HRW says crossings closure cuts off aid to millions in NE Syria
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday the closure of border crossings has cut off aid to millions living in Northeast Syria, calling on the UN agencies to speak out on the need for the protection of economic and social rights of the displaced.
“Even though UN-led aid operations are a lifeline to millions of civilians in northern Syria, in January 2020, Russia forced the Security Council to shut down three of four previously authorized border crossings, entirely cutting off UN-led cross-border aid for the northeast, leaving UN agencies at the mercy of often arbitrary and unjustified government-imposed conditions,” HRW, an NGO added.
In July 2014, the UNSC adopted Resolution 2165 which authorized the UN to deliver cross-border humanitarian aid to Syria through four crossings al-Ramtha crossing with Jordan, Bab al-Salameh and Bab al-Hawa with Turkey, and Tel Kocher with Iraq, without the consent of the Syrian government.
In January 2020, UN Res. 2504 was adopted which reduced the number of border crossings to only Bab al-Salameh and Bab al-Hawa for six months open to renewal in a special meeting by the UNSC.
Since July 2020, Bab al-Hawa has been the only crossing kept open to UN aid based on Resolution 2533 (2020), while the use of the others was curtailed.
The HRW noted to the tens of thousands of IDPs residing in camps in areas held by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) who are not receiving adequate aid.
“There is an urgent need for weather-appropriate shelter, sufficient sanitation, and adequate access to food, clean drinking water, health care, and education,” it stressed.
The organization pointed out that despite the limited assistance provide by INGOs, multiple gaps have led to health and hygiene breakdowns and shortages in essential materials during extremely hot and cold weather.
“Almost four years have passed since hundreds of thousands of people arrived in Kurdish-controlled northeast Syria seeking shelter and support after Turkey’s invasion of their hometowns [Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain)],” said Adam Coogle, deputy Middle East director at HRW. “But the lack of adequate help has created a precarious situation.”
In 2019, Turkey, with the support of the Syrian opposition factions, also known as the Syrian National Army (SNA), launched the so-called “Peace Spring” military operation against the cities of Tel Abyad and Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) to push away the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) under the pretext of “protecting the Turkish national security.” The operation led to the occupation of the two cities and the displacement of their original inhabitants.
Al-Hasakeh governorate went from a population of under half a million to two million after Turkey’s 2019 invasion of northeast Syria and the ensuing mass exodus from the now Turkish-occupied areas, according to local officials. This puts a particular strain on local authorities particularly since al-Hasakeh city and surrounding areas are experiencing an acute water crisis.
Both Washokani and Serekaniye camps, in addition to 12 others do not receive sustained service delivery by UN agencies but rely on the AANES and international groups for some services, the HRW cited aid workers as saying.
Humanitarian workers said that as of January, the UN no longer categorized the camps in northeast Syria as formal and informal. It is unclear how that has translated on the ground, since “informal” camps were still without sustained UN aid, according to the organization.
The HRW urged the UN agencies to speak out on the need for the protection of economic and social rights, including the rights to health, food, and water of everyone in the “informal” camps and shelters.
“Given ongoing displacement, the dire and overlooked conditions in northeast Syria’s camps and shelters are a stark reminder of the urgent need for concerted humanitarian efforts to ensure the well-being and dignity of all displaced people,” Coogle said.