Note to Correspondents: ASG Kang briefed Security Council on Syria

Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Kyung-wha Kang, briefed members of the Security Council today on the situation in Syria.

ASG Kang noted with deep regret that, three months since Security Council resolution 2139 was passed, it has not delivered what it intended. She said that violence continues relentlessly, killing and maiming women, children and men, as do flagrant violations of international humanitarian law and human rights by all parties, and the arbitrary denial of assistance to people in desperate need.

“We once again appeal for rapid, unhindered and safe access to every Syrian in need. All delivery routes must be made available to us – both cross-line and cross-border. Medical and surgical supplies urgently need to reach the wounded and sick. Bureaucratic obstructions on the delivery of assistance must stop. We don’t have the time for arbitrary restrictions on how and to whom we are allowed to deliver aid,” stressed ASG Kang. “UN agencies and our partners are doing everything we can to address mounting needs, but the solution to this crisis does not lie with us.”

Under-Secretary-General Valerie Amos is expected to brief the media early next week.

New York, 29 May 2014

Amanda Pitt
Chief, Media Relations Section / Spokesperson
OCHA New York
Tel: +1 212 963 4129
Mobile: +1 917 442 1810
Email: pitta@un.org
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