General Assembly: 90th Plenary Meeting, 77th Session

General Assembly, 90th plenary meeting, 77th session.

• Categories: Meetings & Events / General Assembly
• Video Length: 03:04:17
• Production Date: 19 July 2023
• Asset Language: Arabic; Chinese; English; French; Original; Russian; Spanish
• Personal Subject: KŐRÖSI, CSABA
• Corporate Name: GENERAL ASSEMBLY; OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS - OCHA; UNITED NATIONS OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS - OCHA
• Subject Topical: ACCOUNTABILITY; AGREEMENTS; BORDER TRAFFIC; COORDINATION WITHIN UN SYSTEM; GOODS TRANSPORT; HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE; HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCIES; HUMANITARIAN RELIEF; SYRIA SITUATION; TRANSPORT; UN CHARTER; UNITED NATIONS ORGANIZATION; VETO
• Geographic Subject: SYRIA; TURKEY; TÜRKIYE
• MAMS Id: 3074164
• Parent Id: 3071501

Description

In Meeting Following Russian Federation’s Veto of Cross-Border Aid Text, General Assembly Speakers Highlight Humanitarian Consequences for Millions. Debate on Item 60.

Csaba Kőrösi (Hungary), President of the General Assembly, noted as the meeting began that it would have been better if the Council overcame its deadlock on this matter. However, the Russian Federation’s 11 July veto meant that the Bab al-Hawa crossing — used by the United Nations and aid agencies since 2014 to deliver 85 per cent of aid into the country — has ceased to operate. Meanwhile, humanitarian needs in Syria are soaring, with 4.1 million people in its northern region all but cut off from the food, water and medicine they need to stay alive.

In the ensuing debate, held under the Assembly’s standing mandate to convene within 10 working days of a veto being cast in the Council, many Member States condemned its use in a dire humanitarian context. They also underlined the importance of the Bab al-Hawa crossing, calling for unhindered access to deliver aid to those in desperate need. Others, however, stressed the need to respect Syria’s sovereignty throughout this process.