Syria Response Coordinators calls for preventing the regime from controlling aid

ARK News… The Syria Response Coordinators Team said that a full month has elapsed since the end of the mandate for the entry of humanitarian aid across the border into Syria through the Bab al-Hawa crossing, which led to the suspension of the entry of 600 UN trucks, and an increase in humanitarian needs in northwestern Syria, calling for preventing the Syrian regime from controlling the entry of humanitarian aid.

The team said in a statement, on Friday, that since the end of the UN mandate issued by the UN Security Council for the entry of humanitarian aid across the border until today, it has entered through the three border crossings with Turkey: "Bab Al-Salama crossing: 163 trucks - Bab Al-Hawa crossing: 0 trucks - Al-Ra’i crossing: 0 truck".

He added that, stopping the entry of humanitarian aid through the Bab al-Hawa crossing, caused the halt of the entry of the equivalent of 600 international trucks during the aforementioned month, most of which were foodstuffs and flour, according to the previously established plans, as the amount of humanitarian aid through the three crossings, before the end of the mandate a full month, reached 1001 trucks.

The statement indicated that the interruption of humanitarian aid through the Bab al-Hawa crossing led to an increase in humanitarian needs in northwestern Syria by an average of 9.8 percent, for various sectors, compared to the previous month, and the percentage is expected to increase exponentially if the aid continues to stop.

The Syria Response Coordinators Team said that, "in light of the current circumstances, and the insistence of the United Nations to move forward with its understanding with the Syrian regime on the aid entry mechanism, we call for activating one of the following solutions to prevent the Syrian regime from controlling the aid entry operations":

- The return of humanitarian organizations operating in the region to before Resolution 2165/2014 by working outside the scope of the authorization mechanism.

- Transferring funding for United Nations agencies to international non-governmental organizations that distribute support to local entities (civil society organizations, associations, etc.).

- Any member state of the UN Security Council can call for an extraordinary meeting of the United Nations General Assembly and vote on the international resolution for the entry of humanitarian aid across borders, outside the scope of the Security Council, and thus ensuring that the veto is not used.

- Establishing a humanitarian fund for Syria, instead of the United Nations humanitarian fund, and establishing major coordination blocs distributed over areas of Syria outside the control of the Syrian regime.

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