We call on the United Nations Security Council to authorize and expand for 12 months the delivery of cross-border humanitarian aid to northern Syria. The vote is due July 10th. Failing the renewal, the already dire situation of over 1.7 million vulnerable children in the area will get far worse.
Syria is no safe place for children. Without the cross-border assistance, children will be denied life-saving assistance, their protection and access to water, hygiene, medical support and education will be severely hampered.
Children in the northeast of Syria face an equally dire situation. Needs have grown by nearly one-third since the closing of a critical border point allowing aid to the area. The Security Council must urgently address ongoing challenges to the delivery of humanitarian assistance in the northeast.
Now is not the time to scale back life-saving assistance to children in Syria. Humanitarian needs have skyrocketed since the COVID-19 pandemic started. Nearly every child in Syria now depends on assistance. Meanwhile, indiscriminate attacks continue, putting millions of children in danger. So far, at least 12,000 children- and likely many more- have been killed or injured across the country.
We call on the United Nations Security Council to authorise and expand cross-border assistance for 12 months. All modalities of assistance, cross-border and crossline, are essential to meet rising needs and allow humanitarian partners to deliver assistance to children in need wherever they are in the country. The lives of millions of children in Syria depend on this decision.
CARE International
Concern Worldwide
DanChurch Aid
Heartland Alliance
International Rescue Committee
International Organization for Migration
Mercy Corps
Plan International
Save the Children
UNICEF
World Vision International
For more information, please contact:
Kalei Talwar
kalei.talwar@care.org
+1-808-381-6901