Western draft resolution in the Security Council to extend the entry of aid to Syria
Ireland and Norway handed over a draft resolution to the UN Security Council on extending the mechanism for bringing humanitarian aid into Syria across the border, providing for a one-year extension of the two crossings, Bab al-Hawa and al-Yarubiyah.
The proposed draft resolution is not final, and most likely it will not be voted on, but it may become a starting point for discussions about the fate of the mechanism for delivering aid to Syria across the border.
The United States quickly criticized this project, in a rare position for Washington towards its two European allies, because it does not seek to adopt new border crossings, and insisted on resuming the work of all the crossings.
In a statement, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas Greenfield, confirmed: “I continue to call for the re-authorization of Bab al-Hawa crossing, and for Bab al-Salam (northwestern Syria) and al-Yarubiyah crossings to be re-accredited for humanitarian aid.” Permanent membership in the Council, according to what diplomats reported.
The US ambassador added: “The Security Council must now provide access to the humanitarian aid that the population desperately needs; Failure to do so means ignoring our responsibilities towards the Syrian people, the international community, and our own ideals.”
After negotiations between the 15 GCC states, a vote on the project is expected by the tenth of next July.
While Diana Samaan of Amnesty International stressed in a statement that stopping cross-border aid would have “serious humanitarian consequences”, and said: “We call on the Security Council to renew the authorization for humanitarian access through Bab al-Hawa, and to reopen the Bab al-Salama and al-Yarubiyah crossings.”
