Security Council Renews Cross-Border Aid Delivery to Syria For A Year

The United Nations Security Council has today renewed for 12 months the use of routes across conflict lines and several border crossings in Syria so that humanitarian assistance can reach communities in need, as it expressed outrage at the escalating violence that has killed nearly 200,000 people. Unanimously adopting a new resolution this morning, the 15-member Council said it was “gravely distressed” by the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Syria and by the fact that now, more than 12.2 million people need relief aid. Today’s resolution – pursuant to resolution 2165 (2014) – extends until January 10, 2016, the authorization for UN agencies and their partners to use routes across conflict lines and four border crossings – two in Turkey, one in Iraq and one in Jordan – so that humanitarian assistance reaches Syrian civilians. Renewing that authorization this morning, the Council said it was “gravely concerned” with the ineffective implementation of its previous resolutions 2139 (2014) and 2165 (2014) and demanded increased aid access to civilians in hard-to-reach areas. More than 3.2 million refugees, including more than 2.5 million women and children, who have fled Syria as a result of ongoing violence, the Council underscored, recognizing that the continued deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Syria poses risks to regional stability.