Published : 12-07-2022
The Syria Response Coordinators group said over 1 million people will be deprived of bread in northern Syria displacement camps due to the absence of UN aid.
The absence of UN aid will also deprive 2 million people of food assistance and potable water.
At the same time, over half of the health centres in northern Syria will go inoperative.
Russia has vetoed a UN Security Council resolution reauthorizing cross-border deliveries of vital aid into opposition-held north-western Syria. The closure of the last route from Turkey puts more than three million people at risk of starvation.
The huge cross-border operation, which was set up in 2014, only exists because of a UN mandate which allows it to happen without the permission of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Russia's ally.
It was scheduled for renewal in a Security Council session in New York on the morning of 7 July, but as the day went on, the timing persistently slipped. By early evening, diplomats admitted they'd have to move the vote into the next day, which should have been a scheduled holiday for Eid al-Adha.
In the end, there were two votes. The first was on a compromise drafted by Norway and Ireland. It would have seen a six-month extension, automatically renewed for a further six unless a member chose to end the agreement. But that was vetoed by Russia.
Moscow put forward an alternative proposal, a six-month extension that would require active renewal in January 2023. The UK, US and France voted against it, and others abstained.
NGOs have been quick to respond, saying the result is devastating.
The Syria Response Coordinators group said over 1 million people will be deprived of bread in northern Syria displacement camps due to the absence of UN aid.
The absence of UN aid will also deprive 2 million people of food assistance and potable water.
At the same time, over half of the health centres in northern Syria will go inoperative.
Russia has vetoed a UN Security Council resolution reauthorizing cross-border deliveries of vital aid into opposition-held north-western Syria. The closure of the last route from Turkey puts more than three million people at risk of starvation.
The huge cross-border operation, which was set up in 2014, only exists because of a UN mandate which allows it to happen without the permission of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Russia's ally.
It was scheduled for renewal in a Security Council session in New York on the morning of 7 July, but as the day went on, the timing persistently slipped. By early evening, diplomats admitted they'd have to move the vote into the next day, which should have been a scheduled holiday for Eid al-Adha.
In the end, there were two votes. The first was on a compromise drafted by Norway and Ireland. It would have seen a six-month extension, automatically renewed for a further six unless a member chose to end the agreement. But that was vetoed by Russia.
Moscow put forward an alternative proposal, a six-month extension that would require active renewal in January 2023. The UK, US and France voted against it, and others abstained.
NGOs have been quick to respond, saying the result is devastating.
