June 6, 2023 - As the highly anticipated United Nations Security Council (UNSC) vote on cross-border aid into northwest Syria from Türkiye approaches, CARE highlights the huge repercussions the non-renewal of the resolution could have on the entire humanitarian aid operation in northwest Syria as well as the ability of humanitarian actors to respond to the needs of 4.1 million people.
The critical UNSC vote, which could take place as early as this Friday, July 7, will determine the humanitarian response in northwest Syria, home to 4.5 million people, 90% of whom need humanitarian assistance to survive. The UN supports up to 80 per cent of all food assistance in northwest Syria through the cross-border mechanism and ensures that every month, 2.7 million people have access to essential medicines, safe water, food and nutrition assistance, shelter supplies and protection services. It also ensures that the Syria Cross-border Humanitarian Fund (SCHF) continues to provide predictable, timely and consistent resources to Syrian NGOs who are the primary service providers in the humanitarian operation in northwest Syria.
“If cross-border access is removed this week, millions of Syrians are bracing for a dramatic drop-off in access to all kinds of lifesaving assistance because the UN will no longer be authorized to coordinate and facilitate cross-border operations, or to administer the SCHF,”said Thomas Bamforth CARE Türkiye Assistant Country Director.
“This will mean that within a matter of weeks or months, most Syrian humanitarian NGOs, the backbone of the response in the northwest, will not have the funding to keep their doors open. This is generating enormous anxiety for Syrian parents, especially single mothers, who have very few coping strategies left after 12 years of conflict and displacement. Camps that are often dubbed as last-resort sites still host 1.9 million internally displaced people who are particularly vulnerable to various risks, including gender-based violence,” Bamforth highlighted.
All modalities for aid delivery are vital for the humanitarian response in northwest Syria, including cross-border and cross-line options. However, when the Security Council votes on the resolution it should be guided solely by its responsibility to address the humanitarian needs of the Syrian people rather than political factors. The sheer scale of the cross-border operation, as well as its security and transparency make its continuation imperative. Since the February earthquakes, only one cross-line convoy of ten trucks has reached Idlib in northwest Syria from Aleppo. In contrast, 3,401 trucks have crossed the border from Türkiye since February 9 to date. This highlights the irreplaceability of cross-border access while efforts must continue to improve cross-line assistance.
A coalition of Syrian and international NGOs, including CARE, have been calling for a minimum 12-month renewal of the UN-mandated cross-border aid mechanism to allow for adequate and efficient planning which is made challenging by the uncertainty that comes with short-term 6-month renewals.
“Beyond the delivery of tangible aid supplies, the cross-border humanitarian response in northwest Syria is critical for providing essential health services, including reproductive and sexual health services, as well as protection services tackling gender-based and domestic violence. It is estimated that 70% of identified protection needs are currently not met or covered by the humanitarian response,” said Bamforth.
“The loss of a sustainable and predictable cross-border access will further jeopardize essential services offered to women and girls, which are already woefully insufficient for meeting the scale of evolving needs,”CARE Türkiye's Assistant Country Director stressed.
The recent earthquakes have exacerbated humanitarian conditions for millions of people who have already experienced repeated displacement due to conflict and loss of livelihoods, bringing to the fore the need for humanitarian aid that improves safety and security for all, including women and girls.
“A year-long authorization is necessary to design and implement interventions that go beyond life-saving supplies and that offer dignified solutions, including, for example, programs that help women achieve self-reliance and re-build their lives,” Bamforth added.
For media inquiries please contact: Sulafah Al-Shami, Syria Response Senior Communications Manager via: [email protected].