Friday July 8, 2022
Russia has vetoed a key resolution renewing authorization for cross-border humanitarian aid deliveries into northern Syria from Turkey:
“Once again Russia has abused its veto powers at the UN Security Council and displayed a callous disregard for human life by ignoring the needs of millions of people in Syria who rely on cross-border aid to survive,” said Sara Hashash, Communications Director at The Syria Campaign.
“It is utterly inhumane and downright cruel to withhold the delivery of lifesaving aid to civilians who are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.
“We urge members of the UN Security Council to continue their negotiations – they must act swiftly to avert a humanitarian catastrophe by reauthorizing cross-border aid for 12 months.
“Unfettered access to humanitarian aid should be a basic right – it is absurd that Syrian civilians are forced to go through this cruel process simply to gain access to lifesaving humanitarian supplies. The fate of civilians in northwest Syria should not be decided by Russia.
“Humanitarian agencies are unanimous that there is no alternative to cross-border aid.
“If no agreement can be reached before the current resolution expires on 10 July Russia’s actions today will spark a humanitarian disaster on a massive scale. It will also put millions of Syrians in need of aid in northwest Syria at the mercy of the Syrian government – a regime with a history of bombing and besieging civilians, targeting aid convoys using humanitarian assistance as a weapon of war.”
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