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The mission of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors. United Nations Nations Unies Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR, STEPHEN O’BRIEN Statement to the Security Council on Syria New York, 16 September 2015 As Delivered Mr. President, The recent images of the three year old boy, Aylan Kurdi, lying lifeless on a beach in Turkey encapsulates the profound and prolonged desperation of the Syrian people, too long exposed to the horrors of a brutal and savage conflict. I recount the words of Abdullah Kurdi, Aylan’s father, who said: “I tried to catch my children and my wife but there was no hope. One by one, they died.” Tragically, far too many Syrian families have spoken similar words over the last five years. It is civilians who continue to bear the brunt of this war. As the plight of Syrian refugees desperately trying to reach Europe in recent weeks has shown, the effects of the Syria crisis are not just national or regional, but global in nature. The conflict in Syria has propelled one of the largest refugee exoduses since the Second World War. These refugees are fleeing for their lives from war and violence, and have a right to seek asylum without any form of discrimination. As an international community, it is our responsibility to support the neighbouring countries who shoulder most of the burden. At the same time, stronger efforts must be made to address the root causes that force people to leave their homes and seek asylum abroad, addressing the ‘flee or die’ response natural to each and every one of us faced with peril or a challenge to our survival. For Syria, it should be clear to all that this means a political settlement that brings an end to the crisis. In the absence of such a political solution, this Council passed resolution 2139 in February 2014 which demanded action by the parties in a number of areas, including an end to attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, and facilitating unhindered humanitarian access. I deeply regret to inform the Council that, some 18 months later, the Council’s strong demands continue to go unheeded. By any measure, human suffering in Syria has worsened, not diminished. Over the past month, violence has continued throughout the country. There has been no reduction in the appalling patterns of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law. Indiscriminate attacks, including with explosive weapons, continue to cause widespread death and destruction. For example, between 17 and 26 August, Government forces repeatedly attacked residential areas in Douma, Rural Damascus, killing at least 90 civilians and wounding nearly 300 more. Meanwhile, in the last week of August, non-State armed group