United Nations S/ PV.8535 Security Council Provisional Seventy-fourth year 8535th meeting Tuesday, 28 May 2019, 10 a.m. New York President: Mr. Djani ...................................... (Indonesia) Members: Belgium ....................................... Mr. Pecsteen de Buytswerve China ......................................... Mr. Ma Zhaoxu Côte d’Ivoire ................................... Mr. Adom Dominican Republic .............................. Mr. Fiallo Billini Portorreal Equatorial Guinea ............................... Mr. Ndong Mba France ........................................ Mr. Delattre Germany ...................................... Mr. Heusgen Kuwait ........................................ Mr. Alotaibi Peru .......................................... Mr. Meza-Cuadra Poland ........................................ Mr. Lewicki Russian Federation ............................... Mr. Vershinin South Africa ................................... Ms. Goolab United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland .. Ms. Pierce United States of America .......................... Mr. Cohen Agenda The situation in the Middle East This record contains the text of speeches delivered in English and of the translation of speeches delivered in other languages. The final text will be printed in the Official Records of the Security Council. Corrections should be submitted to the original languages only. They should be incorporated in a copy of the record and sent under the signature of a member of the delegation concerned to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Service, room U-0506 ([email protected]). Corrected records will be reissued electronically on the Official Document System of the United Nations (http://documents.un.org). 19-15283 (E) *1915283* S/PV.8535 The situation in the Middle East 28/05/2019 The meeting was called to order at 10.10 a.m. World Health Organization, including on 22 health facilities, with some having been hit more than once. All Adoption of the agenda of those attacks occurred in north-western Syria. About 25 schools are reported to have also been impacted by The agenda was adopted. the violence, as have markets and at least three sites for displaced people. The situation in the Middle East The humanitarian community is responding in The President: In accordance with rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite accordance with its contingency and readiness plans. For the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to example, so far in May, more than 170,000 ready-to-eat participate in this meeting. meals have been handed out to those who fled the latest round of violence. Shelter support has been provided In accordance with rule 39 of the Council’s to 25,000 newly displaced people, while an additional provisional rules of procedure, I invite Ms. Ursula 60,000 civilians are to be assisted in the coming days Mueller, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian and weeks. That is in addition to the 1.2 million people Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, to whom we already reach on a monthly basis. participate in this meeting. However, despite our best efforts, the response is The Security Council will now begin its stretched. Further military operations will overwhelm consideration of the item on its agenda. all ability to respond. Many of our humanitarian I now give the floor to Ms. Mueller. partners are part of the affected population and have themselves been displaced. As a result, in many areas Ms. Mueller: All Security Council members know of active hostilities, humanitarian operations have been the statistics of this conflict. Members know that more suspended. That includes the suspension of health, than half of the Syrian population has either fled the nutrition and protection services previously supporting country or faced repeated internal displacement. They some 600,000 people, including 21 immunization know that hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been centres that have ceased operations, and at least 49 killed and millions injured. And members know that, health facilities that have partially or totally suspended currently, an estimated 3 million people in Idlib are activities, out of fear of being attacked. caught up in the crossfire, with some living under trees or plastic sheeting on bare patches of land. There are no As all members know, this year marks the seventieth safe schools or clinics, no way to earn a living — eight anniversary of the Geneva Conventions as well as years of air strikes and shelling, of deadly terrorist the twentieth anniversary of the Security Council’s attacks and the constant fear of sending one’s child to a adoption of the protection of civilians as an item on its school that may be bombed later that day. agenda. And yet, as stated by the Secretary-General last week during the Council’s open debate on the protection Fighting in Idlib has continued over recent days, of civilians (see S/PV.8534), respect for international despite the announcement of a temporary ceasefire on humanitarian law today is, at best, questionable. In 17 May. So far this month, heavy shelling and aerial Syria, for example, the World Health Organization bombardment have resulted in the confirmed deaths has confirmed 33 attacks on health care since the of more than 160 civilians and the displacement of beginning of the year, and some health care facilities approximately 270,000 people. As recently stated by have been impacted repeatedly. As Member States, all the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Council members are aware that all parties to armed (OHCHR), conflict are legally bound to comply with international “both pro-Government forces and non-State humanitarian law. Sparing hospitals and schools is not armed groups fighting in northern Syria appear optional; it is a fundamental legal obligation. to have failed to respect the principles of While the fighting in Idlib is perhaps the most distinction and proportionality under international distressing front in the conflict at present, it is not humanitarian law”. the only place where humanitarian needs continue to Since 28 April, in the past four weeks, a total of increase. We remain gravely concerned, for example, 25 attacks on health care have been reported by the about reports of deteriorating conditions inside Rukban. 2/22 19-15283 28/05/2019 The situation in the Middle East S/PV.8535 As members might know, over 13,100 people left Rukban with their families, and, in the meantime, ensuring during the past two months. Typically, those who leave their access to specialised support, including protection Rukban spend around 24 hours at five shelters around services, translation where necessary, and mental health Homs city, where children are vaccinated and families and education services. Solutions for foreign nationals receive humanitarian and medical assistance, before need to be urgently found to avoid their protracted most of them continue on to their areas of choice. The encampment. We call, yet again, on all Member States United Nations now has access to people who left to take all the measures necessary to ensure that Rukban, having visited the shelters on 22 April and their nationals are repatriated for rehabilitation and 13 May, and humanitarian assistance is being provided reintegration, or prosecution, as appropriate, in line to all of them. That is a welcome development. with international law and standards. Sustained assistance for the 29,000 people who We understand that more people may yet arrive to remain in Rukban, however, is just as necessary. They Al Hol in the coming period. Conditions are already are perhaps the most vulnerable of all. The food, basic difficult with the current population. The summer medicines and other life-saving supplies delivered in months and the risk of new arrivals might complicate February have run out inside the camp. Fuel is scarce, the situation even further. Solutions for residents of and prices are skyrocketing. People are exhausted. The the camp, including voluntary returns to their areas of deployment of a third humanitarian convoy to Rukban origin or choice and/or repatriation, as relevant, must therefore remains critical in order to avoid further be found urgently. suffering. We strongly urge the Syrian authorities to reverse their refusal and facilitate access for a third Our concerns extend to the situation in the south humanitarian convoy, as first requested in March, and of the country, which has been under the control of the again on 9 May. Access at all stages — in the camp, Government since the summer of 2018. As described as they pass through the shelters and in their areas by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human of origin — is important to provide support to this Rights, active hostilities have ceased yet the levels of vulnerable population. violence continue to be unacceptably high. Moreover, OHCHR has received reports of at least 380 people We have frequently reported to the Council about having been arrested or detained in recent months, the plight of some 74,000 civilians at the Al Hol 230 of whom have been forcibly disappeared. At least camp — 92 per cent of whom are women and children. two have died in detention Many families continue to Most have been exposed to extreme violence and trauma under the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. have limited or no information about their missing or They are now living in extremely difficult conditions, detained relatives. under which they face a range of protection