Damascus, 13 July 2022 (TDI): The President and CEO of Save the Children, Janti Soeripto stated on 12 July 2022 that in Syria the children’s lives are at stake.
UN Security Council (UNSC) decided to extend the Bab al-Hawa crossing for another six months, leaving limited options.
Children’s lives in Syria are at stake.
The UN Security Council’s decision to reauthorize the Bab al-Hawa crossing for 6 months leaves limited options to reach people.@SavetheChildren calls on the UNSC to expand the cross-border mandate for long term. https://t.co/oXOLfEC8CH
— Janti Soeripto (@SaveCEO_US) July 12, 2022
Save the Children has requested that the UNSC extends the cross-border mandate as six months is a limited time to reach people for assistance.
As a result, the organization will be better able to help people in Syria through effective routes for supplies into northwest Syria.
Almost four million people including women and children in northwest Syria are in dire condition. People need humanitarian assistance to live there. UN agencies and humanitarian actors have few choices to get to them in just six months.
Syria Response Director at Save the Children, Tamer Kirolos, said that for some of the most disadvantaged children in the world, a renewal of the border for six months is not enough.
The limited-time will also make it extremely difficult for Save the Children to arrange programs. This is crucial because the resolution will expire during harsh winters in Syria when the children and their families face severe weather without shelter, food, and heat.
Severe challenges faced by Syrian children and families
The 11-year-old conflict in Syria is not something new for the rest of the globe, which is witnessing the biggest global food crisis in history. Conflict also brought an educational crisis in Syria.
Children with disabilities have a double burden because they face violence, dangers to their health, abuse risk, and education loss. The difficulties they confront have been made even more severe by their limited movement and difficulty escaping harm.
Malnutrition, child labor, and early marriage are all on the rise in the North-Western part of the country. For children and their families, assistance coming via the Bab al-Hawa border is a crucial lifeline.
Tamer Kirolos said that the lives of millions of children are at great risk in Syria. To save them, UN Security Council must pass a resolution extending and broadening the cross-border mission for 12 months when the mandate of six months resolutions expires.
