Nations must "depoliticise" the humanitarian response for earthquake victims in Syria, a UN special envoy said on Tuesday, as frustrations mount over the slow pace at which aid has flowed into the country.
More than 50,000 people have been killed in Turkey and Syria, including about 6,000 people in Syria, mostly in the north-west, since the February 6 earthquake.
The UN's special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, told the Security Council that Syrians in the north-west, in areas outside government control, have expressed “strong frustrations at the international community’s inability” to help them.
World Food Programme earthquake aid - in pictures
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The UN's World Food Programme has called for governments to support appeals to fund aid for relief efforts in Turkey and Syria. All photos: World Food Programme -
The WFP is flying aircraft out of the UN depot hub in Dubai, providing food, shelter and emergency kits to Syria -
Relief efforts are being carried out in Turkey and Syria, after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck on February 6 -
Tens of thousands were killed by the earthquake and many survivors are in desperate need of food and shelter -
Meals being packed for Syrian earthquake victims -
The WFP was already providing rations for 1.4 million people in north-western Syria, following more than a decade of civil war in the country -
The WFP warned that the earthquake has put extra strain on a region that was already in a dire situation -
The humanitarian organisation says its emergency aid programme requires further funding to continue -
WFP officials say they are able to provide rations until the end of February, but more funding will be needed after then
It is not the time “to play politics with crossings across borders or front lines … this is not the time for military action or violence", Mr Pedersen said by video link.
Six days after the first earthquake, UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths acknowledged that the UN had "failed" the people of north-west Syria.
Rebel-held areas, the hardest hit by the earthquakes, did not receive their first UN humanitarian aid until four days after the disaster, leading to criticism of the world body.
The UN has been under mounting pressure to establish more border crossings from Turkey into Syria.
Efforts to do so have been repeatedly thwarted by Russia, which has veto power at the Security Council.
Moscow, the primary backer of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, opposes the delivery of assistance to rebel-held areas.
It says cross-border aid deliveries, which date to 2014, were meant to be temporary.
The Kremlin wants to ensure that all humanitarian assistance is channelled through the Syrian government and allow it to have control over distribution.
Mr Pedersen said that the situation was “unsustainable” and the status quo “totally unacceptable".
Acting deputy US ambassador to the UN, Robert Wood, called on the Assad regime to enable humanitarian operations and “refrain from diverting or politicising aid".
“If that requires Council action, then we must be prepared to act," Mr Wood said.
Russia's deputy UN ambassador, Dmitry Polyansky, said Moscow did not “wish to work through the UN mechanisms primarily because despite all of our requests, they remain opaque for us".
“We cannot get basic information about the projects that are being carried out in general,” he added.
But Mr Al Assad ceded to calls this month to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid through two more border crossings to Syria's north-west, where four million people were already dependent on aid.
Mr Griffiths welcomed the agreement to open Bab Al Salam and Al Ra’ee border crossings for the UN to deliver humanitarian aid to north-west Syria.
The UAE's deputy ambassador to the UN, Mohamed Abushahab, reaffirmed the need to bring the Syrian regime “back into the fold”.
Mr Abushahab called for the international humanitarian response to Syria to be “intensified by every possible means to reach all those affected".
After the earthquake, 97 UAE relief flights carrying 2,624 tonnes of humanitarian aid landed on Syrian soil.
The UAE also offered Syria a fleet of 10 new ambulances as part of Operation Gallant Knight 2.
President Sheikh Mohamed pledged $50 million in response to an appeal made by the UN.
Earthquake aid collection at Expo City Dubai - in pictures
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Volunteer pack aid in Expo City Dubai on Sunday to be delivered to those impacted by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. All photos: Pawan Singh / The National -
The initiative was part of the UAE's Bridges of Giving campaign, led by Emirates Red Crescent -
Volunteers turned out in force for the humanitarian event on Sunday -
Boxes filled with vital supplies will be delivered to quake zones in Turkey and Syria -
It is the latest aid effort organised under the Bridges of Giving campaign -
People were happy to give their free time during the weekend to support those in need -
Staple goods were packed in boxes to be sent off to Turkey and Syria as part of the UAE's relief mission -
Boxes are packed at Dubai Exhibition Centre at Expo City -
The crucial supplies will help those struggling to piece their lives together after the natural disaster -
An army of volunteers lent a helping hand to the humanitarian effort
