UN initiative to tackle IDPs situations is vague: official in Syria’s northeast
RAQQ, Syria (North Press) – TheUN initiative to address the conditions of the IDPs in the camps is vague, and it is uncertain whether it will include families of the Islamic State (ISIS) or not, an official of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) said on Monday.
“The initiative which is launched by the UN is positive in principle, but it is uncertain whether it will include ISIS families in the Hawl and Roj camps or not,” head of the AANES Displaced and Refugees Affairs, Sheikhmous Ahmad, said.
On September 29, the UN launched the Global Framework on United Nations Support on Syria and Iraq Third Country National Returnees to help dozens of Member States across the world to bring their nationals home.
“There were several messages by the UN regarding the IDPs in the camps, whether they are Syrians, or Iraqi refugees, or even foreign families of ISIS,” Sheikhmous told North Press.
“But the UN response is slow, especially with regard to the closure of the al-Ya’roubiyah/Tel Kocher crossing, which caused humanitarian chaos inside the camps in north and east Syria,” he added.
In July 2020, the al-Yaroubiyah/Tel Kocher crossing was closed to UN humanitarian access to north and east Syria due to the veto of Russian and China, which exacerbated the challenges facing the region in countering the coronavirus epidemic outbreak, according to civil organizations.
Earlier, the AANES appealed to the UN in order to reconsider its decision to close the Tel Kocher crossing, and to work to deliver humanitarian aid to areas in Syria’s northeast.
“Support provided by the UN and organizations to the camps did not fulfill the purpose, and caused large gaps, so that new approaches and a different mechanism must be adopted to overcome the challenges emerge in the camps,” Sheikhmous noted.
He pointed out that the old methods of addressing issues are no more workable, so that new rehabilitation centers for women should be established, as well as schools and medical centers for children.
The UN should put pressure on countries in order to bring their nationals home from the camps and should support those countries financially and logistically, as this initiative should be completely transparent, since it is an important step to reduce pressure on the camps, according to Sheikhmous.
“The initiative provides technical and financial support to address the urgent human rights and humanitarian needs, and responds to justice and security concerns in an age-appropriate and gender-responsive way, while also protecting children and victims,” the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres said in a video message.
“The Framework is currently being implemented in Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan,” the UN said.