S/PV.7513 Security Council

In accordance with rule 37 of the 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 Mr. Stephen O’Brien, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and 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/2015/651, 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 Mr. O’Brien. Mr. O’Brien: Since the conflict began, over a quarter of a million people have been killed in Syria and more than 1 million have been injured. Some 7.6 million people have been displaced inside the country. Over 1 million people have had to leave their homes this year alone. Over 4 million people have fled across borders in a desperate search of survival and a future, placing host countries and communities under pressure — and now stretched to the breaking point. We may all be living on borrowed time. In the name of both security as well as humanity, we need to find a better, more sustainable way forward for the wider international community to share the burden in hosting Syrian refugees. Over the past month, violence has continued to escalate across the country. Indiscriminate and targeted attacks by all parties to the conflict have resulted in loss of life and the destruction of infrastructure. In addition, access to basic services, such as water, has been denied to hundreds of thousands of Syrians. On 12 and 16 August, Government airstrikes hit a market place in Duma, killing over 100 people and injuring many more. The attack took place just a few days after the indiscriminate shelling of Damascus by non-State armed groups. Despite the outrage and condemnations, there has since been at least one further similar attack. According to reports, since mid-August, approximately 200 people have been killed and 400 injured in eastern Al-Ghutah. The shelling of Damascus has also continued, reportedly killing over 30 people on 23 and 24 August. That tit-for-tat approach by the warring parties is causing devastation to the ordinary women, men and children of Syria, and it must stop. The parties’ callous disregard for human life and for basic survival seemingly knows no bounds. In early July, barrel bombs reportedly hit a shelter in the village of Al-Hawash, in Hama, killing five civilians. In Aleppo governorate, an alliance of armed groups, including the designated terrorist group the Al-Nusra Front, launched attacks on Government-controlled areas of Aleppo city, reportedly killing more than 30 civilians. Attacks on civilians are unlawful and unacceptable, and they must stop. I appeal to every party engaged in violence and fighting to protect civilians. All parties involved in violations of international humanitarian law must be held to account. The destruction of civilian infrastructure continued over the reporting period. Non-State armed groups and designated terrorist groups deliberately cut access to essential services such as water and electricity. Such acts violate international humanitarian law and must be stopped immediately. In Aleppo city, the water supply was cut from 2 to 18 July and again in early August — during the hottest months of the year — affecting an estimated 1.7 million people. Similarly, in Dar’a city and the surrounding villages, active fighting disrupted the supply of water and electricity for more than 10 days, affecting some 300,000 people. The city of Damascus was also affected by water disruptions, as non-State armed groups cut off the supply from the Wadi Barada springs, which provide water to Damascus. It is unconscionable to make anyone live under such conditions. Despite the increasingly challenging environment, millions of people continue to receive lifesaving assistance using all available modalities, including across borders, pursuant to resolution 2165 (2014). During the first half of 2015, United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations provided food assistance for 5.9 million people on average per month, medicine and supplies for 9 million people, water and sanitation support for over 5 million people, and basic relief items for more than 4 million people. While these numbers are significant, I regret to say that many more could be reached should unimpeded access be allowed. I am particularly concerned about the severely limited access to the 4.6 million people living in hard-to-reach and besieged areas. During the first half of 2015, each month the United Nations only reached 12 per cent of people in hard-to-reach areas with food, and 3.4 per cent with health supplies, which indicates major access challenges that limit the humanitarian community’s ability to reach the most vulnerable and affected people in Syria. Similarly, parties to the conflict continue to severely restrict access to besieged areas. Each month of the first half of this year, the United Nations managed to reach less than 1 per cent with food and non-food items, and 2 per cent with health supplies. In July, no food or other type of humanitarian assistance by the United Nations reached any besieged areas through official routes where some 422,000 people are located. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East was able to access Yalda on 18 August, and again on 19 and 24 August, as well as today, to provide lifesaving health-care consultations for 1,000 people, and 200,000 water purification tablets. However, much more is needed, and I remain extremely concerned about the situation of Palestine refugees in Syria. During my visit to Syria, I discussed with senior Government representatives the need to strengthen the protection of civilians and the overall humanitarian response. I urged the Government to grant full and unhindered access to all people in need wherever they may be located. It is my sincere hope that the necessary steps will be taken towards improving access, including approving requests for inter-agency and agency convoys. I welcome the recent granting of the visas for United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs staff that had been pending for months. And with respect to visas, I have also just this minute received news from the Syrian Mission that the 47 pending visas for United Nations staff are going to be granted, following the specific request I made during my visit. We will seek official confirmation later today on this matter. I also welcome initial reports on the reduction in time to obtain approvals to import humanitarian supplies. I also visited the Old City of Homs. I was utterly shocked to see the destruction that four years of fighting had brought about. Almost every home had been completely destroyed. I met with affected families and was able to hear their stories. I spoke with a man called Ahmed who told me his harrowing tale. Above all, he said, he wanted peace in his country. Despite the destruction and daily challenges, he and his family are glad to have been able to return to their home at last; they were among the first to do so. I will be travelling to Turkey and Jordan in September, where I will be able to see for myself the ongoing response efforts to meet the needs of the refugees and of the communities hosting them. It is difficult to find words that would justly describe the depth of suffering that Syrians face on a daily basis. Having just returned from the country, I have seen a glimpse of this grim reality myself. I left the country deeply saddened and outraged by the needless and immense suffering of ordinary Syrians and the abhorrent destruction the conflict has wrought on the country. I am angry because we as the international community are not allowed, or able, to do more to protect Syrians who more than ever need our unfaltering support. But I come away determined not to give up, not to be exasperated by the relentless repetitiveness of the challenges we as humanitarians face and the need to explore every avenue to do everything possible to provide lifesaving aid and protection to the people in need. I urge Council members to do everything in their power to end this crisis. With all the will in the world, humanitarian action cannot be a substitute for political action. The Council must exert leadership to push for a political solution.

I thank Mr. O’Brien for his briefing. I now give the floor to the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic.

There are no more names inscribed on the list of speakers. I now invite Council members to informal consultations to continue our discussion on the subject.