A statement from CARE International on the Syria cross-border resolution vote

CARE International strongly condemns the use of a veto on a humanitarian resolution in the UN Security Council on Friday which resulted in the Council’s failure to renew the cross-border resolution that ensured humanitarian assistance reaches people in critical need in Syria.

At a time when needs across Syria are greater than ever before, the Security Council has effectively shut down a vital lifeline providing food, clean water, shelter, medical assistance, education and critical protection services that more than four million Syrians in the Northwest depend on for their survival.

This is a dark day in the 77-year history of the UN Security Council. International Humanitarian Law provides that Syrians all over the country who need humanitarian assistance are entitled to receive it, regardless of where they live. By putting politics above the lives of Syrians, members of the Council have abandoned Syrians across the country.

This decision will add to the suffering and loss of life amongst Syrians, especially women and girls. 11 years of this conflict have resulted in widespread human rights violations and denial of justice, resulting in ever mounting needs of Syrians. Within Northwest Syria an estimated 70% of the population is food insecure, some 1.7 million displaced suffer in inadequate or dire living conditions, with minimal access to health, education and other essential services.

Vulnerabilities are on the rise, and people’s capacity to cope in this protracted conflict are plummeting. Increasing scarcity of resources such as water, and the economic crisis in Syria and Turkey have worsened a desperate situation. Now is the time for more, not less.

Together with our dedicated Syrian partners, CARE continues to provide assistance to people in Northwest, but we are deeply concerned that we cannot sufficiently scale up our work or even begin to meet the huge gaps left by the UN.

We urge the Security Council to find a way to put politics aside, and urgently re-authorize cross-border assistance and ensure the lives of Syrian people come first.

Read the full statement on CARE International’s website.

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