The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | OHCHR , UNICEF , WHO , UNOG
UNOG Bi-weekly press briefing: Humanitarian Situation in Idlib - Syria OHCHR/WHO/UNICEF
UN right chief, agencies appalled at civilian toll in wartorn Syria’s north-east
Facing freezing temperatures and bombing, more than 900,000 civilians in Syria’s north-west have been forced into ever smaller areas in search of shelter, the UN’s top rights official said on Tuesday.
“As the High Commissioner puts it, ‘No shelter is now safe,’ Michelle Bachelet’s spokesperson, Rupert Colville, said. “And as the Government offensive continues and people are forced into smaller and smaller pockets, she fears even more people will be killed.”
Speaking to journalists in Geneva, Mr. Colville spoke of the High Commissioner’s “horror” at the scale of the humanitarian crisis in north-west Syria.
It was “cruel beyond belief” that mostly women and children sheltering under plastic sheeting were being hit, she said in a statement, noting that those fleeing the fighting have been “squeezed” into areas that are shrinking in size by the hour.
“They simply no longer have anywhere to go,” she added.
“In all, since 1 January this year, during the Syrian Government’s latest major military offensive to retake key areas in Idlib and Aleppo, we have recorded the deaths of 299 civilians in this region of Syria. Around 93 per cent of those deaths were caused by the Syrian Government and its allies,” Mr. Colville said, with the remaining seven per cent of fatalities attributable to non-State armed groups.
More than 80 per cent of the deaths attributable to Government forces and their allies – 246 out of 299 – came after airstrikes, the OHCHR spokesperson added.
Asked whether the attacks on civilians and medical facilities contravened international norms, Mr Colville highlighted their “sheer quantity” in the near nine-year conflict.
Other UN-appointed institutions had greater means to investigate these attacks and ensure justice for victims, he noted, such as the Commission of Inquiry on Syria - which was set up by and reports regularly to the Human Rights Council - and the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism, established by the UN General Assembly in December 2016.
“The sheer quantity of attacks on these hospitals, medical facilities, schools, would suggest they can’t all be accidental,” Mr. Colville said. “At a minimum, even if they were accidental, it shows lack of proportionality, necessity, precaution and so on, all of which can contribute to something being attributed as a war crime.”
Amid the Syrian Government’s offensive in north-west Syria - the last bastion of opposition non-state armed groups – UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that of the four million people living in the north-west, just over two million are children.
“Virtually every child, up to 1.8 million of them, require humanitarian assistance,” spokesperson Marixie Mercado said.
- Wide shot: exterior, flag alley, Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva.
- Wide shot: Press briefing room.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) — Rupert Colville, spokesperson, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “As the High Commissioner puts it, ‘No shelter is now safe.’ And as the Government offensive continues and people are forced into smaller and smaller pockets, she fears even more people will be killed.”
- Close-up, journalist in foreground, other journalists to rear of shot.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) — Rupert Colville, spokesperson, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “In all, since 1 January this year, during the Syrian Government’s latest major military offensive to retake key areas in Idlib and Aleppo, we have recorded the deaths of 299 civilians in this region of Syria. Around 93 per cent of those deaths were caused by the Syrian Government and its allies.”
- Close-up shot, camera operator, journalists in background.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Rupert Colville, spokesperson, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The sheer quantity of attacks on these hospitals, medical facilities, schools, would suggest they can’t all be accidental, and at a minimum, even if they were accidental, it shows lack of proportionality, necessity, precaution and so on, all of which can contribute to something being attributed as a war crime.”
- Wide shot, journalists.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Marixie Mercado, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): “Over half a million children – 525,000 and climbing, have been forcibly displaced in north-west Syria since 1 December. At least 77 children were killed or injured in January alone. The breakdown is 28 children killed, and 49 children injured.”
- Close-up, journalist typing.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Marixie Mercado, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): “There are about four million people living in the north-west and just over two million of them are children. Virtually every child, up to 1.8 million of them, require humanitarian assistance.”
- Wide shot, podium
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Marixie Mercado, spokesperson, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): “We ask for an immediate cessation of hostilities and an end to the war in Syria for once and for all, and we ask for all humanitarian workers to be able to respond to the massive needs in compliance with international humanitarian law.”
- Close-up, journalist.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Tarik Jasarevic, spokesperson, World Health Organization (WHO): “The name of the hospital is Kinana General Hospital in the Daret Azza locality. This hospital has been serving about 50,000 people and has been carrying out about 10,000 patient consultations per month. The second facility is Al-Ferdous maternity and childcare hospital. It suffered minor damage, but it is not clear at this moment if the hospital can continue operating.”
- Close-up: journalist writing.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Tarik Jasarevic, spokesperson, (WHO): “As of today, 74 health facilities have suspended services in Idlib and Aleppo since 1 December last year directly decreasing civilian access to healthcare. Out of nearly 550 health facilities in Syria’s north-west, roughly half are operational.”
- Medium shot: journalists.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Tarik Jasarevic, spokesperson, (WHO): “Luckily there were no casualties in yesterday’s attacks, but they do bring the total number of attacks on health in Syria this year to six, resulting in 10 deaths and 30 injuries, on top of restricting or denying civilian access to health. All of these six attacks have occurred in the north-west.”
- Close-up: journalist.
- Wide shot: journalists, podium.
- Close-up: journalists typing.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | WMO , UNITED NATIONS
UN chief urges boost to life-saving weather warning systems, stresses role of climate change science
No country is safe from the devastating impacts of extreme weather — and saving lives means making early-warning systems accessible to all, UN chief António Guterres said on Wednesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Gazans’ response to food distributions ‘overwhelming’ as humanitarians scale up under fragile ceasefire
In Gaza, the ceasefire is enabling UN humanitarians to reach more desperate people with life-saving food, but greater access is needed to contain the spread of famine.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP , OCHA
UN urges opening of all Gaza crossings to deliver three-month food supply
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned food aid cannot reach everyone in Gaza unless all border crossings are opened, particularly in the north where famine was declared in August. The agency says it already has enough supplies in place to feed the entire population of the Strip for three months – if full access is granted by Israel.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNDP , UNICEF , OCHA , ICRC
Around $70 billion will be needed to reconstruct Gaza and make it safe after two years of war, UN development experts said on Tuesday, while aid agencies reported that far too little aid continues to reach desperate Palestinians.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Friday welcomed the Nobel Peace Prize committee’s decision to name Maria Machado as this year’s laureate, in recognition of her work promoting the Venezuelan people’s democratic hopes.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , UNICEF , WHO
As Gazans jammed the main route leading north on Friday after a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was announced, UN aid teams repeated their call to open all crossings into the devastated enclave to prevent famine spreading.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF , WHO
Two years of Gaza-Israel war bring ‘indescribable’ pain: UN humanitarians
Two years since the Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel, UN humanitarians on Tuesday reiterated calls for the release of all hostages in Gaza, an immediate ceasefire and an aid surge to alleviate Palestinians’ suffering, as talks on a US-driven peace plan continued in Egypt.
1
1
1
Edited News
Syria prison survivor seeks justice for the missing with UN backing.
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday warned that three and a half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the war in Ukraine has entered an even more dangerous and deadly stage for Ukrainian civilians, under relentless bombardment of their schools, hospitals, and shelters.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO , ICRC
Quadcopter victims, terror and death: 30 minutes in a Gaza hospital
UN aid teams on Friday highlighted the disturbing situation in Gaza’s makeshift hospitals, where premature babies cry for scant oxygen and medics attempt to save child survivors targeted by airstrikes in their tents and quadcopter victims reportedly shot while fetching bread.
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday delivered his oral update to the UN Human Rights Council’s 60th session on the human rights situation in Haiti.
The High Commissioner welcomed Wednesday’s decision of the UN Security Council to strengthen the Multinational Security Support mission by transitioning to the Gang Suppression Force for Haiti, stating it is a strong signal of international support for the Haitian people.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
Gaza: As world waits for US peace plan news, UN aid teams stress need for ceasefire
UN agencies reiterated calls for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza on Tuesday to help alleviate Palestinian suffering, as a new US 20-point plan raised hopes of a halt to the fighting.