Syria [to 16 January 2016]

.
15 January 2016
SC/12203
Starvation by Siege Now ‘Systematic’ in Syria, Assistant Secretary-General Tells Security Council, amid Warnings that Tactic Could Be War Crime
Siege and starvation had become systematic in Syria, the Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs told the Security Council today during a meeting that heard calls for immediate, unhindered access for the delivery of humanitarian assistance to besieged and hard-to-reach areas of the country, as well as warnings that using starvation as a weapon amounted to a war crime.

Providing the Council with an update in a meeting called by France and the United Kingdom, Assistant Secretary-General Kyung-wha Kang, who is also the United Nations Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, described the “nightmarish” reality of civilian life, emphasizing that no rationale could justify the prevention of aid reaching those in need. The fault lay with the parties maintaining siege situations, which meant all sides, including the Government of Syria, which bore the primary responsibility for protecting its people.

Some 400,000 people were trapped in besieged areas, including towns and villages controlled by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh), Government or allied forces and non-State armed groups, she said. Some 4.5 million lived in hard-to-reach areas and were subjected to various restrictions, including the deliberate obstruction of aid delivery. In Madaya, the world had seen harrowing images of malnutrition and hunger.

Against that backdrop, she said, interagency convoys had reached Madaya and surrounding areas on 11 and 14 January, while four convoys had reached Kefraya with food, medicine and non-food items. The third part of the series of convoys had carried humanitarian assistance to 37,000 people in Homs governorate. “Food, water and medicine are not bargaining chips or favours that parties to conflict can grant or deny at will,” she stressed. They were the very essence of the right to survival, which the Council had a responsibility to protect. “You cannot let more people die under your watch,” she declared. The Council — and those supporting the warring parties — must place Syria on a firm path to peace, end the practice of siege and starvation and adhere to international humanitarian law…
[Briefing Notes and Member Sate Debate included at link above.]

.
Syrian Arab Republic: UN Agencies warn humanitarian needs growing in Syria and region: Nearly US$8 billion urgently needed in 2016
UN OCHA Press Release
NEW YORK (12 January 2016) – With Syria’s war heading towards a sixth year and with no end to the conflict in sight, UN humanitarian and development agencies today appealed to Member States for US$7.73 billion in vital new funding for 2016 to help 22.5 million people in Syria and across the region.

The appeal comprises two main elements: help for an anticipated 4.7 million refugees in neighbouring countries by the end of 2016 as well as 4 million people in communities hosting them, and support for 13.5 million displaced and conflict-affected people inside Syria itself.

The Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) 2016 covers the activities of some 200 partners including UN agencies, inter-governmental organizations and non-governmental organizations in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. Amounting to $4.55 billion, the appeal aims to support people forced to flee Syria into the surrounding region and the communities in which they are being hosted.

“While the influx to Europe has finally focused the attention of the world on the Syria crisis and the epic levels of human suffering it produces, the biggest burden by far is shouldered by communities and governments in the region,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. “We must stop Syrian refugees sliding deeper into abject poverty, boost their hope in their own future and that of their country, and do more to help those hosting them,” Grandi added.

Key strategic directions in the 3RP this year include greater investment in education and increased opportunities for vocational training and livelihoods for refugees and host communities. The partners behind the programme are also calling for more support to the most vulnerable refugees to meet their food and other basic needs, alongside increased support to national capacities and systems for the delivery of health, education, water and other services…

.
Syria Donors Conference 2016: Joint Announcement
14 January 2016
Joint announcement from the United Kingdom, Germany, Norway, Kuwait and the United Nations on the Syria Donors Conference 2016

We – the leaders of the United Kingdom, Germany, Norway, Kuwait and the United Nations – are increasingly concerned about the plight of the Syrian people.

We have been at the forefront of global efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to those displaced by the conflict.

The international community has a responsibility to help the 13.5 million vulnerable and displaced people inside Syria, and the 4.2 million Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries and we must step up our efforts.

Current funding to the 2015 UN appeals has not even reached last year’s levels – $3.3 billion against an appeal of $8.4 billion. As an international community, we must do more.

Now is the time to act. So we will together host a conference on the Syria humanitarian crisis in London in early February 2016, building on previous conferences in Kuwait.

We will invite leaders from countries around the world, NGOs and civil society to come together to:
:: raise significant new funding to meet the needs of all those affected by the Syria crisis within the country itself and by supporting neighbouring countries who have shown enormous generosity in hosting refugees to cope with the impact of the crisis.
:: identify long term funding solutions, covering 2016 and subsequent years.
:: address the longer term needs of those affected by the crisis by identifying ways to create jobs and provide education, offering all those that have been forced to flee their homes greater hope for the future.

The Syria Donors Conference will also pave the way for a broader discussion about how the international community responds to protracted crises, in advance of the UK, UN and World Bank High-Level Forum on Forced Displacement in Protracted Crises later in 2016 and the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in May.

We continue to believe that a political solution is necessary to bring the Syrian conflict to an end and we commit to working with each other and international partners to achieve that and to support the development of an inclusive, peaceful and prosperous Syria.