and partners, to ensure that the African Union-led negotiations resume with urgency and move towards productive, substantive and constructive ends.”
2021-07-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8816 (2021) · source
“Those negotiations should be held under the leadership of the African Union (AU) and should recommence with urgency. This process should use the 2015 Declaration of Principles on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam signed by the parties and the July 2020 statement by the Bureau of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government as foundational references. We believe that the African Union is the most appropriate venue to address this dispute, and the United States is committed to providing political and technical support to facilitate a successful outcome. We urge the African Union and the parties to use the expertise and support of the three official observers — South Africa, the European Union and the United States — as well as the United Nations and other partners to help achieve a positive outcome.”
2021-07-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8816 (2021) · source
“The United States is committed to addressing the interlinked regional crises and to supporting a prosperous and stable Horn of Africa, so we stand ready to support collaborative and constructive efforts by Ethiopia, Egypt and the Sudan to resolve the issues over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). We understand that the Nile waters and how these waters are used are important to all three of these countries, and we believe that this is an issue that can be reconciled. A balanced and equitable solution to the filling and operation of the GERD can be reached with the political commitment the all parties. Egypt and the Sudan’s concerns over water security and the safety and operation of the dam can be reconciled with Ethiopia’s development needs. This begins with the resumption of productive, substantive negotiations.”
2021-07-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8816 (2021) · source
“Let me start by thanking you the briefers — Special Envoy Onanga-Anyanga, Executive Director Andersen and the representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, speaking on behalf of Chairman Tshisekedi — for the information that they shared with us today. I would also like to welcome the participation of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Egypt and the Sudan and the Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy of Ethiopia. The Horn of Africa is at an inflection point. Decisions in the weeks and months ahead will have significant, long-term implications for the people of the region.”
2021-07-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8816 (2021) · source
“We must use this opportunity to protect and save the lives of the people in Tigray as they continue to face famine, displacement and violence, and we must do everything in our power to bring all Ethiopians together for the future security, stability and prosperity of their country.”
2021-07-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8812 (2021) · source
“That includes last week’s senseless killing of three Doctors Without Borders workers, which we condemn in the strongest terms. In recent days, I have been deeply disturbed to hear from non-governmental organizations on the ground about other ways their personnel are being deliberately targeted for harassment and violence. This must stop and the perpetrators must be held to account. The United States stands ready to assist Ethiopia in solidifying and implementing a ceasefire, providing life-saving humanitarian aid and resolving this devastating conflict. We also stand ready to support the wider, necessary dialogue across Ethiopia and promote democratic renewal, national unity and peace. The Security Council should also step up to address these tasks.”
2021-07-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8812 (2021) · source
“Ethiopians must come together to confront the country’s growing divisions and preserve the future of the rich and dynamic society. If this dialogue is to succeed, either in the short term or in breaking long-term cycles of violence, all Ethiopians must be able to call it their own. Equally important will be credible and independent mechanisms for justice and accountability for the atrocities committed. To that end, we welcome the ongoing investigation by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, and we strongly support the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights Commission of Inquiry as it fully and independently investigates violations, abuses and atrocities taking place in Ethiopia.”
2021-07-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8812 (2021) · source
“It would facilitate unhindered humanitarian access. It would affirm that neither the internal nor the external borders of Ethiopia will be changed by force, in contravention of the Constitution, and it should lay the groundwork for discussions towards political solutions to the crisis. We must also recognize the wider political context in which this context has unfolded. That includes both last month’s national election and the extraordinary transition that began several years ago, but remains very much unfinished. The United States commends those Ethiopians who exercised their right to vote last month. Elections alone, however, cannot revoke the escalating polarization that has plagued the country. The next step is to move towards genuine political reform.”
2021-07-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8812 (2021) · source
“For the time being, with the Government’s ceasefire declaration in place, we have a precious opportunity. Now is the time to secure peace — right now. The members of the Council can help translate this ceasefire declaration, first, into a sustainable peace and, then, into dialogue, reconciliation and healing. If the parties to the conflict fail to seize this moment, the consequences for the people of Ethiopia will be devastating — more fighting, more famine, more abuses, more suffering by ordinary Ethiopians and a far more destabilized Horn of Africa. Further fighting poses a risk to the integrity of the Ethiopian State and to the stability of the entire region. A meaningful ceasefire deal would affirm the redeployment of forces and the complete withdrawal of Eritrean troops and Amhara regional forces.”
2021-07-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8812 (2021) · source
“The Ethiopian Government can and should prove this analysis wrong by providing unhindered movement of humanitarian supplies, commodities and personnel into and throughout Tigray. If they do not, we believe that hundreds of thousands of people could starve to death. Once again — we need access, we need aid and we need to end the conflict. Instead of further escalation, we need all parties to negotiate a true ceasefire, and then to honour that ceasefire. To be clear, this includes the Tigrayan forces, the Tigray Defense Forces, which must also demonstrate that they will abide by international humanitarian law and work peacefully and within legal frameworks toward a peaceful solution. And there is more we need to know about the actions of other forces in the region.”
2021-07-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8812 (2021) · source
“In fact, Ethiopian forces looted the offices of humanitarian aid organizations and destroyed communications equipment as they retreated from Mekelle. This is beyond unacceptable. All equipment looted must be returned. We have also since learned that one or more bridges were destroyed along critical access routes to Tigray. Access by road and by air — which, along with electricity, telecommunications, banking activity and fuel supplies is essential to enabling aid delivery — are being denied, as we heard that today from OCHA. Humanitarian workers are reporting that it is more difficult to reach desperate people in Tigray now than it was just a week ago. Such acts, if verified, are an indication not of a humanitarian ceasefire, but of a siege.”
2021-07-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8812 (2021) · source
“It is important for the people of the region to hear our voices and to know that they have not been forgotten, and for the parties to the conflict to know that we are watching. We know that millions of civilians in the region are desperately suffering, and we called for today’s briefing because the conflict needs to end. We need to marshal more funding and scale up the United Nations response, we need to ensure respect for international humanitarian law and humanitarian access, and we need public accountability for the atrocities that have been committed. This week, the Government unilaterally announced a ceasefire, stating that it was doing so for humanitarian purposes. The Government must now demonstrate that it truly intends to use the ceasefire to address the humanitarian catastrophe in Tigray.”
2021-07-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8812 (2021) · source
“We have from non-governmental organizations and United Nations agencies about vast displacements, countless human rights abuses, hundreds of thousands of people facing famine, the bombing of civilians, the killing and intimidation of humanitarian workers, the systematic rape of women and girls and unspeakable acts of sexual violence, the purposeful obstruction of humanitarian aid and the deliberate destruction of United Nations communications equipment. Tragically, these stories remain pervasive. As the Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told us recently, tragedies of historic proportions are taking place in Tigray, and that is why we called for this meeting today.”
2021-07-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8812 (2021) · source
“Let me start by thanking our colleague from Estonia for presiding last month in such an extraordinarily successful way. I would also like to thank all the briefers for their comprehensive briefings on the ongoing crisis in Tigray. The United States deeply appreciates the work they and their teams have done and that they continue to do. I also want to thank my colleagues on the Council for participating in today’s open briefing. In recent months, the Council has been briefed and discussed the situation in Tigray privately half a dozen times.”
2021-07-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8812 (2021) · source
“We call on the Security Council to reauthorize and expand United Nations cross-border humanitarian assistance in order to give the Syrian people a future — a future for themselves, a future for their children and a future that leads us to a sustainable, just peace.”
2021-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8805 (2021) · source
“As we all know, that situation will go from bad to worse if some Council members refuse to renew the cross-border mandate. The United States supports all methods of aid delivery, including cross-line. But, as everyone made clear to me when I visited the border — refugees, non-governmental organization representatives, United Nations humanitarian workers and local experts — there is no alternative to cross-border assistance — none. For millions of Syrians Bab Al-Hawa is a literal lifeline, and we must reauthorize it and reinstate Bab Al-Salam and Al-Yarubiyah. This dire humanitarian crisis directly informs the political situation. If we cut off cross-border aid, we will further destabilize the region and encourage even more internally displaced people. It will encourage more internally displaced people to flee.”
2021-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8805 (2021) · source
“We support efforts by the Office of the Special Envoy to secure the release of the tens of thousands of arbitrarily, or wrongfully, detained Syrian. The families of thousands of missing Syrians have waited for far too long and deserve information about the fate of their loved ones. We also take note of Special Envoy Pedersen’s efforts to seek progress in the work of the Constitutional Committee. All parties should engage constructively with those good efforts. However, without progress in achieving political reforms, the United States will not normalize or support any reconstruction aid that benefits the Al-Assad regime. Finally, we need to achieve a political solution urgently in no small part because of the dire humanitarian situation.”
2021-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8805 (2021) · source
“The Syrian people deserve elections, and those elections should feature a diverse range of candidates, a safe voting environment and a meaningful way for displaced people to participate. In the meantime, the ongoing conflict in Syria poses a threat to regional and international security. We are particularly concerned about the repeated violations of the Idlib ceasefire. In addition, recent strikes, such as the one that hit residential areas and Al-Shifa hospital in Afrin cannot continue. Military actions, particularly against protected health facilities, will not lead to peace. They only lead to suffering. We call on all parties, that is, all parties, to adhere to the nationwide ceasefire. It is time to engage in the political process and end the war.”
2021-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8805 (2021) · source
“There is only one way forward for peace and stability in Syria — a resolution to the conflict and an end to the war. The United States therefore remains committed to resolution 2254 (2015), as it provides the only path to a just, sustainable political solution to the Syrian conflict. That decidedly is not what happened during the so- called election in May. Those elections were not free. They were not fair. They were a sham, plain and simple. They did not include the millions of Syrians who have fled their homes and are displaced inside Syria or across the region. As the Security Council has unanimously declared, elections in Syria should occur, pursuant to resolution 2254 (2015), following the enactment of a new Constitution and under United Nations supervision. None of that happened.”
2021-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8805 (2021) · source
“I thank Special Envoy Pedersen for his briefing today. The United States reiterates its full support for tireless efforts of Mr. Pedersen and his team to broker a peaceful solution to the conflict in Syria. A special thank-you goes to Ms. Abeer Hussain for her efforts and everything that she does to empower women and girls in Syria. Women and girls in Syria and around the world are disproportionately impacted by conflict, and yet they continue to be underrepresented in peace processes. That underrepresentation is unjust. It also holds back peace. We need to support the Women’s Advisory Board and similar efforts because we know for a fact that involving women in the negotiations and the resolution process leads to peace. We need peace because, after a decade of war, the suffering of the Syrian people has gone on for far too long.”
2021-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8805 (2021) · source
“It requires Israel, the Palestinian Authority and our international partners, working together, to chart a more constructive path forward. We need to address the underlying social tensions and avoid triggering the flashpoints that only make it more difficult to move forward. There is new leadership in Israel. We congratulate the new Government and hope it can make serious headway on those issues. Israelis and Palestinians deserve equal measures of security, democracy, dignity and prosperity. Achieving that goal is critical to ensuring peace and stability and avoiding violence over the long term. But in the meantime, we look forward to working with the new leadership in Israel, the Palestinian Authority, regional States and the Security Council to take concrete steps towards a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
2021-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8804 (2021) · source
“We welcome the United Nations efforts to support relief and recovery and we would also appreciate efforts to facilitate the flow of goods into and out of Gaza. We need a mechanism which allows authorities to mitigate any risk of diversion. It is absolutely critical that Hamas cannot divert resources and assistance from the Palestinian people who need it most, so all of us must work and coordinate with the United Nations, Israelis, Palestinians and other key actors to ensure that the designated beneficiaries are the ones who actually receive international assistance. They deserve to have their immediate needs met so that they can recover from the latest round of violence. Of course, a sustainable solution will require more than emergency aid.”
2021-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8804 (2021) · source
“Long before the cessation of hostilities, the United States, as well as our partners and allies, began working on ways to support better lives for Israelis and Palestinians. And on 25 May, Secretary Blinken announced $38 million in new humanitarian assistance for the West Bank and Gaza. We also announced our intention, working with Congress, to provide $75 million in additional development assistance and economic assistance over the next year, supporting relief and recovery in the West Bank and Gaza. Our aid will go far, but the needs — especially in Gaza — are vast. We call on the rest of the Security Council and the international community to support these efforts and offer humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable.”
2021-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8804 (2021) · source
“I thank Special Coordinator Wennesland for his briefing and for all of his work over the past few weeks to preserve calm. We understand that he wants the opportunity to have a more in-depth conversation in closed consultations, so we will keep our public remarks brief. Let us start where we all agree. We are all thankful for the end of hostilities, which surely saved the lives of many innocent people. Ending the violence was a necessary first step, but we all know it will not be the end of the story. The situation in the region remains precarious, and the efforts to avoid violence and reduce tensions are critical. It is essential to take steps to ensure calm and refrain from provocative actions.”
2021-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8804 (2021) · source
“We will undermine that mandate and the credibility of this organ if we are responsible for cutting off millions of people from the food, water and medical assistance they need to survive. We have an obligation to extend the mandate. We must vote for a renewal.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“Do we help Syrians in desperate need? Without cross-border access, more Syrians will die, and we know that. Front-line United Nations workers know it. Non-governmental organizations know it. Al-Assad knows it. Syrian refugees and internally displaced people know it as well. Everybody knows this. That is why the Council has a duty to reauthorize Bab Al-Hawa, as well as Bab Al-Salam and Al-Yarubiyah. It does not take much: a technical rollover for 12 months for three crossings. We should do it now, and not leave mothers and fathers wondering if they will be able to feed their children on 11 July. Our mandate in the Security Council is to maintain peace and security.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“Syria’s economic woes are the result of the Al-Assad regime’s gross corruption and mismanagement of the Syrian economy. With respect to cross-line aid, it can be part of the equation, but it is completely insufficient to meet the needs of millions of desperate people inside of Syria today. Now we have made clear we are willing to work with our partners to expand all forms of assistance to Syrians in need — cross-border as well as cross-line. We are open to it, as are others. But hard truth is that, right now, this is a hypothetical solution with more than a few practical limitations. And ultimately, it is not our choice to make here today. Here is our choice. Do we ensure our humanitarian aid continues to be monitored from start to finish? Do we follow through with our commitment to end the coronavirus-disease pandemic?”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“The rigour and professionalism that I saw at the border crossing is the same gold standard that I have seen from the United Nations throughout my four decades evaluating humanitarian missions as a United States diplomat. At Bab Al-Hawa I saw first-hand how the teams confirmed the contents of the boxes and sealed up the trucks. I saw how they have four points of verification: the border, the warehouse in Syria, the distribution centre and after- distribution to beneficiaries. We need to strengthen as well as expand this operation. We are committed to maximizing humanitarian relief to the Syrian people, which is why we support renewing and expanding this mandate with all modalities of assistance — and to do so with urgency.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“The most recent closures constricted aid at precisely the moment that COVID-19 exacerbated the humanitarian needs on the ground. When Al-Yarubiyah closed, hospitals and NGOs were cut off from supplies. It took months for medical supplies to be re-routed. By the time they reached the people in need nearly a year later, medicines and vaccines had expired, and medical kits had been ransacked of their contents along the way. The NGOs I spoke with told me that anything less than a 12-month renewal of Bab Al-Hawa would once again upend their operations outright. We also benefit from robust United Nations monitoring, which those present heard about today.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“The Syrian refugees and courageous United Nations humanitarian workers with whom I met on the border warned me over and over again that, without cross- border access, thousands of children will be denied food and be permanently stunted in their growth and cognitive development. Others will die because health facilities will no longer have supplies. Millions of people will have reduced access to clean water, medical supplies and, of course, vaccines. They are terrified that that is the choice the Security Council will make. Tragically, their fears are not unfounded because that is exactly what the Council has done to them before. As we all know, there used to be four crossings for humanitarian aid into Syria. Now there is only one.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“I went because I wanted the Syrian people to know that they are not forgotten and because I wanted to see with my own eyes how the cross-border mechanism works so that I could speak first-hand about it. We all agree that, after 10 years of war, Syria is among the world’s worst humanitarian disasters. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has only made the situation worse. As I shared with Members earlier, when I spoke to one humanitarian worker, who told me that for Syrian refugees COVID-19 was “another reason to die”. For millions of Syrians, Bab Al-Hawa is a literal lifeline. As we have heard, every month 1,000 trucks carry food, nutritional assistance, clean water and medical supplies to people living in desperate need.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“I thank Secretary-General Guterres for his briefing and for joining us today. I also wish to thank Mr. Rajasingham and Ms. Ibrahim for their briefings. Today the Security Council is being confronted with a critical decision: what we communicate to millions of Syrians about the dire situation that they are in and whether we plan to continue to provide crucial humanitarian aid cross-border. Three weeks ago, I travelled to the Turkish-Syrian border and I visited Bab Al-Hawa. There I met with United Nations front-line workers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and refugees, who shared devastating stories about what they faced after a decade of conflict.”
2021-06-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8803 (2021) · source
“As we work with the parties and others to address the urgent needs on the ground, let us therefore also start to think through how we can support better lives for both Palestinians and Israelis and turn this fragile calm into something much more sustainable.”
2021-05-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8782 (2021) · source