In nine years of conflict in Syria, the passage of cross-border humanitarian aid was one of the only mechanisms put in place by the United Nations to be unanimous in the Security Council since its installation in 2014. Consensus has flown in sparkle during negotiations for the renewal of the system, which ended in its renewal "At least" Friday January 10, greatly reducing attendance to the Syrian people.
The showdown pitted Bashar Al-Assad’s main ally, Russia, against the co-sponsors of the resolution, Belgium and Germany, just hours before the end of the aid program’s mandate. Westerners had to make many concessions to avoid risking Russian and Chinese vetoes, like those which had been opposed to them on December 20, and which would have led to the de facto closure of the four existing crossing points, thus depriving 4.3 million humanitarian aid on which they depend.
The final text put to the vote on Friday no longer provided for the renewal of only two crossing points with Turkey, and this for six months – whereas the office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs of the United Nations had asked in December to renew the authorizations passing through four places, not subject to Damascus approval, for one year. Aid to two Turkish crossing points is vital for three million Syrians in recluse in the Idlib region of north-western Syria, where fighting and bombing have intensified in recent weeks due to the an offensive by regime forces, with the support of Russia, to retake the region.
"It's about human lives, not our contentment here at the Council," Dian Triansyah Djani, Indonesian ambassador to the UN
The border crossing points with Jordan – practically no longer used – and with Iraq are deleted. Al-Yarubiyah's post on the Iraqi border was the only way to get medicine and surgical supplies to the 1.3 million people in northeastern Syria. The Security Council has asked the UN General Secretariat to find alternatives for the distribution of medicines by the end of February. "Syria currently refuses to allow medical aid to pass through Damascus", confides a Western diplomat.
Council members did not sacrifice aid sent to the northeast of the country without frustration. "It’s about human lives, not our contentment here at the Council, said Dian Triansyah Djani, the Indonesian ambassador after the vote. We are all unhappy. " "A convoy of ten trucks had to pass through this point these days, worried Belgian Ambassador Marc Pectseen of Buytswerve. We hope that Moscow and Damascus will let it pass. "
Russia "in a position of strength"
Eleven members of the Security Council voted in favor of the resolution, while Russia, China, the United States and Great Britain, all four permanent members, abstained – for diametrically opposed reasons. As in 2017 for the joint investigation mechanism of the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the issue of the meeting went beyond the simple framework of the renewal of mandate. While the flow of humanitarian aid to these cross-border points was renewed without discussion every year, the tone has changed since the start of negotiations in November.
"Russia felt in a position of strength", analyzes a Western diplomat. Building on Syrian advances on the ground, Moscow has attacked this supposedly "Outstanding". Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya has said over and over that these passages are no longer justified, now that Bashar Al-Assad has regained control of the majority of his territory, and that they are going against national sovereignty. "Russia has done everything to derail the mechanism", comments a diplomat who participated in the negotiations.
“Syrians are going to die because of this resolution. Let me be very clear: the Russian Federation will be responsible for the consequences, "said US Ambassador Kelly Craft.
The United States and Great Britain abstained to display their dissatisfaction. "It is more than regrettable that the Russians politicized this humanitarian resolution, when they have voted and renewed it since 2014, said British representative Karen Pierce. It's winter. This resolution is an inadequate response to the needs of the Syrians. " “The Syrians will suffer needlessly because of this resolution. Syrians are going to die because of this resolution, said US Ambassador Kelly Craft. Let me be very clear: the Russian Federation will be responsible for the consequences. "
