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On Thursday, UN Under-secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos accused Syria of putting more effort into obstructing the UN than providing aid to millions of needy people.
Amos, presenting the fourth UN report on humanitarian access in Syria, stressed that around 10.8 million are in critical need of humanitarian aid, and that workers could not reach almost half of them.
“The focus of the government of Syria remains on controlling the work of the U.N. and its partners.Four years into this war, we are unable to sustainably reach nearly half of those identified as being in the direst need.Arbitrary restrictions and obstructions including bureaucratic procedures imposed by the government limit or obstruct where we deliver aid, to whom and how often”, Amos said.
She also repeated her demand that Syria allow aid from Jordan. Iraq and Turkey should be allowed to pass into Syria across international borders, which she said will be able to help 1.3 million people. Syria vehemently opposes the delivery of aid across international borders, especially aid that would go directly to rebel-held areas in Syria.
UN Security Council members have for weeks been discussing a draft resolution which would allow humanitarian aid deliveries over international borders into Syria. Russia, which is presiding over the council in June, said that it had recommended an “elegant innovative formula” that was rejected by other member nations. Australian Ambassador Gary Quinlan said that Russia “proposed a model on cross-border access, but this model will not work because the Syrian government wants to impose a whole range of highly restrictive conditions on the operations”.
Syria has warned the Security Council that it will consider any attempt made by humanitarian convoys to cross its international borders without its consent as an attack.
