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www.unocha.org 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, 27 January 2016 As delivered Mr. President, For over five long years, the Syrian people have endured one of the most savage and brutal conflicts of the 21st century. The facts speak for themselves: over 250,000 people killed, well over a million injured, 6.5 million displaced within Syria, almost 4.6 million refugees, and much of the remaining population – some 13.5 million people – are in dire need of humanitarian assistance. We must never forget that behind each of these figures are the individual and personal stories of girls, boys, women and men whose lives have been uprooted; whose dreams for the future have been shattered; and who have witnessed and been subjected to unspeakable fear and suffering. This week, political talks are scheduled to begin, led by Special Envoy de Mistura. I offer him, once again, the full support of the humanitarian community in his vital endeavour. We must all get behind his tireless efforts to find a political solution to this shameful tragedy. This political process offers a genuine window of opportunity for the international community to come together and find solutions that reduce suffering and finally bring an end to the conflict. I cannot stress enough that we must not let this opportunity pass. Mr. President, Since the adoption of resolution 2139 two years ago, the Secretary-General has reported month after month on the parties’ disregard for international humanitarian and human rights law, their repeated non-compliance with this Council’s demands on protection of civilians and humanitarian access, and the humanitarian catastrophe that has ensued. This month’s report is equally as depressing as those before it, highlighting how the human and social cost of this conflict continues to spiral out of control. This vicious cycle of death and destruction carries the grave risk that it is seen as having become, in many ways, the new normal in Syria as the search for a political solution continues