New York, NY, July 11, 2020 — David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, said, "The International Rescue Committee is relieved that members of the UN Security Council reached an agreement today to ensure that humanitarian aid can continue to reach those in Northwest Syria for the next twelve months through the Bab al- Hawa crossing point. We are however appalled that some Security Council members succeeded in removing the Bab-al Salam crossing point into the Northwest, which served one million people with health supplies in May alone - not to mention the failure to re-authorize the Yaroubiya crossing into the Northeast. The first COVID case in Idlib only makes the humanitarian imperative for more access, not less, all the more obvious. Blocking access to food, medicine and ventilators defies all logic in the face of a pandemic that shows no sign of abating globally. The Council should urgently revisit the decision made today and restore previous levels of access to both the Northeast and Northwest - lest even more innocent Syrian lives are lost."