UK Ambassador to UN: Iraq-Syria border crossing must re-open for humanitarian aid
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Wednesday, UK Deputy Permanent Ambassador to the UN Jonathan Allen criticized the insufficient delivery of aid to Syria through UN-approved border crossings, and called for the re-opening of Yaroubiyah border crossing between Iraq and Syria.
These statements came during a United Nations Security Council Briefing on Syria in which UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen and Under-Secretary-General Mark Lowcock also participated.
Allen began by stating that the only solution to the Syria conflict lies in the implantation of UN Security Council Resolution 2254, which calls for a political settlement to the war in Syria. He criticized the presidential elections in Syria, which he described as a “charade” and “not in line with resolution 2254.”
Yaroubiyah (Tel Kocher) crossing, which sits on the Syria-Iraq border and is the only crossing through which UN aid may enter the Autonomous Administration regions in Syria’s northeast, has been closed for over two years after Moscow and Beijing used their veto in the UN Security Council to close the crossing to the passage of UN aid.
“The closing of the crossing in Yaroubiyah in 2020 means that 1.8 million people are now in need of assistance in the north east, an increase of 38% in one year,” Allen explained, adding that those working in the humanitarian field in the northeast “have faced severe shortages of PPE and COVID-19 tests, which could have been resolved quickly by the WHO through a cross-border response.”
Allen concluded by saying that the UNSC should re-open Yaroubiyah crossing for 12 months, referring to it as a “moral imperative” due to the coronavirus pandemic.