“It’s not over for the Syrian people,” said Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths, describing the myriad challenges. “And your responsibility is not over either.”

Essential early recovery

The head of humanitarian affairs said it was essential to scale up early recovery programs – aimed at meeting needs that arise during the humanitarian phase of an emergency – which can provide a pathway to greater self-reliance and restore livelihoods. basic services.

Perhaps more immediately, he drew attention to the hundreds of children who this week have been trapped in a terrifying prison siege in Al-Hasakah in northwestern Syria.

He cited reports announced by Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), on January 25, of the deaths of children under siege inside the Al- Hasakah in Ghwayran, and children trapped as ISIL-affiliated detainees fought Kurds led by the Syrian Defense Forces (SDF), forced into the fighting.

Reports say the siege is now over and the Kurds have regained control of the prison, but Mr Griffiths told the ambassadors it was “crucially important that all children are accommodated, evacuated in safe and supported place,” he insisted.

Their plight echoes that of the country, Griffiths said. He described Syrian girls and boys shivering in tents in the snow, while others are stuck in displacement camps or detention centers, and millions more – lucky enough to have shelter – go missing. always of a healthy diet and a reliable education.

Disappointed with the people

“We fail the Syrian people, young and old,” he said. “I urge you to work with the United Nations on new approaches.”

The Under-Secretary-General recalled that six civilians were killed on January 20 when missiles landed in Afrin city, while another airstrike in early January severely damaged the main water station serving the city of Afrin. ‘Idlib.

Along with security concerns, unusually severe winter storms last week damaged thousands of tents in camps in the northwest, forcing displaced people to burn rubbish to stay warm and risk suffocation, sheltered sub-zero temperatures.

Not enough

With the cost of a food basket reaching new highs in each of the past four months and international aid declining, “the food aid we provide to millions of people each month is simply not enough“, he warned.

He called for continued support for the UN’s six-month humanitarian operations plan, drawing attention to early recovery projects to support food production and the cross-border delivery of aid to northwest Syria. . Two of these operations have been completed and a third is expected to take place soon, he added.

“From War to Hell”

Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, agreed that conditions have “significantly worsened”, amid renewed armed conflict in Dera’a, Damascus and Eastern Ghouta.

Mr Egeland – who was formerly UN Emergency Relief Coordinator from 2003 to 2006 – said the economic crisis, exacerbated by drought, is now so deep that the families he met during his recent visit described their journey as “from war to hell”. .

He implored the Council to put an end to this “suffocating paralysis”, asking “for your help as members of the Security Council, and as influential powers with the parties and actors in the region. “The situation demands it.”

Humanitarian diplomacy

Specifically, Mr. Egeland appealed for help to end access restrictions on all sides of conflict lines, pointing out that humanitarian work is still too often hampered by administrative, logistical, legal and physical barriers. More effective humanitarian diplomacy is needed.

For example, he said that the Russian Federation could help the Syrian government, where the Norwegian Refugee Council is still unable to provide legal aid to displaced persons and returnees, while Turkey and the States United can help de facto authorities in opposition-controlled areas.

He also called for help in negotiating solutions to conflicts in Idlib and elsewhere, stressing that “we cannot allow a war to rage in what is, in effect, a gigantic chain of camps for the displaced.”

A call for solidarity

In the meantime he said civilians must be able to seek protection and pointed out that “now is not the time to close the borders.”

It will also be essential to restore a system of deconfliction, to ensure cross-border and cross-border relief, to secure access to water and the agreement around the northern waterways, to support the rehabilitation of civil infrastructure, to allow durable solutions for refugees and closing the funding gap. for humanitarian operations.

“2021 has been one of the worst years on record for civilians in Syria,” he said. “We urge donor countries not to turn their backs in 2022.”