Briefing by Mr. Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (OCHA), on the situation in the Middle East.
UN Security Council, 8384th meeting
UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock warned that the “dire humanitarian situation” in Syria’s Rukban camp “cannot be allowed to continue”, after an aid convoy to the area was unable to reach its destination.
Speaking at the Security Council today (29 Oct), Lowcock said a humanitarian convoy had been planned on Saturday for Rukban but reports of insecurity along the route forced the UN and its partners to postpone the convoy.
Mark Andrew Lowcock, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator:
“The population at Rukban has not received assistance since January this year, and they are increasingly desperate. There are continuing reports of children dying due to poor sanitary conditions and a lack of healthcare. This dire humanitarian situation cannot be allowed to continue. The UN is ready and willing to proceed with the convoy immediately.”
On Idlib, The Emergency Relief Coordinator said there has been a “glimmer of hope in the weeks of relative quiet” since the Turkish-Russian agreement was reached. He added that it is “very important for millions of people in Idlib that this remains the case.” He said, “The stakes are high, as the alternative is humanitarian suffering on a scale that would overwhelm all ability to respond, devastating a population that is already weakened through years of conflict, displacement and deprivation.”
The UN humanitarian chief noted that over the first seven months of the year, an average of almost 5.5 million people were reached with assistance each month. He called on the Security Council to support the renewal for another year of resolution 2165, in particular to sustain cross-border aid essential to support and protect more than three million people in Idlib.
Screenshot Credit: UN Photo/Manuel Elias
