Amos: Modest progress by Damascus in easing constraints on UN aid workers

UN humanitarian Chief Valerie Amos told Security Council behind closed-doors the humanitarian situation in Syria has not improved much since last month, because the government made only "modest" progress in eliminating administrative constraints it put on UN aid workers. Amos told reporters following her Tuesday briefing to the Council "I was able to advise the Council that we have seen some modest progress in terms of the administrative procedures which have been put in place" by Damascus. Amos stopped short of urging the Council to adopt a binding resolution on the issue, saying simply that it would be "helpful" and "for me the unity is key here." Council President Ambassador Gerard Araud of France later told a press conference in answer to questions that he does not see how a draft resolution will be introduced in the Council as long as some permanent members still threaten to veto it, even if it is humanitarian, in an indirect reference to Russia and China. He said a potential clash among the Council members over this draft would jeopardize the preparations for the Geneva II Conference on Syria, and that is why everybody is avoiding the issue. Amos told reporters Damascus indicated that over 50 visas will now be granted and has given the UN permission to open three additional hubs inside Syria, noting that only two will be helpful, because the third will not allow access into western Daraa which is where the hard to reach communities are. Moreover, she said she reminded the Council that on some of the most difficult areas, protection of civilians, demilitarization of schools and hospitals, access to besieged communities and cross-line access to hard to reach areas "we have not seen any progress on those, and I need the Council to continue to make it absolutely clear that targeting of civilians is against international humanitarian law, and that we need to do greater work to ensure that the recommendations in the Presidential Statement of October 2nd are achieved." She also said she has seen an "increase in the number of convoys" approved by Damascus, but "that is not enough." She said Syria has now allowed the goods coming from Iraq to be handled directly by the UN aid workers without going through Damascus first. The goods coming from Jordan and Lebanon, she noted, will still need to pass by Damascus before being distributed to the needy elsewhere in the country. She estimated that there are about 250,000 people in besieged communities that the UN is not able to reach at all, and 2.5 million people are in hard to reach areas. There are over 1,000 UN staff workers operating in Syria. In a related issue, Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari sent a letter to the Council President saying that "mindful of its duties under the Constitution and international law," his government "works relentlessly to restore peace and security across the country and meet all of its citizens needs." He said Damascus is currently putting in place, with the UN help, a plan to meet humanitarian needs for 2014 and it is expected that it will be made public in Geneva in mid-December, adding that its "successful implementation will depend mostly on donors providing the necessary financial resources."