As Syrian conflict enters 10th year, ‘brutal truth’ is there is little protection for families
Although a fragile ceasefire agreed in north-west Syria is still holding, UN humanitarians on Friday warned of dire conditions for hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced by conflict, now in its tenth year.
Speaking to journalists in Geneva, Jens Laerke from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) highlighted “the brutal truth…there is very little protection”.
On 6 March, Turkey and Russia agreed to a ceasefire in the Idlib de-escalation area, the last opposition-held zone of Syria, along with the establishment of a security corridor and joint patrols.
Both Idlib and Aleppo governorates are home to millions of families displaced from previous conflict zones – often many times.
“The overall level of violence has come down, and the airstrikes have reportedly come to a halt,” Mr. Laerke said. “Displacement from areas close to the frontlines have slowed down. But that does not make Idlib a safe place to be.”
Shelling continues to be reported from the frontlines, the OCHA spokesperson added, amid an increased “risk of death and injury from explosive hazards” from artillery and aerial bombardment.
According to OCHA, nearly a million people have been displaced since December after Government of Syria forces stepped up efforts to take control of the last remaining opposition areas.
Some 327,000 people are now sheltering in camps and individual tents while 165,000 people are in unfinished houses or buildings.
An additional 366,000 internally displaced people are staying with host families or in rented homes, 93,000 are staying in collective shelters that have been mostly converted from public buildings, such as schools and mosques.
“Some people are sheltering under trees,” Mr. Laerke said.
In response to the crisis, the UN has requested increased funding from international donors to help scale up its response in the displacement shelters where UN aid partners are doing “a heroic job”.
“The camps that I mentioned are run by local partners, of course doing their very best with all the support that we can push in from across the border,” Mr. Laerke said. “They are doing a fantastic job, the aid workers who are there. They are themselves being displaced, coming under fire, they don’t have much to eat either.”
So far in March, more than 500 trucks have reached north-west Syria via the Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salam border crossings from Turkey to Idlib, some of the more than 2,600 trucks sent over the border since the start of the year with life-saving food, shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene assistance.
Despite this emergency relief, the World Food Programme (WFP) said that needs remain acute and widespread.
“The number of people in Syria who are food insecure has increased to 7.9 million people, a 22 per cent rise in just one year,” said spokesperson Elisabeth Byrs.
Reiterating the UN Secretary-General’s urgent appeal for an end to fighting in Syria and a politically agreed transition to peace in the country, OCHA’s Jens Laerke insisted that humanitarian aid access be maintained.
“Protection starts with those who are doing the fighting acknowledging and adhering to their obligations under international law,” he said. “To at all times protect civilians from the effect of fighting. That’s where the problem lies.”
1. Wide shot: exterior, flag alley, Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva.
2. Wide shot: large conference room (Room XVII), with approximately 20 journalists well spread out across rows of seats.
3. Medium wide shot: Alessandra Vellucci, Director of UN Geneva Information Service (UNIS), flanked by OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke, WFP spokesperson Elisabeth Byrs and Rhéal LeBlanc, Chief, Press and External Relations, UNIS Geneva, seated at podium.
4. SOUNDBITE (EN) - Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “After the announcement on 6 March, by Turkey and Russia of a ceasefire in the Idlib de-escalation area, the overall level of violence has come down, and the airstrikes have reportedly come to a halt. Displacement from areas close to the frontlines have slowed down. But that does not make Idlib a safe place to be.”
5. Medium wide shot: journalists.
6. SOUNDBITE (EN) - Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “Instances of shelling continue to be reported from areas along the frontlines, and the risk of death and injury from explosive hazards, such as unexploded ordnance has increased over the past months, due to artillery and aerial bombardments.”
7. Close-up: female journalist, looks up, leans forward.
8. SOUNDBITE (EN) - Elisabeth Byrs, spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP): “The number of people in Syria who are food insecure has increased to 7.9 million people, a 22 per cent rise in just one year.”
9. Medium wide shot: camera in foreground, with Elisabeth Byrs in background, out of focus.
10. SOUNDBITE (EN) - Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “The camps that I mentioned are run by local partners, of course doing their very best with all the support that we can push in from across the border. They are doing a fantastic job, the aid workers who are there. They are themselves being displaced, coming under fire, they don’t have much to eat either. So, they are really doing a heroic job.”
11. Three shot: three female journalists typing.
12. SOUNDBITE (EN) - Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “Protection starts with those who are doing the fighting acknowledging and adhering to their obligations under international law. To at all times protect civilians from the effect of fighting. That’s where the problem lies.”
13. Wide shot: journalists near back of room, well-spaced from one another.
14. Close up: Two journalists’ hands and forearms, typing on laptops.
15. Medium shot: journalists and cameraman.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk addressed the Human Rights Council during a meeting on the Israeli strike on negotiators in Qatar on Tuesday. “Israel’s strike on negotiators in Doha on 9 September was a shocking breach of international law, an assault on regional peace and stability, and a blow against the integrity of mediation and negotiating processes around the world,” he said.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Gaza: Thirsty and starving, war-battered families face ‘inhumane’ evacuation
As bombs continue to fall on Gaza City as part of the intensifying Israeli military operation, families with starving children are being pushed southwards from one “hellscape” to another, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
New UN Human Rights report finds 10 years of increased suffering repression and fear
The UN Human Rights Office on Friday published a report on the human rights situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) since 2014.
1
1
2
Edited News | UNICEF , UNHCR
The ongoing humanitarian response to the devastating Afghanistan earthquake disaster continued on Friday, although essential services have been cut for operational reasons following reinforced Taliban restrictions on women working with the UN, the global body said.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Un nouveau rapport du Haut-Commissariat des Nations Unies aux droits de l'homme sur la République démocratique du Congo évoque le spectre de crimes de guerre et de crimes contre l'humanité dans le Nord et le Sud-Kivu.,
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | HRC
A high-level independent rights probe into the Sudan crisis on Tuesday condemned the many grave crimes committed against civilians by all parties to the war, citing disturbing evidence indicating that they had been “deliberately targeted, displaced and starved”.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Ukraine: ‘Relentless’ attacks rattle health system as winter approaches: WHO
Ambulances attacked, chronically ill patients lacking care and no peace in sight: for millions of Ukrainians, the run-up to another winter of war is just the latest life-or-death challenge they face, the UN health agency (WHO) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday delivered his report on Sri Lanka to the 60th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday delivered his global update to the 60th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
A UN report on the Democratic Republic of Congo raises specter of war crimes and crimes against humanity in North and South Kivu, according to UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani.
1
1
1
Edited News | WMO
As billions of people continue to breathe polluted air that causes more than 4.5 million premature deaths every year, UN climate experts on Friday highlighted how damaging microscopic smoke particles from wildfires play their part, travelling half-way across the world.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence made the following comment on the on-going presidential election process in Cameroon at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.