UN Relief Chief urges Security Council to back Syrian-led recovery with urgent investment
UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Briefing to the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Syria by Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator
New York, 18 September 2025
As delivered
Thank you, Mr. President.
As ever, Special Envoy Pedersen has set out - compellingly - the political stakes and the case for success against the odds. A warm welcome to the new Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic. Your appointment comes at a critical time for Syria.
As I told this Council last month, the international community has been resolute about the need to sustain momentum in support of recovery and hope for the people of Syria.
The General Assembly High-Level Week, including this historic visit, will be a critical moment.
In advance, I propose to take a step back and reflect on where we are on humanitarian effort, what actions the UN and its humanitarian partners have been taking, and what we need from you to do more.
Despite the profound changes underway in Syria, and the opportunities that these have generated, Syria remains by any metric one of the largest humanitarian emergencies globally.
More than 70 per cent of the population still needs some form of humanitarian aid.
More than 9 million people are acutely food insecure.
Some 7 million people are displaced internally, more than 4 million are refugees in neighbouring countries.
But, let me share three positives:
Firstly, thanks to a more collaborative, practical engagement that we have with the authorities, in Damascus and beyond, we can now get aid where it's needed within the country much more easily than under the former regime.
Movements that last year would have required lengthy, onerous navigation of front lines are now happening routinely. With the consent of the Syrian interim authorities, aid dispatched from Türkiye supports activities throughout the country.
There are some communities in Syria that have started to receive UN support for the first time in years.
Secondly, we have adapted our structures to the new context. Over six months, we shifted to a much more efficient coordination model based in Damascus, under the leadership of our Humanitarian Coordinator, with sub-national hubs.
Thirdly, the easing of unilateral sanctions is removing hurdles to the reconstruction work, and that will bring down humanitarian needs further. More carveouts, including for more development activities, will be welcome.
Through these efforts and despite severe reductions in funding - the UN and our partners are getting critical humanitarian assistance to nearly 3.5 million people across Syria, on average, every month.
This represents a 25 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.
We are getting life-saving help to displaced people and other vulnerable communities.
This includes food aid for 1 million people and subsidized bread for 2 million more each month; medical procedures for 2 million each month; support for the public health surveillance system; and a national immunization programme that reached over 1.7 million children under the age of 5.
We are also providing basic support like water trucking, shelter and healthcare to people, largely women and children, in displacement camps in the north, including Al-Hol and Al-Roj.
We are prioritizing emergency response as needed. Following the escalation in violence in the South, we have now delivered assistance to over 430,000 people per month in As-Sweida, Dar'a and Rural Damascus.
We continue delivering aid to As-Sweida through convoys organized with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.
While we are still navigating a tense security environment there, our deliveries and staff movements have become more regular over the past month, now using the re-opened highway from Damascus. In fact, our team are on the ground there today, and we are now reaching most of our target population in the south.
I join the Special Envoy in welcoming the roadmap agreement announced this week by Syria, Jordan and the United States.
Our team in Damascus will continue to coordinate with authorities on sustaining and expanding the flow of aid.
I hope this also lays the groundwork for further stabilization that facilitates full resumption of commercial routes to As-Sweida and, very importantly, functioning markets.
These corridors are essential to maintain the flow of goods, stabilize markets, and reduce the reliance on humanitarian aid.
At the same time, we are also working alongside authorities to prioritize more sustainable interventions, throughout the country, that strengthen institutional capacities.
WHO, UNICEF and partners are helping to rehabilitate hospitals and health centres throughout the country, supporting the transition to the Syrian interim authorities.
UNICEF and partners are rehabilitating water stations, wells and sewer networks to ensure reliable access to clean and safe water.
WFP, FAO and partners are working with national authorities to strengthen social safety nets, support the rehabilitation of critical irrigation infrastructure and of the bread value chain to ensure the continuous production of fresh bread.
And, as I mentioned when I briefed this Council from Damascus in December, Syria's women continue to have a vital, indispensable role in delivering humanitarian assistance and in supporting Syria's recovery - I look forward to hear more on this theme from the next briefer.
Mr. President,
Despite this progress, I warn again we risk missing a rare opportunity for the people of Syria.
Our humanitarian appeal this year is only 18 per cent funded, meaning we can reach just a fraction of those in need.
Just when organizations are seeking to expand their operations and have the opportunity to work more efficiently, they are instead forced to cut programmes, reduce support, lose staff.
Hospitals, community centres, and safe spaces for women and girls have been closed as a consequence of funding cuts - exacerbating protection risks, including of more early marriage and gender-based violence.
And while announcements of investment agreements are encouraging, tangible and targeted development projects are still slow to materialize.
This real but fragile opportunity that we have is especially stark when we consider the millions of Syrians who have been uprooted by years of conflict.
Since December, over 900,000 refugees and some 1.9 million people displaced internally have returned to their home areas.
We are working with them to help them meet basic needs, rebuild damaged homes, and build livelihoods, clear munitions.
As one example: In June and July, 305 people with urgent medical needs voluntarily departed Al-Hol camp for Ar-Raqqa, Aleppo and Homs governorates.
Several UN agencies supported the organization of the movement and assistance upon arrival, including dignity kits for women and girls, solar lights and other household items, and ready-to-eat meals.
But without more funding, these efforts will fall short, threatening the sustainability of these returns. The shift from the warmer summer months to the biting cold of winter adds to the urgency.
According to UNHCR, about 18 per cent of Syrian refugees in the region plan to return to Syria within the next year. That is a major increase from this time last year, but it is fewer than earlier in the year.
Among the key barriers cited by those surveyed are lack of housing, access to livelihoods and employment, and security concerns. We need to make those priorities.
Mr. President,
Our Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Damascus, Mr. Adam Abdelmoula, concluded his term last week. In his parting remarks, he recognized the difficulties that still lie ahead, but emphasized his optimism, grounded in the strength and resilience of the Syrian people.
This will require our collective, active, sustained support.
This time next year, I want to report that we are substantially scaling down our emergency humanitarian operations in Syria.
Not because funding cuts have forced our hand, but because the international community has made the necessary investments in Syria's future and in Syrian leadership.
So let me conclude by reiterating my key asks to help us get to that point:
First, preserve stability. Only sustained engagement to prevent renewed violence can create conditions for genuine recovery.
Second, fund the humanitarian response. Help us capitalize on access to surge more support in the coming months to save more lives and help more Syrian return home.
Third, enable Syrian-led recovery. Translate pledges into concrete investment and expand support for large-scale recovery, reconstruction and development programmes, creating livelihoods, rebuilding homes and restoring essential services.
And ultimately, restoring hope for Syrians. But also, as we prepare for one of the most consequential UN High-Level Weeks in a generation, for all of us who believe that diplomacy has not lost its value and its vigour.
Thank you, Mr. President.
Posted on 18 September 2025
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