Country: Syrian Arab Republic Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Please refer to the attached file. New York, 28 July 2025As deliveredThank you, Mr. PresidentI welcome this opportunity to brief the Council on the humanitarian situation in Syria, and to complement the important messages from Special Envoy Pedersen.Recent weeks have provided a stark reminder that Syria is not just one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, but also subject to violence and climatic shocks that compound the country’s needs.The recent violence in As-Sweida as the Special Envoy Pederson has just outlined, has displaced an estimated 175,000 people, both within the area and to surrounding governorates. That represents a third of the population in a Governorate, where two-thirds of people were already in need of assistance.Women, children and medical personnel are among the hundreds of people who have been reported killed. The World Health Organization has confirmed reports of the killing of two doctors, the obstruction and targeting of ambulances, and hospitals being temporarily occupied.Again, as the Special Envoy has said, there have been reports of horrendous physical assaults, abductions, forced evictions, psychological abuse, and the looting and destruction of homes.Water infrastructure has been critically damaged, interrupting the water supply. Significant cuts to electricity have been reported, as well as serious disruptions to food, fuel and other supplies in markets.The main hospital is overwhelmed, with severe shortages of medical supplies and personnel, and lack of electricity.Those caught up in the fighting must be protected and be allowed to move freely in search of safety and medical treatment. Safeguarding essential infrastructure and services – including healthcare, water and sanitation and electricity – are equally vital.International human rights law, norms and standards must be respected. And the killing, injuring, and acts of cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment must stop.Mr. President,OCHA is engaging with all parties to ensure the swift delivery of assistance, but access remains constrained.On 20 July, a 32-truck convoy from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent [SARC] reached As-Sweida, carrying aid provided by the World Food Programme and UNICEF, as well as other partners.A second SARC convoy with food, wheat flour, fuel, medicines and health supplies – including from the UN – reached As-Sweida on 23 July. A third such convoy, including fuel for hospitals and bakeries, food, surgical kits, and shelter supplies, has also arrived in As-Sweida today.First responders under the Ministry of Emergencies and Disaster Management, and SARC have evacuated vulnerable people including children and older people. Syrian authorities seek to send further teams to support health services and other response, but this has not yet been made possible.We continue to engage with our partners and the interim authorities – including through a Government-led coordination cell – to gain direct access to As-Sweida as soon as security conditions allow.We urge all parties to facilitate expanded and sustained access for humanitarian assistance and personnel, including of course medical staff.In neighbouring Dar’a, and in Rural Damascus, the UN is working with SARC and NGO partners to deliver food, nutrition, health services, water, protection services and other critical items to newly displaced people at reception centres.Mr. President,The violence in the South erupted just as vicious wildfires, concentrated in the Coastal governorate of Lattakia, were brought under control by Syrian authorities and teams from around the region. These fires displaced more than 1,100 people and destroyed large swaths of agricultural land.The UN and partners are providing a range of support, including bread, clean water, and critical household items. Mobile teams provide health and nutrition services. A $625,000 allocation from the Syria Humanitarian Fund is supporting SARC’s emergency response.The fires were exacerbated by the worst drought-like conditions Syria has seen in 36 years. Key reservoirs – critical for drinking water, energy supply, and agriculture – have fallen to historically low levels.Mr, President,This past May, I visited Syria together with the World Health Organization’s Director of Health Emergencies, to support our efforts to adapt the response to the evolving context in Syria.In visits to Damascus, Homs, Lattakia and Aleppo, the enormous scale of need for humanitarian assistance and protection, as well as recovery and reconstruction, was clear. But so was the desire of those I met to build a better future.In Aleppo, I met with women farmers who had returned to work on their fields after years of displacement. Their strength and resilience are reminders to us all of the Syrian people's determination to rebuild their country, despite all they have endured.There is a path out of the humanitarian crisis, and it is in the hands of the people of Syria – but getting ahead will require concerted engagement and solidarity by all of us.I want to highlight three key asks for the Council’s attention.First, we need to ensure that people caught in areas of violence are protected – including aid workers. Critical services must be spared. And people must be able to safely access medical care and humanitarian relief.The UN and our NGO partners must have sustained humanitarian access to people in and around As-Sweida and those who require urgent medical attention must be evacuated. Aid workers and assets, health facilities, and other vital services must be protected.If Syria is to recover, the violence must stop.Our second ask is for continued investment in what remains a large-scale and vital humanitarian operation.The UN and our partners continue to do our utmost to provide critical assistance and use the limited resources we have efficiently.In this regard, we have concluded the transition from the Whole of Syria approach to Damascus-led operations, with a single Humanitarian Country Team bringing together organization working across Syria, under the leadership of the Humanitarian Coordinator.National and international NGOs who have been working for years in one part of the country, are expanding their operations. We are reaching new locations. We are consolidating what had been separate pooled funding mechanisms for the Damascus-based and cross-border response.This month, Syria agreed to continue current arrangements for the UN to deliver humanitarian assistance from Türkiye through early February, enabling us to continue to use a highly efficient route to provide aid to a range of areas inside Syria.Through these efforts our partners are assisting some 2.5 million people across the country with critical aid each month, despite severe reductions in funding.This includes deploying mobile medical teams to reach underserved communities; getting critical medicine and medical supplies to health facilities; supporting the restoration of water supplies; providing food and nutrition support for the most vulnerable; and clearing explosive war remnants.In doing so, we are relying heavily on local actors, and on the contributions of women aid workers, I saw firsthand during my visit.But our assistance is falling far short of meeting the level of needs, and without further funding, this gap will only widen.We have just issued an extension of our response plan, for which we have prioritized even further. We are seeking $3.2 billion through the end of the year, a reduction of nearly $1 billion from our 2024 ask – though needs remain just as high. But we have received only 12 per cent of the ask, and I expect it to continue facing massive shortfalls in funding.Our third ask, Mr. President, is to mobilize resources for Syria’s reconstruction and development, which will allow us to move faster from humanitarian relief to recovery.Such investment will be particularly critical to support the growing numbers of people returning to their homes. As of mid-July, over 1.5 million internally displaced persons have returned to their home areas, along with about 700,000 refugees returning from abroad, with the pace of returns slightly increasing during summer and the end of the school year.But this only adds pressure on services – like health, water, education – which already face major gaps.Recent weeks have provided important opportunities. Steps to ease unilateral sanctions, the World Bank’s announcement of a grant to support electricity supply, and important investments and support from neighboring countries are welcome developments.The momentum needs to be sustained and translated into more tangible support - to help the resilient people of Syria rebuild their lives.Thank you.