Security Council Press Statement in Support of the Kuwait Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President François Delattre (France):

As the conflict in Syria enters its fifth year, the members of the Security Council expressed their deep concern that the people of Syria continue to suffer from deteriorating conditions, with devastating consequences.  They also expressed deep concern that over half of Syria’s pre-war population — some 12.2 million people — and the more than 3.9 million Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.

The members of the Security Council highlighted that the lack of funding for the United Nations and its implementing partners has already forced humanitarian agencies to reduce food rations for Syrians by 30 per cent and that for every $1 million the United Nations cannot raise for its Syria programmes, some 227,000 people lose vital health services.  They also stressed that unless urgent funding is received before May 2015, 1 million Syrian children who are not attending school will not be able to access alternative education options.

The members of the Security Council noted that the Syria Response Plan’s appeal for $2.9 billion is only 9 per cent funded, and the Syria Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan’s appeal for $4.5 billion is only 6 per cent funded.

The members of the Security Council therefore welcomed the upcoming Third International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria to be hosted by Kuwait on 31 March, and encouraged the international community to respond with generous pledges of new humanitarian and development funding towards the United Nations appeals for 2015.