The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
UN sounds alarm over killings at Syrian camp for displaced people
The Al Hol camp, Syria’s largest site for refugees and displaced persons, has been the site of 12 killings since the beginning of the year, the United Nations humanitarian office reported today. The camp shelters 62,000 people who have fled violence and hardship from several countries, and operates under the control of Syrian Kurdish forces.
“We are seriously concerned over the deteriorating security situation in Al Hol camp in north-east Syria. Between 1 and 16 January, the UN has received reports of the murders of 12 Syrian and Iraqi camp residents, including one female Iraqi refugee. Another person was critically injured in a violent attack”, Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said today at a news briefing at the UN in Geneva, Switzerland.
Most of the people in the camp are women and children who came to Al Hol seeking protection and humanitarian assistance. According to UNICEF, 94 per cent of the people in the camp are women and children, and 66 per cent are children.
“There is such a high proportion of children in the camp. [It is important] for those children to be treated as children, and that the world does what is in those children’s best interest”, OCHA’s Jens Laerke said. “I don’t think anybody can be in doubt that it’s not in their best interest to be stuck in this camp for years on end. So repatriation of not least particularly children would be most welcome”.
Included in the camp’s population are family members of fighters for the so-called Islamic State, as well as their supporters and victims. Almost half of the camp’s residents are Iraqi nationals, and 38 per cent are Syrian.
“This recent rise in violence among the camp population is not only, of course, a tragic loss of life, but it also jeopardizes the ability of the UN and humanitarian partners to continue to safely deliver critical humanitarian assistance and services to the residents,” Laerke said.
“The United Nations and humanitarian partners provide a range of assistance in Al Hol, including emergency and primary health care, water, shelter, food and hygiene distributions, and protection,” he added.
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria, Imran Riza, and the UN Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, Muhannad Hadi, have issued a statement on the utmost importance of ensuring the safety and wellbeing of people at Al Hol. In their statement, the two UN officials stressed the "urgent need for durable solutions to be found for every person living in the camp".
“We are calling on those authorities who control the security in the camp to ensure the safety of the camp residents, first and foremost -- but also the humanitarian workers”, Laerke said.
Since the fall of Daesh’s self-proclaimed caliphate in March 2019, after a US-backed Kurdish offensive in eastern Syria, Kurdish authorities in the area have repeatedly demanded that the women and children in the camp be repatriated to their countries and areas of origin.
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations, Flag alley, a cloudy day.
- Wide shot, press briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “We are seriously concerned over the deteriorating security situation in Al Hol camp in north-east Syria. Between 1 and 16 January, the UN has received reports of the murders of 12 Syrian and Iraqi camp residents, including one female Iraqi refugee. Another person was critically injured in a violent attack”.
- Close up, journalist in the room
- SOUNDBITE (English) - Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “There is such a high proportion of children in the camp. For those children to be treated as children, and that the world does what is in those children’s best interest. I don’t think anybody can be in doubt that it’s not in their best interest to be stuck in this camp for years on end. So repatriation of not least particularly children would be most welcome”.
- Medium shot, camera finder with podium in background
- SOUNDBITE (English) - Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “This recent rise in violence among the camp population is not only of course a tragic loss of life, but it also jeopardizes the ability of the UN and humanitarian partners’ to continue to safely deliver critical humanitarian assistance and services to the residents. The United Nations and humanitarian partners provide a range of assistance in Al Hol, including emergency and primary health care, water, shelter, food and hygiene distributions, and protection”.
- Medium shot, journalist in press briefing room at the UN Palais
- SOUNDBITE (English) - Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “We are calling on those authorities who control the security in the camp to ensure the safety of the camp residents, first and foremost, but also the humanitarian workers”.
- Medium shot, spokesperson OHCHR and journalist in press briefing room
- Wide shot, podium with spokespersons
- Medium shot, journalist with cell phone in press briefing room
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Brutal Gaza war erased years of progress on education, in an “assault on the future itself” – UNICEF
Restoring Gaza’s shattered education system is “lifesaving” and getting children back into schools must be an immediate priority, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , HRC
Volker Türk, the UN Human Rights High Commissioner, made the following remarks during a briefing to a Special Session on Iran at the Human Rights Council.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , UNOPS , UNIS
Amid the launch of President Trump's Board of Peace and reconstruction talks on Gaza, UN aid agencies insisted on Friday that what Gazans need most is immediate relief from the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe there.
2
6
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences , Images | HRC
At UN, war crimes probe pledges to continue to work for all impacted by Hamas-Israel conflict
As President Trump launched the international Board of Peace plan for Gaza on Thursday, top independent rights experts tasked by the UN Human Rights Council with investigating grave abuses linked to the Hamas-Israel war pledged to continue their work seeking justice and accountability for all.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said Tuesday UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk was outraged by the repeated large-scale attacks by the Russian Federation on energy infrastructure in Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN warns against repeating abuses in South Kordofan that occurred in El Fasher.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
Mozambique floods heighten disease, malnutrition risks – UN agencies
Catastrophic flooding in Mozambique is causing massive disruption to lives and livelihoods across the country, increasing the risk of disease and exposing urban areas to crocodiles, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | OCHA
Yemen: Children are dying and it’s going to get worse, aid veteran warns
In Yemen, renewed political instability threatens and economic woes linked to the war to complicate the already difficult task of helping vulnerable people suffering from deepening hunger, illness and displacement, the UN's top aid official there said on Monday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , IFRC
Ukraine: Families in ‘survival mode’ amid Russian strikes and -18°C cold
Families across Ukraine are in “constant survival mode” amid ongoing waves of Russian missile and drone strikes that have left blocks without power for days at a time, while temperatures plunge to a deadly -18°C (-0.4°F), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva, UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence urges Iranian authorities to end violent repression and calls for accountability.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Gaza: A ceasefire that ‘still buries children’ is not enough, says UNICEF
Airstrikes, drone strikes and hypothermia are among the lethal conditions prevailing in Gaza despite the ceasefire, with more than 100 children killed since early October, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
At the UN bi-weekly press conference in Geneva, UN Human Rights Spokesperson Marta Hurtado commented on the widespread repression and intimidation against political opposition ahead of the general elections in Uganda.