S/PV.7476 Security Council

In accordance with rule 37 of the Security Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to participate in this meeting. In accordance with rule 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite Ms. Kyung-wha Kang, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, to participate in this meeting. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2015/468, which contains the report of the Secretary- General on the implementation of Security Council resolutions 2139 (2014), 2165 (2014) and 2191 (2014). I now give the floor to Ms. Kyung-wha Kang. Ms. Kyung-wha Kang: I have the honour to deliver the following statement, prepared by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr. Stephen O’Brien. He deeply regrets that he is unable to present it in person today, owing to previously scheduled travel plans that could not be changed, but he would like to assure the Council that he will do so next time. Three years ago, the United Nations expressed its condemnation and deep concern about the 1,200 people who had been killed in Syria up to that point, and about the 10,000 refugees who had fled to neighbouring countries. There were already warnings that what was happening in Syria included atrocities that could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Today, more than 220,000 people have been killed and more than a million injured. Some 7.6 million have been displaced inside the country, and more than 4 million have fled across its borders. And the violence continues with utter impunity. Over the past month, that violence, which has been perpetrated by all parties to the conflict, has neither abated nor diminished in brutality. The continued use of explosive weapons in populated towns and cities in Aleppo, Dar’a, Idlib, Damascus, Deir ez-Zor and Hasakeh governorates, among others, has killed hundreds of people, many of them children, and displaced tens of thousands. Indiscriminate attacks on Government-controlled areas in Aleppo killed at least 116 people in April and May, nearly half of them women and children. In the past week, the situation has deteriorated significantly in Kobani/Ain Al-Arab following attacks by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) aimed at reclaiming that city, which have reportedly resulted in civilian deaths and further displacement. The Government’s use of barrel bombs in populated areas has continued, causing hundreds of civilian deaths and widespread destruction across the country. Some of those incidents are described in the Secretary-General’s report (S/2015/468), including barrel-bomb attacks that killed more than 200 civilians in Aleppo, at least 24 of them children. A barrel-bomb attack on a mosque in Aleppo on 22 June reportedly killed 10 people. Attacks on medical facilities continue, in blatant disregard for international humanitarian law and resolution 2139 (2014). According to the Physicians for Human Rights organization, the month of May was the worst on record for such attacks since the start of the conflict, with 15 verified attacks on medical facilities, all by aerial bombardment, including eight barrel-bomb attacks. Ten medical staffers were killed. Intense fighting across the country has displaced tens of thousands more people. In Tel Abyad, some 50,000 people have been forced from their homes since May. In Dar’a, fighting between Government forces and non-State armed groups began in the early hours of 24 June, displacing at least 40,000 people. In the city of Hasakeh, an ISIL attack displaced at least 60,000 people in the past week, and in Raqqa, thousands of Kurds were told by ISIL to leave the governorate. Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon continue to bear the lion’s share of the ever-growing burden of caring for those who flee Syria. Turkey, for example, is already hosting 1.8 million refugees, and took in at least 23,000 of those who fled Tel Abyad in mid-June. I would like to thank those neighbours of Syria and to echo the comments made recently on the subject by the High Commissioner for Refugees, Mr. António Guterres (see S/PV.7433). The rest of the world should step up to do substantively more to address the consequences of this conflict. It is crucial that other countries welcome Syrians who are seeking a safe haven. Despite the extremely challenging environment, humanitarian organizations operating from within Syria and from neighbouring countries continue to reach millions of people in need. Each month, the World Food Programme (WFP) has been feeding approximately 4.1 million people; the World Health Organization is distributing medicines and supplies to around 2.7 million; and UNICEF is reaching 2.2 million with water, sanitation services, education and other support. The Office of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees continues to provide more than 240,000 people with core relief items and protection services, and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East supports around 480,000 Palestine refugees. That is complemented by the ongoing programmes run by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which reached more than a million people in May. However, aid deliveries to the 4.8 million people in need in hard-to-reach areas remain a serious challenge, owing to active conflicts, poor security and deliberate obstruction by the parties to the conflict. United Nations agencies and partners are reaching only about 34 per cent of hard-to-reach and besieged areas every month. Of the 48 inter-agency requests made to the Government so far in 2015, 20 were approved following meetings in April and June and 12 have been put on hold because of poor security, leaving 16 awaiting Government approval. The recent progress in the approval of access to some locations must continue, and we call on the Government to approve the pending requests and allow rapid, unimpeded and sustainable access to all hard-to- reach locations. We also note the Government’s quick approvals in May and June of a number of short-term visas for United Nations and international NGO staff to attend humanitarian meetings hosted in Damascus within the context of the whole of Syria, and we very much hope that trend will continue. Parties to the conflict continue to besiege 422,000 civilians. Some humanitarian assistance, including medical supplies, was delivered to eastern Ghouta, besieged by Government forces, during April and May, and assistance was airlifted into western neighbourhoods of Deir ez-Zor under siege from ISIL forces. But the assistance that the United Nations and partners have managed to get into besieged areas in the past three months has been wholly inadequate. Aid agencies are working hard to assist the millions of Syrians affected by the conflict. But those efforts require adequate resources. Only a quarter of the total appeal for lifesaving work in Syria and the region has been funded as of today, and food assistance across the region is now in jeopardy. Since January, WFP has had to reduce its food provisions by 30 per cent, and more cuts are anticipated in the next three months owing to serious funding shortfalls. Resolution 2165 (2014) continues to be a strong tool for humanitarian organizations attempting to reach Syrians in need. Resolutions 2165 (2014) and 2191 (2014) have enabled the United Nations and partners to reach people in need who were largely inaccessible before. United Nations cross-border food and medical shipments have increased significantly over the past six months. The 92 shipments since 1 December have included food assistance for 2.6 million people; basic household items for more than 1 million people; medical supplies and treatments for over 1 million people; and water and sanitation supplies for more than 600,000 people. Active fighting and shifting conflict lines have had an impact on the use of certain crossing points. Given the fluid and dynamic nature of the conflict in Syria, it is crucial for United Nations agencies to be able to use any and every route — across both borders and conflict lines — to reach those who require assistance. The parties to the conflict continue to violate human rights and international humanitarian law with impunity by killing and torturing civilians, blocking humanitarian access and destroying and besieging communities. The siege on more than 422,000 people must be lifted. Those who need protection and assistance in all parts of Syria must be provided with rapid and unhindered access to such assistance, including to medical services and surgical supplies. The relentless use of barrel bombs by the Government must be halted immediately, as must other forms of indiscriminate attacks on civilians, which are strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law. We look to the Council to pressure the parties to get them to protect civilians and abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law, and to promote and seek systematic accountability for violations. For the people of Syria and the humanitarians who assist them, it is hard to see an end to this nightmare of violence and destruction. We look to the leadership of the Council to press for a political solution.

I thank Ms. Kang for her briefing. I now give the floor to the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic.

I now invite Council members to informal consultations to continue our discussion on the subject.