Ban Ki-moon asks top UN official to visit Syria to assess humanitarian situation

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Ban asks top UN official to visit Syria to assess humanitarian situation

22 February 2012 ?

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has asked the United Nations relief chief to visit Syria to assess the humanitarian situation in the Middle Eastern country, where a deadly Government crackdown continues against a pro-democracy uprising.

Mr. Ban has asked Valerie Amos, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, ?to visit Syria to assess the humanitarian situation and renew the call for urgent humanitarian access,? the Secretary-General?s spokesperson told reporters today.

Ms. Amos and other top UN officials have repeatedly called on Syrian authorities to stop the violence and to allow humanitarian workers to have access to those in need.

Thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been killed since the uprising ? part of the broader Arab Spring movement across North Africa and the Middle East ? began almost a year ago.

Last week the General Assembly adopted a resolution strongly condemning the violence and backing a League of Arab States action plan to try to resolve the crisis.

Mr. Ban met today with Nabil el-Araby, the Secretary-General of the Arab
League, in London, while on an official visit to the United Kingdom?s capital.

The two officials discussed the latest developments in Syria and the way forward, including the appointment of a joint UN-Arab League envoy to handle the crisis.

Mr. Ban also met with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, with whom he discussed developments in Syria, with the Secretary-General expressing his appreciation for Turkey?s role in providing assistance and shelter to Syrian refugees.

In addition, Mr. Ban met with the UK?s Secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell. During their meeting, Mr. Ban told Mr. Mitchell that he was heartened that the UK Government had raised official development assistance last year despite spending cuts.

Meanwhile, the head of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has strongly condemned the killing of a Syrian journalist on 7 February.

The freelance journalist Mazhar Tayyara died in the city of Homs, scene of some of the fiercest fighting in the crisis, in circumstances that remain unclear, according to a UNESCO press release issued today.

Irina Bokova, the agency?s Director-General, stressed that respect for press freedom and freedom of expression is essential to any society.

?The world?s eyes and ears on the ground are compromised by the death of journalists, and important information may not come to light to concerned national and international audiences,? she said.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=41330&Cr=Syria&Cr1=

 

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Re: Ban Ki-moon asks top UN official to visit Syria to assess humanitarian situation

UN relief chief ?deeply disappointed? by inability to visit Syria to assess situation

29 February 2012 ?

The head of United Nations relief operations said today that she was ?deeply disappointed? that she has not yet been able to visit Syria to assess the humanitarian situation and meet with some of the country?s top officials.

Valerie Amos, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, issued a statement voicing her disappointment and noting both her ?repeated requests? to meet with top Syrian officials and the need for unhindered access by aid workers to people affected by the violence.

Thousands of civilians have been killed in the Government?s crackdown against a pro-democracy uprising that began in March last year, with the violence intensifying in recent weeks, and senior UN officials have repeatedly called for an end to the violence and for humanitarian workers to be allowed access to those in need.

?Given the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation, with an increasing need for medical assistance, food and basic supplies, improving access so that assistance can reach those in urgent need is a matter of the highest priority,? Ms. Amos said.

The Under-Secretary-General said she supported the call by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for a daily pause in hostilities so that aid organizations can evacuate the wounded and deliver supplies of food and medicine.

?Every day that we are not able to reach people, especially in the towns where there is heavy fighting, prolongs their suffering,? she said.

The UN and the League of Arab States have appointed the former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan as their Joint Special Envoy to deal with the Syrian crisis and to try to help broker a political solution. In Geneva this week, the Human Rights Council has also been holding an urgent debate on the situation.

The uprising in Syria is part of the broader Arab Spring protest movement that began at the start of last year and has toppled several long-standing regimes in North Africa and the Middle East.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=41412&Cr=Syria&Cr1=