BEIRUT—More than 20 international aid groups sharply criticized the United Nations Security Council on Thursday, saying it has failed to implement three resolutions passed last year seeking to boost humanitarian assistance to Syrian civilians caught in the country`s civil war.
The 21 humanitarian and human rights organizations delivered a failing grade for world powers and the broader international community as Syria`s uprising against President Bashar Assad entered its fifth year. The conflict, which began with peaceful protests before escalating into a voracious civil war, has touched off a devastating humanitarian crisis that has engulfed the broader region.
Since the conflict began, more than 220,000 people have been killed and 1 million wounded. Nearly 4 million Syrians have fled and registered as refugees in neighboring countries, while another 7.6 million people are displaced inside Syria. All told, an estimated 12.2 million Syrians are in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the U.N.
The spiraling crisis spurred the Security Council—usually paralyzed by divisions on Syria—to pass three resolutions last year aiming to increase humanitarian aid. The latest resolution, approved unanimously in December, extended cross-border aid deliveries to Syrians in rebel-held areas without approval from Damascus.
But the aid groups say diplomacy has not translated into action on the ground.
The bitter reality is that the Security Council has failed to implement its resolutions, said Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council. Last year was the darkest year yet in this horrific war. Parties to the conflict have acted with impunity and ignored the Security Council`s demands, civilians are not protected and their access to relief has not improved.
Andy Baker, the head of Oxfam`s response to the Syria crisis, said the U.N.`s words now ring hollow.
The last year has seen little concrete action from parties to the conflict and governments with influence to tackle the spiraling humanitarian crisis in Syria, Baker said. What good is a resolution to a mother whose house has been bombed and children are hungry if it is ignored and undermined?
In their 27-page report, the aid organizations say the number of people in need in hard-to-reach areas has nearly doubled in the past year to 4.8 million. The number of children in need of assistance has risen to 5.6 million, up 31 percent on last year, they said.
Funding, meanwhile, has not kept pace with needs. In 2013, 71 percent of the funds needed to support Syrians displaced in the country as well as refugees were provided. Last year, only 57 percent of the necessary funds were granted, the groups said.
The aid groups and human rights organizations that signed the report include the International Rescue Committee, the Norwegian Refugee Council, Handicap International, the Syrian Relief Network, Oxfam and others.
Photo: These five siblings fled from their home in Syria two years go with their oarents. Now they live in a camp for displaced persons. Eight-year-old Fatima, holding her seven-month-old sister, has a skin disorder on her legs, for which the family cnnot obtain treatment, due to the lack of access to health care in 2015. Source: Khalil Ashawi.
Download the full report: Failing Syria: Assessing the Impact of UN Security Council Resolutions in Protecting and Assisting Civilians in Syria
Authors of the report:
ACTED
Alkarama Foundation
American Friends Service Committee
ChildrenPlus
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Hand in Hand For Syria
Handicap International
Human Rights and Democracy Media Center (SHAMS)
International Rescue Committee
Medecins du Monde
Norwegian Church Aid
Norwegian Refugee Council
NuDay Syria
Oxfam
Pax Christi International
Save the Children
Syria Relief Network
Syrian American Medical Society
Tulip for Syria Relief
Un Ponte Per
World Vision International
List of United Nations Security Council resolutions on the conflict in Syria:
Res. 2042, 14 April 2012 (unanimous): The Syrian Civil War observer force resolution;
Res. 2043, 21 April 2012 (unanimous): Establishes of the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria;
Res. 2059, 20 July 2012 (unanimous): Renews mandate of Syrian Observer Mission for 30 days;
Res. 2118, 27 September 2013 (unanimous): Syrian civil war, Framework for Elimination of Syrian Chemical Weapons;
Res. 2139, 22 February 2014 (unanimous): Syrian civil war, access for humanitarian aid.
| Themes |
| • Children • Elderly • Ethnic |
