UN humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien concludes visit to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan [EN/AR]

(Amman, 2 September 2016): Stephen O'Brien, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, has completed a two-day visit to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Mr. O'Brien met with His Majesty's Advisor for Military Affairs and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff of the Jordanian Armed Forces – Arab Army Major General Mash'al Al-Zaben, and H.E. Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Mr. Imad Fakhoury.

The Emergency Relief Coordinator discussed finding solutions for the Syrians stranded at the berm on the northeastern border of the Kingdom with the representatives of the Government of Jordan. Discussions included the provision of aid, medical services, education, and protection services for Syrian refugees in general and to those at the berm, along with access of humanitarian staff. He also urged Jordan to continue facilitating and strengthening the humanitarian aid provision to those stranded at the border and granting access to the sick and war-wounded.

“The living conditions for the people stranded at the berm are dire with no access to basic resources such as food and water. With over 75 per cent of the population estimated to be women and children, they desperately need assistance and support,” Mr. O’Brien said, acknowledging that the Jordanian authorities had already facilitated and supported the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

“I had positive, constructive and promising discussions with the Jordanian officials. The international community must ensure more robust burden-sharing measures to support the Government of Jordan to address the impact of the crisis and preserve hard-earned development gains,” Mr. O’Brien said.

This morning, Mr. O'Brien visited the Kingdom's northeastern border by helicopter where he saw for himself the reality of those stranded there.

For further information, please contact:
Iyad Nasr, OCHA Public Information Officer, nasri@un.org Tel: +20 109-555-8662
David Swanson, OCHA Public Information Officer, swanson@un.org Tel: +962 (0) 791 417 882
Jens Laerke, OCHA Deputy Spokesman, laerke@un.org Tel: +41 (0)79 472 9750