New York, USA, 6 July 2023 — As the UN Security Council convenes next week to vote on the renewal of Resolution 2672, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) urges council members to reauthorise UN cross-border assistance for a minimum of 12 months. The mechanism, which is a lifeline for millions of Syrians, is set to expire next Monday, 10 July. With no viable alternative in place, failure to renew will likely prove devastating, the IRC warns.
For 12 years, humanitarian needs in Syria have continued to climb and worsen in severity. Since 2014, this mechanism has been a lifeline to vulnerable communities residing in northwest Syria. More than 90% of whom require sustained humanitarian assistance to survive. Today 2.7 million people rely on the cross-border mechanism to meet their basic needs every month, including access to food, shelter and healthcare.
Almost 6 months since a devastating earthquake struck southern Türkiye and northern Syria, humanitarian needs are higher than ever before. Almost 2 million people in northwest Syria continue to live in camps or self-settled sites in dire conditions. Many are living with limited access to health services, clean water or electricity. Since the earthquakes in early February, more than 2,600 UN trucks have crossed the Türkiye border to northwest Syria to deliver life saving supplies.
The Security Council resolution has in previous years provided a 12-month guarantee for operations. This timeframe is critical to secure the response over winter and ensure NGOs have the security needed to hire and retain staff, procure supplies and deliver longer-term programming, including early recovery projects. A shorter time frame of 6 months results in humanitarian assistance being adapted to accommodate the resolution instead of to the humanitarian needs, creating additional stress on Syrians in the northwest.
Tanya Evans, the IRC’s Country Director in Syria, says,
“The cross-border mechanism authorised by the UN Security Council serves as the backbone of the humanitarian response in northwest Syria. Without it, the consequences will be dire. The current cross-border operation reaches over 65% of those in need every month.
“The IRC has been delivering aid in Syria since 2012, and in many respects never before has it been so complex. With the Syria crisis now in its 13th year, the scale, severity, and complexity of needs across the country are huge and the ability of affected families to cope without support are almost non-existent. But this is about more than just delivering essential goods across the border, the UN Security Council enabled mechanism also ensures Syrian and International NGOs have access to critical funding through the Syria Cross-Border Humanitarian Fund, led by the UN, and ensures that communities can access aid with dignity.
“With humanitarian needs continuing to rise, what is needed is more access, not less. As someone we support in the northwest told us last week: ‘the impact on me and my community will be of such a great scale. We have no resources in this region. There is no other path which can result in meeting our needs like the resolution.
"We are unequivocal in our plea for the UN Security Council to reauthorise cross-border assistance for at least another 12 months and at a scale that is in line with the needs. Anything less would signal to Syrians that the Council is willing to accept unnecessary suffering and loss of life."
The health situation in northwest Syria has also been significantly affected by the earthquake, leading to substantial damage to health facilities. At least 55 facilities have been impacted, and 15 of them have been forced to suspend their activities. This has been critical for the already fragile health system, where even before the earthquake a third of all hospitals and nearly a half of primary healthcare centres inside Syria were non-functional.
The cross-border mechanism plays a vital role in ensuring various aspects of healthcare provision. It guarantees the delivery of vaccinations, enables early detection and monitoring of disease outbreaks, and facilitates access to essential pharmaceuticals. At a time when suspected cholera cases continue to rise we are extremely concerned at any potential disruption to the response.
Dr. Mohammad Al Jasem, IRC Syria's Health Coordinator, expressed,
"The non-renewal of UNSC Resolution 2672 would have severe impacts on the health system in northwest Syria. Everyday we are facing a multitude of ongoing emergencies and challenges, including disease outbreaks, shortages of trained medical staff, and disruptions in the ability to get the medicines and equipment we need. The health system, which is currently reliant on the coordination efforts of multiple NGOs, is at risk of losing crucial financial support should the resolution not be renewed. This would likely result in severe consequences, including further limiting access to healthcare for those who are already sick."
The IRC calls on the UN Security Council to prioritise principled aid delivery to Syrians based on their needs, regardless of their location. We call for the reauthorisation of the Cross-Border Resolution, extending it for a minimum of 12 months.
The IRC's work in Syria
The IRC has been working in Syria since 2012, responding to needs in northwest and northeast Syria. The IRC promotes economic recovery with job training, apprenticeships and small business support. Our teams support early childhood development and provide counselling and protection services for women and children, particularly for survivors of violence. We support health facilities and mobile health teams with critical trauma services and primary, reproductive and mental health services. Our cholera response includes provision of essential supplies for cholera prevention, control and treatment; training of clinical staff and community health workers on case detection, management and referral; as well as health education and hygiene awareness through house-to-house visits. We also support Syrian refugees in neighbouring Lebanon and Jordan. Read more.
The opening of two additional crossing points to northwest Syria from Türkiye for an initial three months and then extended by another three months, has offered welcome routes for supplies to support the earthquake response. However, such emergency-specific and short-term agreements do not provide stable or secure access. Further, they do not lessen the necessity for the UNSC to reauthorise the cross-border mechanism and access through Bab al Hawa - which is used for over 80% of cross-border assistance - for at least another 12 months.