Aid groups censure UNSC ‘failure’ to protect Syrians

More than twenty international aid organizations have criticized the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for its failure to implement three resolutions passed last year to increase humanitarian aid to the Syrians caught in the ongoing conflict.

The 21 humanitarian and human rights groups said in a report released on Thursday that the UNSC resolutions have been “ignored or undermined by the parties to the conflict, other UN member states, and even by members of the UNSC itself.”

The aid groups, including the International Rescue Committee, the Norwegian Refugee Council, Handicap International, the Syrian Relief Network and Oxfam, said despite the resolutions, the crisis in Syria has intensified, aid access has decreased and humanitarian assistance remains “chronically underfunded.”

“The bitter reality is that the Security Council has failed to implement its resolutions,” said Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council.

2014 ‘the darkest year’

“Last year was the darkest year yet in this horrific war. Parties to the conflict have acted with impunity and ignored the Security Council’s demands, civilians are not protected and their access to relief has not improved,” the official added.

The aid organizations said the number of people in need in hard-to-reach areas has nearly doubled in 2014 to 4.8 million, adding that the number of children in need of assistance has increased 31 percent to stand at 5.6 million in comparison to the figure in 2013.

They further called on the UN members to ensure the full implementation of the resolutions as the Syria conflict enters its fifth year since its outset in March 2011.

According to the UN, more than 220,000 people have been killed and one million wounded during the four-year conflict in Syria.

Nearly four million Syrians have fled the crisis and registered as refugees in neighboring countries, while another 7.6 million people are displaced inside Syria.

An estimated 12.2 million Syrians are in need of humanitarian assistance.