Debating the Russian Federation’s 11 July veto of a Security Council draft resolution that would have authorized a nine-month renewal of cross-border aid‑delivery to northern Syria, speakers took stock of its consequences for millions of Syrians in increasingly desperate need of humanitarian aid.
Csaba Kőrösi (Hungary), President of the General Assembly, noted as the meeting began that it would have been better if the Council overcame its deadlock on this matter. However, the Russian Federation’s 11 July veto meant that the Bab al-Hawa crossing — used by the United Nations and aid agencies since 2014 to deliver 85 per cent of aid into the country — has ceased to operate. Meanwhile, humanitarian needs in Syria are soaring, with 4.1 million people in its northern region all but cut off from the food, water and medicine they need to stay alive.
“The lives of those in need should never be reduced to the tactics of geopolitical games,” he stressed, noting that he would send the verbatim records of today’s debate to the Council President, as promised during the April debate on the use of the veto initiative. Emphasizing the extraordinary lengths that Syrians are pursuing just to survive, he called on the Council to “be alive to the realities and oriented towards genuine solutions” — to urgently prioritize long‑term cooperation over division.
In the ensuing debate, held under the Assembly’s standing mandate to convene within 10 working days of a veto being cast in the Council, many Member States condemned its use in a dire humanitarian context. They also underlined the importance of the Bab al-Hawa crossing, calling for unhindered access to deliver aid to those in desperate need. Others, however, stressed the need to respect Syria’s sovereignty throughout this process. Läs mötesreferat