syria-un-20171219 3

S/RES/2393 (2017) 17-22870 3/5 Deeply disturbed by the low number of people reached with humanitarian assistance in hard-to-reach and besieged areas, expressing grave alarm at the dire situation of the hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in besieged areas in the Syrian Arab Republic, including Eastern Ghouta, and reaffirming that sieges of civilian populations in Syria are a violation of international humanitarian law, and calling for the immediate lifting of all sieges, Reiterating its grave concern at all instances of hindrances to the effective delivery of humanitarian assistance, noting that ISIL (also known as Daesh), ANF and all other individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with Al-Qaida, are hindering the effective delivery of humanitarian assistance, and are responsible for preventing aid delivery through deliberate interference and obstruction, Reiterating further its grave concern at the continuing impediments to the delivery of humanitarian assistance across conflict lines, noting that on average in 2017, a quarter of beneficiaries in the UN monthly and bi-monthly plans have been reached through interagency cross-line convoys each month, Expressing grave concern that access to medical care continues to be severely restricted, and reiterating the need to respect the principle of medical neutrality, facilitate free passage to all areas for medical personnel, equipment, transport and supplies, including surgical items, Reaffirming the need to support the United Nations and their implementing partners in their efforts to expand the delivery of humanitarian assistance to reach all people in need in Syria, and further reaffirming its decision in resolution 2165 (2014) that all Syrian parties to the conflict shall enable the immediate and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance directly to people throughout Syria, by the United Nations and their implementing partners, on the basis of United Nations assessments of need and devoid of any political prejudices and aims, including by immediately removing all impediments to the provision of humanitarian assistance, Expressing its interest in receiving more detailed information from the UN Secretary-General on the delivery of humanitarian assistance by the United Nations and their implementing partners, in accordance with UNSC Resolution 2165 (2014), Expressing its appreciation for the work of the United Nations monitoring mechanism in monitoring shipments and confirming their humanitarian nature, in accordance with resolutions 2165 (2014), 2191 (2014), 2258 (2015) and 2332 (2016), and commending the mechanism’s efforts in facilitating cross-border delivery of humanitarian aid by the United Nations and their implementing partners, emphasizing the importance to further robust monitoring of the humanitarian nature of UN relief consignments and their delivery inside Syria, and encouraging the United Nations and their implementing partners to continue to take steps to scale up humanitarian deliveries into hard-to-reach and besieged areas, including by using, as effectively as possible, border crossings under resolution 2165 (2014), Reiterating the need for all parties to respect and uphold the relevant provisions of international humanitarian law and the United Nations guiding principles of humanitarian emergency assistance, and emphasizing the importance of upholding the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, in the provision of humanitarian assistance, and recalling also the importance of humanitarian deliveries reaching their intended beneficiaries, Noting the role that ceasefire agreements which are consistent with humanitarian principles and international humanitarian law can play in facilitating the delivery of humanitarian assistance in order to help save civilian lives, and recalling in this regard that the Terms for the Cessation of Hostilities in Syria