The Situation in the Middle East - Security Council, 9291st Meeting

Briefing Security Council, United Nations Officials Describe Syria’s Astounding Physical Destruction, Massive Humanitarian Needs following Earthquake

• Categories: Meetings & Events / Security Council
• Video Length: 02:04:23
• Production Date: 23 March 2023
• Asset Language: Arabic; Chinese; English; French; Original; Russian; Spanish
• Personal Subject: PEDERSEN, GEIR
• Subject Topical: EARTHQUAKES; HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
• Geographic Subject: SYRIA
• MAMS Id: 3052336
• Parent Id: 3023488

Description

The brief lull in fighting in north-west Syria — in the wake of February’s devastating earthquakes — is giving way to a creeping rise in shelling exchanges, rocket fire and cross-line raids by terrorist groups, senior United Nations officials warned the Security Council today, while describing “astounding” physical destruction and massive humanitarian needs on the ground.

Geir O. Pedersen, United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, welcomed the growing international attention to the crisis in the country, declaring: nbsp;“It is absolutely vital to continue to provide resources to support the emergency response to the earthquakes, while also continuing to support the broader humanitarian response.”nbsp;

Since then, however, he noted a creeping rise in hostilities, including air strikes on Aleppo International Airport — attributed to Israel — which resulted in damage and impacted humanitarian operations. nbsp;Emphasizing the need to avert a broader escalation “at all costs”, he said sustained calm will also be an essential ingredient of donor confidence as they consider supporting rehabilitation and recovery efforts.nbsp;

Tareq Talahma, Acting Director of the Operations and Advocacy Division of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said more than 56,000 people are now recorded to have died in the earthquakes that struck Türkiye and Syria in February.nbsp;

He nevertheless emphasized that much more must be done in the weeks ahead — collective shelters must be decongested, adequate housing must be supported, and safe, voluntary and dignified return must be facilitated.nbsp;

As Council members and other concerned delegations took the floor, many speakers echoed pleas for donors to fund Syria’s dire humanitarian needs at a greater scale and more accelerated pace. nbsp;Some strongly condemned the air strikes on Aleppo International Airport, which is being used as a delivery point for critical humanitarian aid.nbsp;

The meeting began at 10:03 a.m. and ended at 12:08 p.m.