Humanitarian Situation in Syria - Security Council Open VTC

Added impact of COVID-19 ‘driving food insecurity to record levels’ in Syria, Humanitarian Chief warns Security Council.

• Categories: Meetings & Events / Security Council
• Video Length: 02:01:03
• Production Date: 19 May 2020
• Asset Language: English
• Personal Subject: MARK LOWCOCK; SVEN JÜRGENSON
• Corporate Name: WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION - WHO
• Subject Topical: BORDER TRAFFIC; EPIDEMICS; FOOD SECURITY; HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
• Geographic Subject: LIBYA
• MAMS Id: 2545737
• Parent Id: 2545689

Description

A mix of increased cross-border and cross-line access is needed to sustain — and preferably increase — the delivery of aid into north-east Syria amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the senior United Nations humanitarian official in the country told the Security Council in a videoconference meeting[*] on 19 May.

Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, also cited an alarming spike in food insecurity and economic challenges related to the expanding global pandemic. Noting that the 15-member Council is slated to reconsider in the coming months its authorization of the two remaining border crossing points in north-east Syria, he encouraged members to promptly renew them — along with the mandate of a related United Nations monitoring mechanism — for another 12 months. “A delay will increase suffering and cost lives,” he warned.

Outlining the current situation in Syria, where 58 cases of COVID-19 have now been confirmed by the authorities, he said six more have been confirmed in the country’s north-east. Against that backdrop, building up Syria’s limited laboratory and case investigation capacity remains a top priority. While the World Health Organization (WHO) has been supporting the progressive expansion of testing capacities in Damascus, Aleppo, Lattakia and Homs — from conducting repairs to providing essential equipment, reagents and on-site training of laboratory technicians — testing capacity remains insufficient and significant shortages of personal protective equipment exist.

He outlined a range of preventative efforts being carried out by WHO and its partners, citing assurances by several States that their sanctions programmes will neither ban the flow of crucial humanitarian supplies nor target medicine and medical devices. Humanitarian exemptions should be applied expeditiously. Turning to a range of economic challenges exacerbated by the virus, he stated: “We are seeing the economic impact of the pandemic before we see infections peak.” The average price of food was 15 per cent higher in April than in March. In the north-west — which is heavily reliant on imported goods — the Syrian pound continues to lose value, having depreciated by 54 per cent since the end of April.

“The added impact of the pandemic is now driving food insecurity to record levels,” he continued. An estimated 9.3 million people across Syria are now considered food insecure, up from 7.9 million six months ago. Meanwhile, reports of killings of civilians across Syria are increasing, and there are signs that terrorist groups such as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) view the pandemic as an opportunity to regroup and perpetrate violence.

Turning to the delivery of food, medical supplies and other assistance, he said some 1,365 trucks crossed into north-west Syria from Turkey in April — a major scale-up. The reasons for the increase include Syria’s deteriorating humanitarian situation and the need to prepare for a possible COVID-19 outbreak. Recalling that Council members recently received the Secretary-General’s review of cross-line and cross-border operations — as requested by resolution 2504 (2020), which renewed the authorization of cross-border aid into Syria through two crossing points but declined to renew two others — he said that report makes clear the need to renew the two remaining crossings for another year.

“This decision cannot be left to the last minute — too many lives are at stake,” he said. Emphasizing that United Nations staff are working at the border every minute, even during Ramadan, he said sustaining supply pipelines in such a massive operation requires weeks or months of lead-time. In the north-east, work is under way to increase cross-line deliveries of medical supplies following the removal of Al Yarubiyah as an authorized border crossing. On 10 May, WHO was able to deliver a 30-ton consignment of medical supplies by road — the first overland delivery to the north-east in two years — with a second delivery expected to arrive in the coming days. However, the Secretary-General’s report reveals that much more needs to be done to bridge the gap in medical assistance in the north-east.

Noting repeated water supply disruptions at the Alouk water station — to which he has previously drawn the Council’s attention — he underlined the obligation of all parties to protect civilian infrastructure, adding that water access is even more critical amid the pandemic. He also outlined the broader United Nations humanitarian response, which operates largely from areas under Government control, saying that in the first quarter of 2020 food aid reached 3.3 million people; medical treatment reached 2 million; and water, sanitation and hygiene reached 1.2 million. Still, cross-border aid remains a lifeline for civilians who cannot be reached by any other means, and its mandate must be urgently renewed. “A delay will increase suffering and cost lives,” he concluded.

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