Oxfam response to the UN Security Council’s vote on continuing cross-border aid into Syria

In response to the results of the vote on a UN resolution continuing to allow cross-border aid into Syria for six months, Oxfam’s Head of Office in New York, Brenda Mofya said:  

“The UN Security Council’s decision to renew the cross-border resolution for only six months is deeply disappointing and could potentially leave more than four million people in north-west Syria without the assistance they depend upon to survive when the harsh winter months arrive. This unsustainable process is adding more uncertainty to an already precarious situation for vulnerable Syrians. If the Council should let it lapse again, humanitarian agencies will not be able to deliver vital assistance— including food, water, medicine, shelter and other essential services.

ʺSix months is not adequate time to plan for alternative methods of aid delivery in the absence of the cross-border option, nor to make significant progress in activities to help the country recover – including investing in agriculture and providing adequate electricity – that would help Syrians become less reliant on aid.

ʺNearly six out of ten Syrians are struggling to put food on the table – the highest number of people going hungry since the start of the conflict. With the number of people dependent on humanitarian aid in Syria greater than ever before, humanitarian organizations need more access to vulnerable people, less.

“The Council must prioritize the lives of vulnerable Syrians over politics and take decisive action to ensure that the support this cross-border resolution provides continues beyond January 2023.”