Ms. Edem Wosornu, OCHA Director of Operations and Advocacy, on behalf of Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr. Martin Griffiths
UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Briefing to the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Syria
27 September 2023
As delivered
Thank you, Mr. President.
From the humanitarian side, allow me to begin, today, on a positive note.
Last week saw the resumption of United Nations humanitarian deliveries from Türkiye into north-west Syria through the Bab al-Hawa crossing. Since then, 65 trucks have crossed, carrying health and nutrition items and other vital relief supplies for more than two million people. We expect more trucks to cross into the north-west in the coming days and weeks.
These are the first aid deliveries through Bab al-Hawa since 10 July, when the authorization under Security Council Resolution 2672 lapsed. United Nations personnel have also been able to go through this crossing, thereby enhancing our ability to support partners, monitor projects, engage with the communities we serve, and strengthen the protection environment through presence on the ground.
In the interim, the United Nations and our partners have also used pre-positioned supplies and deliveries through the Bab al-Salam and al-Ra'ee border crossings to sustain programmes throughout north-west Syria.
Bab al-Hawa, however, remains the central channel for cross-border assistance from Türkiye into north-west Syria.
This development means that we can carry out deliveries at the scale required to meet the urgent needs of over four million people - 80 per cent of them women and children.
The reopening of Bab al-Hawa for UN cross-border aid is the result of an understanding with the Government of Syria on the principled delivery of UN cross-border assistance; of operational and security assurances from the de facto authorities in Idlib; and of consultations with a range of Member States, including the Republic of Türkiye, and donors, NGOs, and other partners.
Mr. President,
The cross-border response extends beyond the movement of trucks.
It means better functioning of schools, health facilities and sanitation systems, and improved access to safe drinking water and life-saving protection assistance. It also includes the delivery of cash-based assistance.
Our commitment to providing humanitarian aid by all means possible, whether crossline or cross-border, remains unchanged.
Mr. President,
As the Special Envoy said, an escalation of hostilities in northern Syria earlier this month provided a stark reminder of the criticality of sustaining humanitarian assistance.
Renewed hostilities in the last three weeks in the north and north-east of Aleppo have temporarily displaced, as previously referred to, tens of thousands of people, many of whom have had to sleep in the open due to overcrowding in displacement camps. Civilian casualties have also been reported, including women and children. And 32 schools have had to stop educational activities; 14 of them were used as temporary shelters.
In addition, fighting in the north-east left 23 civilians reportedly killed and many more injured in Deir-ez-Zor Governorate late last month, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Tens of thousands of people were displaced, while those who remained faced shortages of food and medicines.
On Monday, a water station in Deir-ez-Zor was damaged because of continuing hostilities, leaving at least 17,000 people - many of them displaced from other areas - without access to safe drinking water.
Humanitarian workers are focused on getting food, water, health and shelter assistance to affected people. Local organizations, including grassroots women's organizations, play a critical role in ensuring this assistance equitably reaches those in need.
I strongly urge all the parties to these hostilities to uphold international humanitarian law and take all feasible precautions to avoid and minimize civilian harm.
Mr. President, distinguished delegates of the members of the Council,
Across the country, families are grappling with the continuing strain of a deepening economic crisis, again as Mr. Pedersen mentioned.
The Syrian pound has lost more than half its value since the start of this year, while prices of essential food commodities have nearly doubled.
At the beginning of this year, again, half the population - some 12 million people - was food insecure. The situation has continued to worsen, and if these economic trends persist, we will likely see millions more slide into food insecurity.
Mr. President,
All this is happening against the backdrop of a sharp decline in the resources for the humanitarian response.
We have just three months left in this year, and yet the Humanitarian Response Plan for Syria remains less than 30 per cent funded.
This means many humanitarian agencies are being forced to make painful decisions.
As reported in July, the World Food Programme has had to cut assistance to 2.5 million people, while halving the standard ration for others.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is having to also cut back and scale back essential assistance programmes, including interventions to respond to gender-based violence. In the north-west, some 17 safe spaces for women and children were closed in the last few months, and two dozen more will be closed by the end of the year if additional funding is not received.
Further cuts to already underfunded gender-based violence programmes will have profound consequences for the survivors.
Women and girls are paying a steep price. Their fundamental rights, including access to services that are critical for their health and well-being, have become a casualty of the conflict. Women and girls struggle to access healthcare, including reproductive services because of widespread damage to health facilities, shortages of health workers, as again previously mentioned, limited transportation options, lack of documentation, overcrowding and long waiting times.
UNICEF informs us that funding shortfalls are compromising access to education for millions of children and undermining urgent efforts to sustain water and sanitation systems essential to preventing catastrophic public health risks, including cholera.
Similarly, the World Health Organization reports cuts to health services that affect millions of people and reduce essential services, including child immunization and disease surveillance.
Mr. President,
The resumption of the United Nations aid deliveries through Bab al-Hawa is positive news.
However, as I have highlighted, massive humanitarian needs and protection risks persist across the country.
Much more is still needed for millions of people throughout Syria to reclaim a safe and dignified life.
Thank you.
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