Syria: Security Council Adopted Resolution Re-authorising Cross-border Humanitarian Aid (Full)

The Security Council adopted a resolution re-authorising cross-border humanitarian aid deliveries through the Bab al-Hawa crossing on the Syrian-Turkish border for an additional six months, until 10 January 2023.

The resolution had 12 votes in favor, no votes against, and three abstentions: the United States, United Kingdom, and France.

The draft was produced by the humanitarian penholders on Syria, Ireland and Norway.

The vote followed intense, difficult negotiations, said Geraldine Byrne Nason, the Permanent Representative to the United Nations from Ireland.

“It's no secret that this has been a difficult negotiation. As pen holders, Ireland and Norway have engaged diligently and constructively with all Council members. After the draft resolution we put on the table last week was vetoed, we redoubled our efforts to find a path through so that the Council could adopt a resolution which would allow humanitarians to continue to reach those in dire need and Syria,” Nason explained.

The authorisation, which was most recently renewed through resolution 2585 of 9 July 2021, expired on Sunday (10 July). The draft resolution states that an additional six-month extension will require a separate Security Council resolution.

According to the Irish diplomat, “for the Syrian people and for all those humanitarians who work diligently to assist them, this has been a long and uncertain couple of days.”

“The fear that vital supplies of aid will be cut generated significant uncertainty and fear,” Nason added.

The Permanent Representative recognized that a six-month renewal was shorter than what Ireland and Norway, as pen holders, had aimed for, and that the vast majority of the Council shared that view.

Despite that, Nason said, “what is most important today is that the Council with this resolution keeps the cross-border mechanism open and operating” and “humanitarian assistance continues to reach those in need.”

Addressing the Council, the Permanent Representative of Norway, Mona Juul, said the resolution allows for “the life saving humanitarian operation to continue for those in humanitarian need in northwest Syria, who have been in an uncertain situation with the negotiations running into overtime.”

“We can assure them and that's what matters. The cross-border operation is their lifeline. And today, the cross-border operation remains,” Juul concluded.

On Friday (8 July), the Council failed to adopt two draft resolutions which would have renewed the mechanism: one proposed by the penholders that was vetoed by Russia, and another initiated by Russia that received only two affirmative votes (China and Russia).
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The situation in the Middle East - Security Council, 9089th meeting