UN sets new meeting to vote on cross-border aid to Syria
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – UN Security Council called for a meeting today, Friday, to discuss the cross-border aid mechanism to Syria through Turkey, after postponing the session for the second time.
The UN Security Council votes Thursday on extending the authorization of the cross-border aid mechanism to Syria without approval from the Syrian government, with Russia seeking a six-month reauthorization while Western nations called for a full year.
It was scheduled to vote on a draft resolution handed over by Ireland and Norway to members of the Security Council on Thursday afternoon, so that the session was postponed to one o’clock after midnight and for the second time to this morning.
Norway and Ireland have drafted a resolution to extend the authorization until July 10, 2023.
While Russia is seeking a six-month extension through a draft decision competing with the draft of Ireland and Norway.
Since July 10, 2020, Bab al-Hawa has been the only crossing kept open based on the resolution 2533 (2020), while the use of the others was curtailed.
By July 10, the mechanism of cross-border humanitarian aid to Syria, which was approved by the UN Security Council last year, expires.
In July 2014, the UN Security Council adopted the Resolution 2165 which authorized the UN to deliver cross-border humanitarian aid to Syria through four crossings al-Ramtha crossing with Jordan, Bab al-Salam, Bab al-Hawa with Turkey, and al Ya’rubiyah (Tel Kocher) with Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), without the consent of the Syrian government.
According to UN data, 14.6 million Syrians rely on humanitarian assistance, the highest ever recorded. Across Syria, 12 million individuals face acute food insecurity – a staggering 51 percent increase since 2019.