Attachments
New York, 12 February 2025
As delivered
Thank you, Mr. President.
Mr. President,
As the Special Envoy [Geir Pedersen] has just said, we must seize the opportunity of this moment for Syria’s people.
This means grappling with the immense humanitarian crisis affecting more than 70 per cent of the population.
It also means addressing additional needs as hostilities in some areas – particularly in the north – continue.
Fighting in and around Menbij, in eastern Aleppo, has displaced more than 25,000 people and caused dozens of civilian casualties.
Last week, 19 women and a driver were killed when a car bomb exploded near a vehicle transporting female agricultural workers.
Fighting continues to hamper efforts to repair the Tishreen Dam, depriving people of water and electricity.
Further east, hostilities have also continued in Ar-Raqqa and Al-Hasakeh governorates, affecting civilians, water stations and other civilian infrastructure.
Meanwhile, explosive ordnance continues to pose a threat to civilians and to hamper humanitarian aid across the country, killing dozens of people and injuring dozens more in recent weeks.
All parties must take constant care to spare civilians and civilian infrastructure in the course of military actions.
Mr. President,
The UN and its humanitarian partners are working to deliver critical assistance while adapting our systems to the shifting context in Syria.
Since late November, we have provided more than 3.3 million people with bread assistance, as well as other food aid.
Mobile teams are providing health and nutrition services, including for newly displaced people. Young children and women are being screened and treated for malnutrition.
The cross-border operation from Türkiye remains essential. During the past month, 94 trucks carrying food, health and other supplies crossed through the Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salam crossings – more than triple the number during the same period last year.
We also welcome the continued deliveries of assistance from countries in the region, and remain ready to further strengthen coordination to ensure we are reaching as many people in need as we can across Syria.
We are also organizing assessment missions to better understand needs, including to areas we had previously not been able to access. A country-wide rapid needs assessment is underway with initial results expected soon.
Mr. President,
Since the activation of the humanitarian system’s “scale-up” designation, and the visit of the Emergency Relief Coordinator in December, Syria remains at the top of our priority list.
Several senior representatives of humanitarian agencies have visited Syria to bolster operations and engage with partners and caretaker authorities, including the heads of the UN Refugee Agency and the World Food Programme.
We continue to seek new and more efficient ways to scale up operations. This includes working to move towards a streamlined coordination architecture.
The new structure will be led by the Humanitarian Coordinator in Damascus, with a Humanitarian Country Team bringing together humanitarian actors operating across Syria. We expect this transition to be completed by the end of June of this year.
We continue to engage with the caretaker authorities on the assurances they have provided to facilitate access, ease bureaucratic procedures, and engage in practical dialogue with the humanitarian community.
Our engagement remains constructive, and we have seen some notable improvements. Last week, cash withdrawal limits for aid organizations were lifted, and transactions authorized in Syrian pounds or US dollars – steps we hope will ease challenges around liquidity, particularly for NGOs.
We have also been informed that all pending humanitarian shipments at ports of entry have been cleared.
We continue to engage on procedures for NGO registration and field visits.
We also welcome the caretaker authorities’ authorization for the UN to continue existing arrangements for cross-border deliveries of aid from Türkiye through Bab al-Hawa for a further six months. We hope these movements – and those through other crossings – will continue to be facilitated.
Mr. President,
Funding shortfalls continue to pose an enormous constraint on our ability to scale up further.
Dozens of health facilities are at risk of closure. Water and sanitation services have been suspended in displacement camps in the north-west, affecting more than 635,000 people.
We are also awaiting further clarity on the implications of the freeze on US-funded activities and associated humanitarian waivers. In 2024, US funding accounted for more than a quarter of support for the Humanitarian Response Plan in Syria. Delays or suspension of funding will affect whether vulnerable people can access essential services.
The UN and our partners are appealing for $1.2 billion to reach 6.7 million people through March of this year, as we develop a full appeal for the rest of the year based on new assessments.
This is an effort to prioritize assistance to reach the most vulnerable people. Three quarters of those we hope to reach are women and children; 40 per cent are internally displaced; more than 15 per cent have a disability.
As donors consider their future support for Syria in the context of the current transition, maintaining vital humanitarian support will be critical. We hope any future financial pledges will be generous and commitments of support robust.
Mr. President,
Now is the time to invest in Syria’s future. Alongside the most critical lifesaving support, we must sustain and restore critical health, water and other services that can enable people to rebuild their lives and livelihoods.
Many of the 6 million Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries are weighing the momentous decision of whether to return. Since December, UNHCR estimates that some 270,000 people have returned.
According to a rapid intention survey conducted by UNHCR in a number of neighbouring countries last month, more than a quarter of refugees hope to return home in the coming year, a notable increase from similar surveys last year. Many of the more than 7 million people who are internally displaced are making similar assessments.
As UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said during his visit to Syria last month – sustainable, safe and dignified returns require substantial investment in livelihoods, health services, rebuilding schools, and restoring electricity and water infrastructure.
Mr. President,
Let me conclude by reiterating our key asks:
We need respect for international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians.
We need the smooth facilitation of assistance into and within the country – to allow us to reach as many people as possible with the resources available.
And we need the necessary funding to scale up and sustain our response, alongside investment in Syria’s development.
Finally, as ever, we need a peaceful political transition – and support for the Special Envoy’s critical efforts.
Thank you.
Disclaimer
- UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
- To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.