Syria crisis: United Nations Security Council resolution adopted on humanitarian situation

EU News 76/2014

Brussels, 22 February 2014
STATEMENT/14/18

Kristalina Georgieva, the EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, issued the following statement today:

"I have just learnt of the adoption of a UN Security Council Resolution on the humanitarian situation in Syria, which I wholeheartedly welcome. The horrific plight of the Syrian people has finally been recognised by the international community, and this will hopefully be a turning point while awaiting a political solution to the crisis.

There are now nearly a million refugees in Lebanon; 600,000 in Turkey and nearly the same number in Jordan, with 222,000 registered refugees in Iraq. There are more than nine million people in need of assistance inside Syria and it is estimated that more than 6.5 million have been driven from their homes and displaced inside the country. More than three million live in areas where the conflict is intense and relief aid does not reach them regularly, or in some cases not at all. Over almost three years every person behind these abstract statistics has been betrayed.

It now remains for this Resolution to be translated into action on the ground and for all the parties to the conflict to respect International Humanitarian Law. The EU and its Member States is collectively the biggest contributor to the global aid effort, but funds mean nothing to people who cannot be reached. Despite our continued efforts to open up humanitarian access in Syria since the onset of this crisis the results have been insufficient. It remains crucial to ensure rapid and unimpeded access to all those in need. I sincerely hope that this Resolution will at last facilitate safe, unhindered and immediate access to all people in need, including across conflict lines and borders."

Source and additional information:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STATEMENT-14-18_en.htm?locale=en

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