syria-un-20150528 3

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. Restrictions on the delivery of aid continue. The Government’s introduction of new rules and regulations which result in delays and distractions, are preventing us from delivering assistance, including surgical supplies, to people in desperate need. Of the 48 inter-agency convoys requests submitted since December, five have been completed; nine have been approved in principle by the Government of Syria and are at various stages of preparations, and a further eleven have been put on hold due to insecurity. Nineteen more are awaiting a reply. ISIL's advance brings with it new depths of depravity to Syria with indiscriminate killing and maiming, raping and destroying. They have forcibly recruited children and made the delivery of humanitarian assistance more and more difficult in areas under their control. In addition to restricting operations delivering food and other supplies, aid workers have been prevented from vaccinating children in areas of the country under their control. Today, more than 12.2 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance in Syria - an increase of almost a third compared to when resolution 2139 was adopted. Many of those who were previously able to care for themselves are now in need of help. Less than half of the country’s hospitals are fully functioning. Two million children in Syria are out of school. The social, economic and human costs of this tragedy are profound. It may take generations for Syria to recover. An additional 540,000 people have been displaced this year alone adding to the 7.6 million already displaced. Another nearly four million people have sought refuge in neighbouring countries, placing host countries and communities under unbearable pressure. My thanks to Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey for their significant efforts in this regard. Desperation means that more and more people are prepared to make the perilous journey to Europe by sea. The Security Council can demonstrate its leadership and uphold its responsibility for international peace and security by taking the following measures: 1. Ensuring the protection of civilians; 2. Ensuring that the parties to the conflict abide by their international legal obligations - and Security Council resolutions - to facilitate humanitarian access to all people in need throughout the country, without discrimination; 3. Bringing an end to the sieges, which collectively punish people; 4. Considering all possible avenues to ensure accountability, sending a clear message to those responsible for violations of international law, as well as their victims, that the international community will not tolerate such action in Syria or elsewhere; 5. Stepping up financial support to the humanitarian response effort; 6. Respecting the non-political nature of humanitarian aid and giving aid workers the space they need to carry out their work free of political pressure