Joint Statement on the Renewal of Humanitarian Lifeline to Millions of People in North-west Syria

Millions of people are pressed up against the border in an active war zone in north-west Syria and remain in need of humanitarian aid to survive. The UN needs cross-border and cross-line access to reach those most in need.

We call for the renewal of Security Council authorization for cross-border operations from Turkey to north-west Syria. A failure to do so would immediately stop UN delivery of food, COVID-19 vaccines, critical medical supplies, shelter, protection, clean water and sanitation, and other life-saving assistance to 3.4 million people, including 1 million children.

The UN continues engagement with all concerned parties to also allow cross-line convoys into the north-west. They are critical for the expansion of the overall response, but even if deployed regularly they could not replicate the size and scope of the cross- border operation. There is simply no alternative.

A large-scale UN cross-border response for an additional 12 months remains essential to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in north-west Syria.

Signatories:

• Mr. Mark Lowcock, Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
• Mr. António Vitorino, Director General, International Organization for Migration (IOM)
• Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
• Mr. David Beasley, Executive Director, World Food Programme (WFP)
• Mr. Filippo Grandi, High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
• Ms. Henrietta H. Fore, Executive Director, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
• Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO)