2015 HUMANITARIAN NEEDS OVERVIEW Syrian Arab Republic Credit: Pablo Tosco/AFP/Getty Images November 2014 Prepared by OCHA on behalf of humanitarian partners working on the Syria Response Humanitarian needs have increased twelve fold since the beginning of the crisis, with 12.2 million people now in need of humanitarian assistance, including more than 5 million children 6.8 million people are severely food insecure and 11.6 million people require urgent access to water and sanitation. Over 1 million people will have been injured by the end of 2014, requiring access to health services, including emergency trauma care. Only 43% of hospitals are fully functioning. In addition, 24.5% of schools have been damaged, destroyed or are used as shelters, leaving almost 2 million children not attending school. 2.4 million children under five are at risk of under nutrition. 12.2 million people require livelihoods support. As the conflict enters its fourth year, the crisis in Syria is the largest protection crisis on the global stage 12.2 Million PIN Over 191,000 people have been killed since the start of the conflict. Flagrant human rights violations, use of sieges as a weapon of war, indiscriminate attacks against densely populated areas and targeting of civilian infrastructure continue to occur in violation of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and Human Rights Law (HRL). 560 medical personnel have been killed Million IDPs 7.6 since 2011, and 200 health facilities attacked. Over 1,200 grave violations have been committed against children, including 80 attacks on schools. 10.8 million people have been displaced by the conflict, including 7.6 million internally, making Syria the biggest displacement crisis worldwide IDPs and other vulnerable groups are in urgent need NFI and protection assistance, including durable solutions. With an estimated 1.2 million houses have damaged or destroyed, more than 1.6 million people are in urgent need of shelter. The conflict has negatively impacted upon the effectiveness of protection institutions and family protection network structures, increasing the vulnerability of the displaced and host communities. Assessment registry: Palestine refugees are being disproportionately affected by the conflict, www.humanitarianresponse.info/operations/syria with 64% of registered Palestine refugees now displaced 280,000 Palestine refugees are internally displaced and a further 80,000 have sought refuge abroad. 460,000 Palestine refugees in Syria are dependent on UNRWA to meet their minimum humanitarian needs as a result of the conflict, representing approximately 94 percent of the registered Palestine refugee population remaining in Syria. 1 | SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC HUMANITARIAN NEEDS OVERVIEW IMPACT OF THE CRISIS Introduction After nearly four years of conflict, Syria is the largest humanitarian and protection crisis globally. Syrians continue to bear the brunt of the conflict, as all parties continue to disregard the Security Council demands for respect of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and Human Rights Law (HRL). Flagrant human rights violations, use of sieges as a weapon of war, indiscriminate attacks against densely populated area, targeting of civilian infrastructure (schools, hospitals, water networks, and places of worship), as well as attacks against humanitarian workers and humanitarian facilities have continued unabated. The UN estimates that over 191,000 people have lost their lives as a result of indiscriminate military assaults and extra-judicial 191,369 persons executions as of April 20141, while almost one million people killed since the have been injured. beginning of the crisis The Independent International Commmission of Inquiry for Syria reported that tens of thousands have been arbitrarily arrested, held in unknown locations, and subjected to systematic torture and ill-treatment. Women and girls are at particular at risk of sexual violence due to forced displacement as well as early/forced marriage, and incidents of SGBV are on the rise. As of November 2014, almost half of all Syrians had been forced to leave their homes, often multiple times, making Syria the largest displacement crisis globally. As of the end of October 2014, over 7.6 million people are internally displaced within Syria and over three million, including 720,000 in 2014 alone2, have sought refuge in neighboring countries and An estimated beyond. In 2013, an estimated 1.2 million houses had been 1.2 million houses damaged, including 400,000 which have been completly have been damaged destroyed. As of September 2014, approximately 2 million houses had been damaged, including approximately 680,000 3 completely destroyed. Figure 1: People in need, IDPs, and Refugees 14 People in need of 12 humanitarian assistance Millions People who fled the 10 country 8 People internally displaced by violence 6 4 2 0 1 OHCHCR, August 2014 2 UNHCR, 2014 3 The conflict In Syria: Implications on the Macro-economy and MDGs. ESCWA 2014. 2 | SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC HUMANITARIAN NEEDS OVERVIEW The crisis in Syria and, in particular, its negative impact on income, health and education, has seen the country’s development situation regress almost four decades. By 2014-Q4, with a Human Development Index (HDI) measure of 0.472, down from 0.646 in 2011, Syria had fallen from the “medium human development” cluster of nations into the “low human development” category. Since the onset of the conflict in 2011, life expectancy is estimated to have fallen back more than 12.77 years (2013-Q4) and school attendance dropped more than 50 percent.4 Source: UNDP Against this backdrop, Syria has also seen reversals in all 12 recorded Millennium Development Goal (MDG) indicators. In 2013, according to the MDG Index, Somalia was the only country in the Middle East and North Africa below Syria in terms of progress toward the MDGs. The Syrian economy has contracted by an estimated 40 percent since 2011, leading to an enormous number of Three in every four people losing their livelihoods. By the end of 2013, an estimated three in four Syrians were living in poverty, and Syrians lived in poverty at end 54 percent were living in extreme poverty5. At the same of 2013 time, infrastructural damage, ‘brain drain’ in critical sectors, and shortages of equipment and supplies, among other issues, have left healthcare facilities, schools and other essential services operating at a reduced capacity or closed altogether, despite ever-growing demand, while the conflict has impeded access to those which continue to function. Some 12.2 million people, including 5.1 million children,6 are in need of humanitarian assistance. Humanitarian needs in Syria have reached a record high, and the coping mechanisms of Internally Displaced persons (IDPs) and host communities are all but exhausted. Humanitarian access to people in need remains constrained by the closure of many key border points, shifting frontlines, bureaucratic hurdles, active conflict along access routes, safety and security concerns, and the takeover of vast swaths of territory by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and continued territorial control by Al-Nusra Front (ANF) and all other individuals, groups, and entities associated with Al-Qaida.7 These access challenges were only somewhat offset by effort to scale up cross-line and cross border assistance, including the passage of UN Securtiy Council resolution (UNSCR) 2139 and 2165. In this context, in the absence of a viable peace and reconciliation process, humanitarian and protection needs for civilians in Syria are likely to continue growing in 2015 and humanitarian action will take place in a context of increased conflict and in a more complex and demanding operational environment. The political and humanitarian ripple effects of the Syria crisis may also further destabilize neighboring countries, possibly leading to a further reduction in asylum space and increased instability in the region. 4 Syria Squandering Humanity – Socio-economic Monitoring Report on Syria, Syria Centre for Policy Research, May 2014. 5 Syria Squandering Humanity – Socio-economic Monitoring Report on Syria, Syria Centre for Policy Research, May 2014 6 UNICEF, 2014 7 UNSCR 2170 (August 2014) 3 | SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC HUMANITARIAN NEEDS OVERVIEW SITUATION OVERVIEW Drivers of the humanitarian crisis The humanitarian situation in Syria continues to deteriorate at an alarming pace, with fierce fighting prompting increasing level of civilian casualties, massive internal displacement, increased violation of IHL and HRL, and mounting refugee flows. Sustained and escalating violence, the unraveling of public services, deepening recession, and bilateral and financial sanctions, among other factors, further drive and exacerbate the crisis. Escalating conflict Throughout 2014, armed conflict in Syria continued unabated, with warring parties, including government forces, non-state armed groups (NSAGs) and listed terrorist groups, fighting aggressively to maintain and expand their areas of influence and/or gain control of main and strategic roads, large settlements and administrative centers and critical resources, including energy. In 2014, ISIL had almost completely taken over the governorate of Deir ez Zor, gained influence over large swathes of territory in north-eastern Syria (Al Hassakeh, Al Raqqa, and areas of Aleppo), and commenced an advance toward eastern Homs, Ain Al Arab, and Salamiyeh in Hama. Since 2011, regional and international powers have continued to influence the conflict through the