United Nations A/68/622–S/2013/686 General Assembly Distr.: General 25 November 2013 Security Council English Original: Arabic General Assembly Security Council Sixty-eighth session Sixty-eighth year Agenda item 70 (a) Strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance of the United Nations, including special economic assistance: strengthening of the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations Identical letters dated 22 November 2013 from the Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and President of the Security Council On instructions from my Government, I have the honour to transmit the following information: There has been increasing discussion regarding cooperation between the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic and the United Nations in order to deliver humanitarian assistance to civilians affected by events in Syria. The Syrian Government therefore wishes to provide the Security Council with the following information regarding the latest measures taken to strengthen its cooperation with United Nations entities and other international organizations active in Syria. It does so in accordance with the statement made by the President of the Security Council on behalf of the Council on 2 October 2013 (S/PRST/2013/15), and with a view to pursuing its current dialogue with those entities and organizations. The Syrian Government has held a series of meetings to assess the current mechanisms for cooperation. Most recently, the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates met with representatives and heads of United Nations entities and international organizations, including non-governmental organizations, that are active in Syria, while the Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has met with the Resident Coordinator for United Nations activities in Syria. At the meetings, an agreement was reached to intensify cooperation by overhauling administrative procedures and removing so-called bureaucratic obstacles. The Syrian Government affirmed that it would make every possible effort to facilitate the humanitarian work of United Nations and international organizations in Syria. The Syrian Government has formally notified the Resident Coordinator of its decision to allow the entry of humanitarian aid through official border crossings 13-58161 (E) 271113 291113 *1358161* A/68/622 S/2013/686 with Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. Over the last two months, it has allowed the United Nations to import supplies through the Ya’rubiyah border crossing with Iraq to meet the humanitarian needs of Hasakah governorate, where the armed terrorist groups have blocked humanitarian aid. In the case of the border crossings with Turkey, however, it has been impossible to open an official crossing because armed terrorist groups are active along most of the border with the support of the Turkish authorities. The Syrian authorities are cooperating with United Nations entities, international organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and a number of civil society organizations to bring aid to Syrian civilians in those areas. The Syrian Government has approved three additional United Nations hubs, respectively in Suwayda’ (for the south), Aleppo (for the north) and Qamishli (for the north-east). The hubs will complement the two offices previously opened in Homs and Tartus, and the main office in Damascus. There are now six offices covering the entire country. The Syrian Government has issued entry visas to 222 international staff members since the start of 2013, and it has issued an additional 50 entry visas over the past few days. It is also examining additional visa requests. The Government has furthermore adopted new procedures to simplify and accelerate the granting of appropriate visas to heads and staff members of international organizations in Syria. The Resident Coordinator has been formally notified of those procedures. The Government has put in place a new, streamlined mechanism for approval of aid convoys. Approvals are issued at the locations of United Nations warehouses on loading. They are then signed and stamped by the representative of the Syrian Red Crescent in order to facilitate passage through checkpoints. Since the start of 2013, some 37 joint convoys have been deployed to various parts of Syria, and all of the relevant international organizations have participated. Over the last six weeks, eight have been sent to areas that are difficult to access owing to the presence of armed terrorist groups. The international organizations distribute medical, food and other aid around Syria in coordination with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. The Syrian Government helps to ensure that the aid reaches those who need it. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has thus been able to distribute some 6.3 million units of food aid to 2,585,000 persons, and the World Food Programme has brought food to 3.42 million persons. Statistics drawn from Government and United Nations aid agency reports, giving the number of beneficiaries in each area, are annexed hereto. The Syrian Government has continued to work to vaccinate all Syrian children against polio, in cooperation with the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). A polio vaccination campaign launched by the Minister of Health and the Executive Director of UNICEF, Anthony Lake, has proved successful in most parts of Syria, except for the few areas controlled by terrorist groups that reject child vaccination owing to unfounded dogmatic beliefs. The Syrian Government does its utmost to deliver and facilitate humanitarian aid, for which it bears most of the burden. The humanitarian aid distributed in Syria by the United Nations and other international organizations accounts for only 25 per cent of the total; the remaining 75 per cent is covered, with some difficulty, by the Syrian Government. The latter is under significant pressure, not to mention 2/8 13-58161 A/68/622 S/2013/686 sanctions and unilateral coercive economic measures imposed by the United States of America, the European Union and the League of Arab States. Perhaps the greatest obstacle to humanitarian aid distribution is posed by the criminal activities of armed terrorist groups, some of which are affiliated with Al- Qaida. The groups have targeted a number of humanitarian convoys, stealing significant quantities of aid. They have also destroyed the infrastructure in their areas of activity, disrupted civilians’ livelihoods, and taken control of natural resources including petrol, water and crop harvests to fund their activities. Terrorist groups, some of them Al-Qaida affiliates, have targeted hospitals. They recently occupied the hospital in the town of Dayr Atiyah, in Rif Dimashq, holding doctors, medical staff and even patients hostage. They planted explosives on the first floor of the hospital. That crime is one of several against health facilities. In late 2012, explosives were planted and detonated in a hospital in Homs governorate while medical staff and patients were in the building. The terrorist groups filmed the operation and uploaded the footage to the Internet. Mindful of its duties under the Constitution and international law, the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic works relentlessly to restore peace and security across the country and meet all of its citizens’ needs. It is fully committed to its international obligation to protect civilians. It has made repeated appeals for women, children and older persons in areas where armed men are active to be allowed to leave. In the Mu’addamiyah area of Rif Dimashq, for instance, the Syrian Government has secured the release of some 5,000 older persons whom the armed terrorist groups had detained as human shields. The Government has established temporary shelters for them and provided all of their daily needs. It has appealed to the armed men to hand over their weapons and surrender in return for an amnesty. The Syrian Government is currently working with the United Nations to put in place a plan to meet humanitarian needs for 2014. It is expected that the plan will be made public at the Geneva conference on 16 December 2013. Successful implementation will depend to a great extent on donors providing the necessary financial resources. The Syrian Government emphasized its commitment to cooperation with the United Nations and its humanitarian agencies, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 46/182 and the principles set forth therein, particularly respect for the national sovereignty of States. 13-58161 3/8 A/68/622 S/2013/686 I should be grateful if the present letter and its annex could be circulated as a document of the General Assembly under agenda item 70 (a) and of the Security Council. (Signed) Bashar Ja’afari Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations 4/8 13-58161 A/68/622 S/2013/686 Annex Figures and data taken from reports compiled by national authorities and United Nations agencies Reports of the Ministry of Health The second national vaccination campaign (polio vaccination) was launched one month ahead of schedule. The campaign began on 24 October 2013, instead of the previously established date of 10 November 2013. The early start came in response to reports of a polio outbreak in the eastern parts of the country, in particular the area of Mayadin and neighbouring villages in Dayr al-Zawr governorate. The current campaign aims to vaccinate some 1,320,277 children throughout the country. There is ongoing coordination with international organizations and the Syrian Red Crescent to deliver vaccines to hotspots that the Ministry of Health team is unable to reach. Report of the World Health Organization for the months of September and October In the month of October, the World Health Organization directly provided medicines and medical goods to more than 523,747 persons. It also distributed health packets to 143,000 beneficiaries in affected areas in Ladhiqiyah, Idlib, Rif Dimashq and Damascus governorates.