UN Aid Official Asks Security Council for 12 More Months of Cross-Border Aid to Syria

The most senior UN official in charge of humanitarian aid asked the Security Council Thursday to extend approval of an aid operation delivering food, medicine, and shelter to civilians in opposition-controlled parts of Syria.

Martin Griffiths told the council that humanitarian convoys from Turkey were vital to the well-being of Syrian civilians living in rebel-held zones along the border.

Security Council authorization for the cross-border aid mission is legally required, as the Syrian government has not given the UN permission to enter areas of the country it does not control. The current authorization expires on July 10.

The Syrian civil war began in 2011, and UN aid started to cross the Turkish-Syrian border in 2014. The Security Council has given periodic authorizations ever since, despite opposition from Syria and its allies, including Russia, which want international aid groups to channel their aid exclusively through government-controlled territory.

The council initially authorized cross-border aid deliveries to Syria from multiple locations in Turkey, Iraq, and Jordan. Over time, however, the number of authorized crossings has shrunk to just one corridor from Turkey.

Griffith said the UN aid team asked for $5.4 billion this year. However, UN member countries have only funded 12% of that.