Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoSecurity Council
7433rd Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East - part 1
7433rd Meeting (AM)
United Nations Humanitarian Chief, Citing ‘Atrocity after Atrocity’, Warns Time Running Out
Expressing alarm that the Syrian crisis had become the largest humanitarian emergency in the world, threatening regional stability, the Security Council this morning called for stepped-up, coordinated international support to neighbouring countries hosting refugees from the conflict.
Through a statement read out by the Foreign Minister of Jordan, which holds the April presidency of the body, the Council recognized the “immense costs and multifaceted challenges” faced by Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt in accommodating the refugees and reiterated its deep appreciation to them at a meeting that heard briefings from Valerie Amos, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs; António Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; Angelina Jolie Pitt, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Special Envoy for Refugee Issues; and Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP).
Through the statement, the Council noted with deep concern the social, demographic, environmental and economic effects of the prolonged crisis on the neighbouring countries, including the strain on educational systems. Stating that the international response had so far fallen short of meeting the needs, it stressed the importance of funding both humanitarian and developmental responses to the crisis and providing support to national response plans and the resilience of host countries.
It urged donors, international financial institutions and United Nations agencies to consider financing instruments what it called the “massive structural impact” of the conflict in a manner that met the unique needs of the middle-income countries affected. Emphasizing that the humanitarian situation would continue to deteriorate in the absence of peace, it reiterated its demand for an immediate end to the fighting and its full support to the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria in efforts to foster a Syrian-led political solution.
Ahead of the reading of that statement, Ms. Amos, Mr. Guterres, Ms. Jolie Pitt and Ms. Cousin underlined the depth of the humanitarian crisis in the region as the conflict continued in its fifth year, with more than 220,000 killed, 7.6 million displaced, over a million injured and nearly 4 million people seeking refuge in neighbouring countries, which were bearing staggering burdens. Ms. Amos noted that, each month that she came to the Council, “I speak of atrocity after atrocity, violation after violation, misery after misery”. Time was running out for Syria, she said, asking the Council to match the scale of the crisis with an “equally bold and courageous response”.
Expressing deep regret that the international community was not able to take unified action to bring about a political solution and end the crisis, the briefers stressed the necessity, in the absence of such a solution, for adequate humanitarian aid, which had so far not been forthcoming in the magnitude required. “If the conflict cannot be ended, there is a moral duty to help refugees and provide legal avenues to safety,” Ms. Jolie Pitt said, relaying the personal tragedies of the refugees she had met in her 11 visits to the region since the onset of the conflict.
Also calling for an increased international response to the crisis, Mr. Guterres said that the regional spillover effects of the Syrian conflict were already taking on dramatic proportions. “The conflict and the resulting refugee influx, in the absence of sufficient international solidarity, have had such an enormous impact on neighbouring countries that we are now seeing a growing fatigue on the part of hosts.”
Ms. Cousin stressed that food and education created hope and stability and must be maintained, given the rising danger of extremism and other threats in the region. “Failure to do so will haunt us for decades to come,” she said, describing the harrowing situation faced by parents in the region, where “picking up a gun is easier than picking up a book”. “We must do better,” she said.
Following those briefings, representatives of Council members and other concerned countries spoke on the humanitarian crisis in Syria and its region, beginning with Jordan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister who affirmed that, in his country, limited resources were leading to friction between the refugees and the host population, and called on the Council to focus on the situation with a long-term view, taking into account the development needs of the host countries. “All of humanity is responsible to meet the needs of the refugees,” he stated.
Many speakers welcomed the results of last month’s pledging conference for Syria, calling for monies pledged there to be disbursed as quickly as possible. Paying tribute to Governments and organizations meeting humanitarian needs and noting his country’s contributions in the billions of pounds, the United Kingdom’s representative stressed that more must be done to aid the displaced and the Governments that were hosting them.
The British representative added that the suffering had at root the violence fomented by the Syrian Government and multiplied greatly by the barbarity of extremist groups. The violence must end, he said, along with most speakers, through a political solution. In their statements, the representatives of Syria and the Russian Federation criticized inadequate consideration of terrorism in the discussion today and the consequent ascription of blame on the Syrian Government.
Until the conflict was ended, meanwhile, the situation in neighbouring countries was not sustainable, said Lebanon’s representative, noting that one of three persons in his country was now a Syrian refugee. Turkey’s representative called for a genuine partnership between the international community, including civil society and the private sector, and the countries in the region that were shouldering the humanitarian burden. The partnership, in addition to addressing basic needs, had to deal with the development dimensions of the crisis and building resilience, as well as with wider resettlement efforts. “Syrians and Syria’s neighbours should not be left alone in coping with this humanitarian tragedy,” he said.
Also speaking today were the representatives of the United States, Spain, Malaysia, New Zealand, France, China, Lithuania, Chile, Chad, Nigeria, Angola and Venezuela.
The meeting began at 10:14 a.m. and ended at 1:50 p.m.