Press Statement

Salem Al Meslet

Syrian Coalition Spokesperson

March 27, 2015

Following a briefing on Syria to the UN Security Council yesterday by Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos, Spokesperson of the Syrian Coalition said:

“The statement by Baroness Amos paints a grim picture of a worsening humanitarian situation in Syria with civilians bearing the brunt of the continued bloody conflict.

“The failure of the UN Security Council to take meaningful action to end the conflict means that hundreds of thousands of Syrians continue to suffer.

“Baroness Amos’s remarks echo those by Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, who in his latest report to the Council on the implementation of resolutions 2139 (2014), 2165 (2014) and 2191 (2014), made it clear that Assad and ISIS continue to hamper humanitarian aid deliveries.

“Only three out of 33 access requests by the UN were approved by the Assad regime, depriving hundreds of families of vital life saving assistance, a further indication that Assad continues to use starvation as a weapon of war in Syria. Medical and health supplies were removed from two UN convoys by Assad’s militias.

“The UN Security Council passed resolutions 2139 demanding immediate unhindered humanitarian access, and 2165 demanding aid deliveries without regime consent. However, the humanitarian situation is ever deteriorating and aid access continues to be hampered by the regime and extremists.

“Without an enforcement mechanism there is little hope that basic supplies will reach those in dire need for assistance, and as long as Assad is allowed the power to authorize humanitarian access he will surely choose to continue his brutal collective punishment of the civilian population in Syria.”