I. Introduction
1. The present report is the seventy-third submitted pursuant to paragraph 17 of Security Council resolution 2139 (2014), paragraph 10 of resolution 2165 (2014), paragraph 5 of resolution 2191 (2014), paragraph 5 of resolution 2258 (2015), paragraph 5 of resolution 2332 (2016), paragraph 6 of resolution 2393 (2017), paragraph 12 of resolution 2401 (2018), paragraph 6 of resolution 2449 (2018), and paragraph 8 of resolution 2504 (2020), and paragraph 3 of resolution 2533 (2020), in the last three of which the Council requested the Secretary-General to provide a report at least every 60 days, on the implementation of the resolutions by all parties to the conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic.
2. The information contained herein is based on data available to entities of the United Nations system and obtained from the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic and other relevant sources. Data from entities of the United Nations system regarding their humanitarian deliveries have been reported for the months of April and May 2021.
II. Major developments
Key points
1. The available information continued to indicate a high degree of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) transmission in the Syrian Arab Republic, far exceeding the officially recorded infection rates. On 21 and 22 April, the first COVID-19 vaccines arrived in the country through the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility, and distribution began in May.
2. The economy continued to deteriorate. On 15 April, the Central Bank of Syria officially devalued the Syrian pound for the first time since July 2020, from 1,256 to 2,512 Syrian pounds against the United States dollar. The food security situation in the Syrian Arab Republic remains critical. Despite some recent improvement, the indicators for April remained far below the levels observed one year earlier.
3. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) verified 186 incidents, in which at least 150 civilians, including 15 women and 36 children, were killed and at least 154 civilians, including 17 women and 57 children, were injured as a result of hostilities across the Syrian Arab Republic.
4. Reduced water levels in the Euphrates reached a critical point during the reporting period, prompting the partial closure of the Tishrin Dam and electricity blackouts across the north-east of the country. Some 5.4 million people in the Syrian Arab Republic rely on the Euphrates and its tributaries for drinking water. In addition, some 3 million people in the north-east rely on electricity from the Tishrin and Tabaqah Dams, which provide critical irrigation for crops. Hospitals and other vital infrastructure also depend on electricity generated by the dams.
5. At Hawl camp in the north-east, the security situation continued to deteriorate. At least six murders and four attempted murders have been reported since the security operation in March and April. In late May, the de facto authorities in the north-east introduced to humanitarian partners tentative plans for a reorganization of the camp.
6. On 20 April, clashes erupted in Qamishli city between progovernment forces and the local security forces. An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 individuals were displaced during the ensuing five days of fighting. Fourteen civilians were killed, including three children.