INTERNATIONAL

Syria Relief, the UK’s leading Syria-focused NGO and its parent charity Action For Humanity, on Saturday condemned the UN failure to renew the Syria cross border resolution. It called for global powers to put politics second and people first.

The resolution gives a UN mandate for the only remaining aid border crossing into Syria, via Turkey. Failure to renew it will mean there is no UN-approved route to providing humanitarian aid into rebel-held Northwest Syria from neighbouring countries.

The organisation’s Chief Executive, Othman Moqbel said in a statement issued on Saturday: “We at Syria Relief/Action For Humanity are deeply concerned by yesterday’s decision which threatens the lives of millions inside Syria. We have seen humanitarian needs reach record heights and an already growing hunger crisis which has left 70 per cent of the population without access to reliable food supplies. This resolution is a critical lifeline for millions of Syrians who now face an uncertain future.”

READ: The veto on aid for north-west Syria proves the failure of international institutions

He added: “It has been 11 years since the start of the crisis and the start of our response in the country and violence and unrest still continue. Over 14 million Syrians require assistance to survive. Nine in every 10 children live in poverty and face a daily battle to survive.”

On Friday, Russia vetoed a bid to extend UN Security Council approval for 12 months of UN aid deliveries to some 4 million people in opposition-controlled north-west Syria from Turkiye. Moqbel said: “The numbers of the conflict are shocking, but these are not just numbers. They represent millions of mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, friends and colleagues caught up in a crisis which seems to have no end.”

The Syria Relief statement said: “Time is running out. We implore the Security Council to authorise cross-border assistance to prevent a completely avoidable and unnecessary humanitarian catastrophe.”

READ: UN Commission urges extension of last aid corridor into NW Syria, as Russia threatens to close it

Source: Middle East Monitor