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The situation in the Middle East - Security Council, 7817th meeting
Government allowing civilians to flee eastern Aleppo, but terrorists hold them as human shields, insists Permanent Representative.
Those maintaining the sieges in Syria knew by now that the Security Council was unable or unwilling to enforce its will or agree on steps to stop them, the Under‑Secretary‑General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator told the 15-nation body today.
Stephen O’Brien, delivering his monthly briefing on the strife-filled country, said that over the last week there had been an intense unleashing of military aggression in Aleppo, with shelling, reportedly by the Syrian Government, killing hundreds of civilians. As of yesterday, there were barely any functional hospitals left in eastern Aleppo. In addition, more than 350 mortars and rockets had been reportedly launched by non-State armed groups into western Aleppo, killing 60 people and injuring more than 350.
Since July, 275,000 civilians had been trapped in eastern Aleppo, he said. The Russian Federation and Syria had opened corridors for civilians to leave, but those passages were reportedly unsafe or perceived as unsafe. There had also been reports that non-State armed groups had prevented those wishing to leave the city from doing so. Humanitarian conditions in that area had gone from terrifying to barely survivable and civilians would shortly face a harsh winter without heating.
During 2016, there had been a massive increase in the use of besiegement, particularly by the Government of Syria, he said. Currently, an estimated 974,000 people were living under siege. Attacks on civilian infrastructure, most notably hospitals and schools had become commonplace. Such attacks were violations of international humanitarian law and some had been called out as war crimes by the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, he pointed out.
Reiterating the demands in various Security Council resolutions, he called for strong Council action to back up its resolutions. “I hear the argument that this Council should not pass a resolution because it would be ‘premature’,” he said, but “[…] it is never too premature to save a life. It is never too soon for you to find a solution to this conflict and end the suffering of the Syrian people.”
Elizabeth Hoff of the World Health Organization (WHO) said that, having had one of the most advanced health care systems in the world, Syria’s health services had been devastated. Over half its public hospitals and primary care centres were either closed or only partially functioning. Almost two-thirds of health care officials had left the country and Syrians no longer had reliable access to necessary medicines, treatment for traumatic injuries, safe delivery for babies or other critical care.
There had been 126 attacks on health care facilities between January and September alone, some more than once, she said. Equally disturbing were the militarization of health care facilities by several parties to the conflict, the targeting of health care personnel and the denial of medical and surgical supplies to many areas. In eastern Aleppo, all eight hospitals were either out of action or barely functioning and the few remaining doctors were exhausted and overwhelmed.
“Denying ordinary citizens access to health care is an affront to our common humanity”, she stated, stressing that attacks on health facilities were a violation of international law. She called on the Security Council to ensure that the parties involved had the coordinates of all humanitarian convoys and health facilities, to register any attacks that occurred and to ensure sustained, unconditional access to all areas for medical supplies and evacuations.
The Syrian Government was following a “starve, get bombed or surrender” strategy, said the representative of the United States. While atrocities committed by terrorist organizations must be acknowledged, the truth must also be told of “Government and Russian terror”, she stressed, describing air strikes on hospitals in that regard. Naming commanders who she said were responsible for such merciless attacks, she emphasized that they must know that they would be some day held accountable. In addition, while condemning abuses by non-State actors and terrorist groups, she also emphasized that the Assad regime and the Russian Federation must know that they were responsible for the massive destruction and suffering in Syria.
The representative of the Russian Federation, however, stated that his country had been assisting United Nations humanitarian aid and other assistance in Syria, as well as facilitating political efforts. Acknowledging the suffering civilians in Aleppo, nonetheless, he pointed out that the differentiation of armed groups from terrorists had not taken place. His country and the Syrian Government were being blamed for the suffering, but numbers were constantly changing and information was being intentionally falsified. Underlining the cessation of bombings during various periods, he stressed Russian efforts to end the fighting while assisting the Government in counter-terrorism.
The Syrian Government had allowed civilians in eastern Aleppo to flee and had opened corridors for them to do so, stated that country’s representative. The terrorists, however, had retained civilians to use as human shields. If the United States wanted to safeguard terrorists, it could take them, especially since there were many foreigners among them. Furthermore, the humanitarian reports of the United Nations were being distorted for political purposes, while the terrorist threat to his country was being ignored. No one was more keen than his Government to stop the suffering, through the ending of such terrorist activity as well as all fighting, he maintained.
Nonetheless, the Council had been powerless in dealing with the situation in Syria, New Zealand’s representative said. Together with Egypt and Spain, he was proposing a simple resolution which would establish a 10‑day pause of hostilities in Aleppo and re‑establish the cessation of hostilities in the rest of the country.
Several speakers voiced support for New Zealand’s draft resolution while lamenting the fact that the Security Council had been unable to stop the Syrian people’s suffering. The representative of Senegal, Council President for November, emphasized that the Council had displayed its lack of unity and political will as well as its powerlessness to act on any aspect of the crisis, including the humanitarian, security and the political aspects as well as the non‑proliferation aspect. He appealed to the Council to support the Syrian people and called for support of the draft before the Council to end the violence. That text could provide a glimmer of hope.
Also speaking today were representatives of Uruguay, Japan, France, United Kingdom, Angola, Ukraine, Venezuela, Malaysia, Span, China and Egypt.
The meeting began at 10:05 a.m. and ended at 12:41 p.m.
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