Kuwait- UN Humanitarian chief urges UNSC to end violence in Syria
Date
4/28/2016 10:13:45 PM
(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) NEW YORK April 28 (KUNA) -- UN Humanitarian Chief appealed Thursday to UN Security Council to explore every possible avenue to end violence in Syria.
Speaking by videoconference from Vienna Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Stephen O'Brien told the members of the Council that the human toll and suffering is "sickening in this senseless fight where there is nothing is much left to gain." He noted that just today the Syrian Government reportedly restarted aerial bombardment in Dara'a Governorate for the first time since the cessation of hostilities began.
The recent Cessation of Hostilities he added has provided a much needed moment of respite for some of those who are suffering in this terrible conflict.
Yet the recent developments on the ground show a substantial and worrisome deterioration not least with increase of violence reported in Aleppo Homs Idlib Lattakia and rural Damascus.
The UN official stressed that the humanitarian access cannot be a one-off event and cannot be limited to certain types of aid. The current levels of access still leave civilians starving and without medical care he noted.
O'Brien told the Council led by China this month that medicines and medical supplies continue to be removed from aid convoys.
As the Council members took their consultations behind closed doors Ambassador Gerard van Bohemen the Permanent Representative of New Zealand told the press that the news of recent days is really bad.
He touched upon the airstrikes in Aleppo featured this morning as well as attacks on the hospital. Ambassador Bohemen confirmed that New Zealand together with Spain Egypt Japan and Uruguay have been working on a resolution about this very question of attacks on hospitals and healthcare facilities.
"It has been a problem here in Syria in Yemen there has been a problem in South Sudan - and there has been a problem in other places" he added.
He told the press that he hoped to have the resolution adopted by the Council so that it sends a very strong message about this issue by next week.
On the same issue the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned in a statement yesterday's aerial strikes against Al-Quds hospital in Aleppo. The statement issued by his press office noted that the civil society groups report at least twenty people killed as a result of the attack including three children and the area's last pediatrician. Ban also reiterated his condemnation of recent indiscriminate shelling by government forces and opposition groups as well as terrorist tactics by extremists.
"Attacks that target civilians are inexcusable violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. There must be accountability for these crimes" the statement added.
Therefore the UN Chief called on the warring sides in Syria to immediately renew their commitment to the cessation of hostilities and encouraged the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) in particular its two co-chairs Russia and the US to exert pressure on all concerned to stop the fighting and to ensure credible investigations of incidents such as the attack on Al-Quds hospital. (end) mao.ibi
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