Member states assembled to discuss Secretary General’s report on the implementation of Security Council resolution 2139, which demands action by parties to the conflict in a number of areas including ceasing attacks against civilians and doing everything in their power to ensure rapid, safe and unhindered access to humanitarian aid for people in need of assistance.

Ms. Valerie Amos, posited that the international community had hoped for a significant improvement post the adoption of the Security Council resolution on Syria. However, the unabated violence and attacks against civilians by all parties to the conflict and human rights violations indicate a failure of resolution 2139. Ms. Amos further emphasised on this issue by citing recent examples of violation, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians, including women and children, and the displacement of thousands during the period 20 May to 17 June, 2014.

Ms. Valerie Amos, quoting Chapter 1, Article 3 of the UN Charter, drew attention to the importance of international cooperation and highlighted that a deliberate obstruction to humanitarian access by the Syrian government is unlawful and inhumane. UNRWA was not made part of the truce agreement between parties and it has been struggling to seek support from all parties to ensure unhindered access to enter the camps to deliver assistance.

Ambassador of the Syrian Arab Republic, H.E. Dr. Bashar Ja’afari, criticised the report on grounds of its lack of context and its inability to provide a true picture of the situation. The validity of the report was called into question with regards to the leap of 1.5 million numbers of people in need of humanitarian assistance, when compared to the previous report. He also disputed the term “armed opposition” in the report to refer to organisations designated as terrorist groups. Furthermore, in defense of the Syrian government, he stressed upon the need for the Security Council to turn the spotlight on other member states seen to be supporting terrorism in Middle East.

Meeting Title: Situation in the Middle East
Speakers:H.E. Vitaly I. Churkin, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations and President of Security Council; Ms. Valerie Ann Amos, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator; H.E. Dr. Bashar Ja’afari, Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations.
Date: June 26^th, 2014.
Location: Security Council, United Nations Headquarters, New York
Written by WIT Representative: Nusrat Laskar
Edited by WIT Representative: Sophia Griffiths-Mark