Amid the political stalemate in Syria, United Nations officials on Monday urged the UN Security Council to maintain its focus on the country, stressing that the consequences of neglecting the more than 13-year-old conflict could be grave for both the country and the region. Syria remains one of the world's largest humanitarian crises, with at least 16.7 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and some 13.6 million people displaced from their homes.
While 7.2 million women, men and children are internally displaced within their own country, the civil war has led to more than 6.4 million Syrian refugees, mostly in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Germany.
“Syria remains in a state of profound conflict, complexity and division,” said Geir O. Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria, highlighting the plight of civilians, including violence, widespread human rights violations, protracted displacement and dire humanitarian conditions.
The threat of a regional conflict cascading through Syria has not abated with an uptick in Israeli strikes on Syria, including last week's Israeli strikes that the Syrian government said hit military sites in the south of the country and a residential building in Damascus.
“There is a profound risk of this dynamic escalating further – particularly if the situation in Lebanon worsens,” he warned.
“The need for de-escalation, leading towards a nationwide ceasefire, remains as acute as ever,” he said, also warning of a resurgent threat from listed terrorist groups, with attacks by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh) set to double in 2024.
Pedersen noted that Syrians outside their country are facing worrying developments, with tensions in host countries reaching new heights in July amid alarming reports of attacks on Syrian refugees sparking significant violence. He therefore called for an end to anti-refugee rhetoric and actions.
“Syrians must be protected wherever they are, and efforts must continue to create the conditions for safe, voluntary and dignified returns,” he said.
Given the scale and complexity of the conflict, there was no easy or quick-fix solution.
“The path to peace will be long and arduous,” he stressed, pledging to continue exploring ideas on how to prepare the ground for a new and comprehensive approach, while urgently seeking a de-escalation towards a nationwide ceasefire, the reconvening of the constitutional committee and gradual confidence-building measures.
On July 15, the Government of Syria organized parliamentary elections in line with the current constitutional and legislative arrangements, he noted.
“Such elections are not a substitute for the political process established by resolution 2254 (2015), which envisages the holding of credible and inclusive elections pursuant to a new Constitution and administered under UN supervision,” the UN envoy said.
All relevant international stakeholders must be involved, and their relevant concerns must be addressed as part of a comprehensive approach to the implementation of Resolution 2254 (2015), he said.
The UN envoy called for an approach that does not exclude any of the military, political or economic actors, and that addresses the full range of issues that continue to drive the conflict or are directly relevant to its resolution.
“I share the deep frustrations of many Syrians at the lack of progress towards their legitimate aspirations and the restoration of their country,” he said, urging all actors to engage with the United Nations to advance the political process in accordance with the Resolution.
Also briefing the Council, Ramesh Rajasingham, Director of Coordination at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said Syria continues to suffer its worst humanitarian crisis since the start of the conflict, with more than 16 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
“The impact of the conflict, alongside associated economic hardship, pressures from climate change, and severely reduced humanitarian funding, and the absence of development programming for basic services, is never more stark than during these hottest months of the year,” Rajasingham said
The OCHA official noted that many people in north-eastern Syria have seen a significant reduction in the humanitarian assistance they had relied on due to significant funding cuts.
"People’s access to water has been curtailed due to decreased rainfall, compounded by the impact of conflict and the economic crisis on water and electricity infrastructure. Now, they must also contend with water-borne diseases, many of which could have been prevented with basic water and sanitation infrastructure," he said.
Rajasingham emphasized that young children, people with disabilities, pregnant and lactating women, and adolescent girls are disproportionately affected.
"Across the country, more than 3.5 million people received water, sanitation, and hygiene assistance in the first quarter of this year. But funding shortfalls are seriously constraining our ability to maintain – let alone scale up – these activities," he said.
The Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for Syria is the largest humanitarian appeal ever for a single country. Yet more than halfway through 2024, the HRP is barely 21 percent funded.
“To give an example of the implications, in north-west Syria, our partners tell us that more than 900,000 people are not getting the critical water and sanitation support they need, more than half of them children,” he warned, noting that these challenges will only grow as climate change makes heatwaves more frequent.
"I urge donors to provide the funding we need to support the people of Syria as they face crisis upon crisis, year after year," he said.
Rajasingham added that for the millions of people in north-west Syria now enduring extreme heat on top of years of conflict and displacement, the cross-border operation from Turkey remains a critical lifeline.
The UN has welcomed the Syrian Government's decision to extend the UN's permission to use the Bab al-Hawa crossing for the delivery of humanitarian aid for a further six months, until January 13, 2025. This is the second such extension for Bab al-Hawa since February 2023, when the Government first allowed the UN to conduct cross-border operations into north-west Syria.
Over the past year, nearly 2,000 trucks carrying UN aid have crossed from Turkey into north-west Syria through the Bab Al-Hawa, Bab Al-Salam and Al Ra'ee crossings.
“Despite an overall reduction in aid due to underfunding, the border crossings have been instrumental in enabling critical assistance and protection services to more than one million vulnerable people every month,” Rajasingham said
However, given the scale of the needs, it also remained critical to continue efforts to scale up the use of aid across conflict lines.
"The deep vulnerabilities exposed by the extreme summer temperatures in Syria emphasize just how important it is to ensure the flow of humanitarian assistance to people in need."
This required unhindered humanitarian access and the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, as well as more funding, he added.
“Without improvements in the overall situation, we may well see many of the Syrians who represent the future of the country choosing to leave, adding to the millions of refugees in the region and beyond,” Rajasingham said, once again urging the Security Council to support the parties to the conflict and Special Envoy Pedersen in "securing a definitive end to this crisis."
Further information
Full text: United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen, Briefing to the Security Council, delivered July 22, 2024
https://specialenvoysyria.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/2024-07-22_secco_un_special_envoy_for_syria_mr._geir_o._pedersen_briefing_as_delivered_.pdf
Full text: Briefing to the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Syria by Ramesh Rajasingham, Director, Coordination Division, OCHA, on behalf of Joyce Msuya, acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, delivered July 22, 2024
https://www.unocha.org/news/syria-crisis-security-council-ocha-highlights-impact-poor-funding-and-heatwaves