Sir, – On July 10th, the fate of over three million people in Syria will be determined when the UN Security Council decides if the only remaining border crossing between Turkey and north-west Syria can stay open.
The Bab al Hawa crossing allows humanitarian aid to be delivered to a region where 81 per cent of the population, half of whom are children, are in need of immediate humanitarian support. Ireland is pressing hard to keep the border open and, along with Norway, is drafting the UN resolution to maintain the border crossing. We fully support Ireland’s leadership in the negotiations.
Ten years since the war began, the need for humanitarian assistance has never been greater. The United Nations estimates that 22 million civilians are now caught up in this horrific conflict; 80 per cent of the population now live below the poverty line, and 9.3 million people are food insecure. Covid-19 continues to spread at an alarming rate while the healthcare infrastructure, decimated by years of conflict, remains woefully inadequate to respond. Access is critical to ensure that all humanitarian agencies can continue to provide life-saving assistance.
Concern’s work alone, with the support of Irish Aid, supports one million people in Syria with food assistance, water and sanitation, shelter, education and protection.
In the run up to the vote, Concern and more than 40 other NGOs operating in Syria, have been calling on all members of the council to approve the re-authorisation of the crossing for at least 12 months, and to reopen the Al Yarubiyah and Bab al Salam crossings which have been closed for the last 18 months. The stakes could not be higher.
If the crossings are closed, and there is a genuine fear that this might happen, the work of the entire humanitarian community in Syria could be in jeopardy, and the consequences will be disastrous for families whose lives have already been devastated by years of war.
This cannot happen.
– Yours, etc,
DOMINIC MACSORLEY,
Chief Executive,
Concern Worldwide,
Dublin 2.