They warned of the dire consequences of not renewing Resolution 2642, which is due to expire on January 10.
“If the cross-border resolution is not renewed, the already desperate humanitarian situation in north-west Syria will worsen will be further tightened at a time when the people of the country need the support of the international community to survive,” they said an explanation.
women and girls affected
For eight years, the resolution has allowed the delivery of critical relief supplies to north-west Syria “despite the current restrictions on volume and duration”.
The experts noted that access to health care remains a challenge for many Syrians due to factors such as insecurity, difficulties in reaching health facilities easily and security issues that limit freedom of movement patriarchal norms and gender violence that affect women and girls disproportionately.
Each month reaches the UN 2.7 million people with cross-border help. Around 80 percent are women and children, who face additional burdens and risks to their physical and mental health resulting from failure to meet their routine and urgent sexual and reproductive health needs.
Constantly growing needs
“The renewal of the resolution is the minimum required to respond to the ever-growing needs and vulnerabilities of millions of civilians in the Northwest. There are no comparable alternative for cross-border assistance to reach the 4.1 million people who need it there,” they said.
The experts warned that not renewing the resolution would drastically disrupt and limit the delivery of life-saving humanitarian and medical assistance in the region.
“Despite the support of civil society and other international and national organizations to scale up humanitarian relief efforts, we express our concern about the risks of increasing population hunger and the lack of access for patients to adequate and timely health care,” they said.
life in danger
In addition, insufficient prioritization of access to a full range of sexual and reproductive health goods, information and services, particularly for adolescents and victims of sexual violence, has created additional challenges for women and girls.
“Add to this the risk for millions of people of losing help with shelter and access to water. We are deeply concerned that the deprivations caused by the cessation of UN cross-border operations will result in preventable deaths.”
The 15 experts who made the statement were appointed by the UN Human Rights Council in genf.
They are independent of any government or organization, work on a voluntary basis and act in their individual capacity.
They are not UN employees and are not paid for their work.
