UN Security Council extends delivery of humanitarian aid to Syria via Turkey

The UN Security Council decided by Norway and Ireland to extend the mechanism for the cross-border delivery of humanitarian aid to Syria through Turkey for a period of 6 months with the possibility of extending for another 6 months.

12 countries voted in favor of the resolution, with the US, UK and France abstaining. The mechanism for delivering humanitarian aid across the border to Syria through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing on the Syrian-Turkish border ended on July 10 amid the Security Council’s refusal to agree to an extension of the agreement due to disagreements, as Russia vetoed the countries’ draft resolution, the Russian decision did not receive the nine votes required for its adoption.

For its part, Moscow stated that it would not allow the adoption of a draft resolution that contradicted its decision, and as a result, today, Tuesday, July 12, a decision was made similar in essence to the Russian project, providing for the extension of the Bab el-Hawa checkpoint by 6 months, until January 10, 2023, with an additional six months extension until June 10, provided the extension is based on a separate decision confirming it.

Ireland and Norway pushed for an automatic one-year extension unless a resolution was adopted after the first half of the year against the continuation of the delivery mechanism, but this position categorically did not suit Moscow, and the resolution adopted on Tuesday said that the Security Council called for the activation of additional initiatives on expansion of humanitarian activities in Syria, including the rapid restoration of water supply, medical care, education and energy supply.

The resolution calls on the UN Secretary-General in his reports to the Security Council to highlight the situation by delivering humanitarian aid to Syria through communication lines, as well as to disclose information about humanitarian aid delivered through cross-border mechanisms. . We are talking here, in particular, about the transparency of cross-border delivery, about how humanitarian aid is immediately distributed, about the number of recipients, places of delivery, quantity and nature of goods.

The system, in operation since 2014, is a simplified system for the delivery of humanitarian and medical supplies to Syria from neighboring countries (mainly across the border with Turkey) through border crossings, a mechanism that is updated annually, and under this mechanism, the United Nations Humanitarian agencies and their partners were given the right to use roads across the front line and four border checkpoints: Bab al-Salam and Bab al-Hawa (both on the Syrian-Turkish border), Al-Yarubiya (on the border with Iraq) and Ramtha (on border with Jordan).

As the Syrian army began to expand its control into new lands, Damascus and Moscow began to call for a gradual reduction in border crossings, and on July 10, the only remaining crossing (that mechanism), Bab al-Hawa, expired. the crossing on the Syrian border has ended.

Source: RIA Novosti

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