Statement by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia after UNSC vote on draft Security Council resolution on the cross-border mechanism of humanitarian deliveries to Syria
Mr. President,
We welcome that despite all difficulties and controversies the Security Council could come to a common ground on such a complicated issue as the Cross-border Mechanism (CBM) of humanitarian deliveries to Syria. We thank all Security Council members for that. We appreciate the efforts of our American colleagues, who worked in the spirit of the agreements achieved by Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden at the Geneva summit.
The resolution that we adopted is a landmark achievement for settling the Syrian crisis and addressing its consequences. It is the first resolution to emphasize the importance of improving cross-line deliveries, which totally corresponds to the principles of delivering humanitarian assistance, endorsed at the United Nations. Members of the Council are united in the understanding that humanitarian activity must also touch upon such urgent needs of the Syrian population as, for example, water supply, healthcare and education.
Thus UNSC members gave the green light to having the CBM gradually supplemented, and then substituted by cross-line humanitarian deliveries. We will be closely following this process for the next 6 months, at the end of which the Secretary-General is to prepare a substantive report on the functioning of ‘Bab al-Hawa’ border crossing, with a special focus on transparency of cross-line deliveries and operations. Besides, the Secretary-General will prepare regular reports on the tendency of launching cross-line deliveries, improving modalities of humanitarian deliveries, and implementing recovery projects. We expect to receive exhaustive information regarding provision of humanitarian assistance via the CBM, in particular about the UN mechanism for distributing the assistance on the ground, locating and storing the delivered items, etc. This would give the best guarantee that humanitarian workers have protection.
Dear colleagues,
This is a historic moment. For the first time Russia and the United States not only could agree, but elaborate a consolidated draft resolution that found support with all our colleagues in the Council. Hopefully, this kind of scenario will be a turning point that not only Syria and the Middle East, but the entire world will benefit from.
