Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien Statement on the situation in Aleppo, Syria, 19 December 2016

I welcome the adoption of resolution 2328 (2016) by the Security Council.

I sincerely hope that, through the passing of this resolution, all parties and those with influence over them will finally and unequivocally ensure that civilians in Aleppo who have suffered so much and for so long are afforded all necessary protection and assistance.

Our task now is to turn these words into meaningful action. It is vital that the resolution is fully implemented without any delay.

The United Nations is on the ground monitoring and assisting the displaced people coming out of remaining besieged neighbourhoods of Aleppo. We stand ready to scale up our presence and efforts across the entire city, in line with the resolution and international humanitarian law. This can be done immediately, but only if the parties live up to this resolution and their most basic legal obligations.

As the number of those dying, displaced and fleeing continues to rise, we need the whole international community to come together to bring an end to this crisis. I reiterate what I have told the Council every month for the past year and a half: what the Syrian people need most of all is for a political solution to end the conflict so that they can begin to rebuild their lives.