Deputy Secretary-General, at High-Level Meeting on Syria, Says Leadership, Political Will, Determination Needed to Change Course from War to Peace

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, at the informal ministerial-level meeting on the Syrian crisis, in New York today:

I thank the European Union and Jordan for convening this important meeting.

Apart from the continuous nightmare of war, human suffering and destruction, each year the Syrian tragedy delivers a grave new threat.  In 2013, it was chemical weapons.  In 2014, it was the rise of Da’esh.  2015 marks another appalling chapter in the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War.  This crisis has, for a long time, affected Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey.  Now it has reached Europe and we see the dramatic and tragic consequences.

What further calamities await the Syrian people, and indeed, the whole world if we continue to fail to resolve this conflict?  The parties to the conflict, the Security Council and key countries in the region have a serious responsibility in bringing this horrific war to an end.  The UN and our Special Envoy are ready to provide good offices and assist in any way possible in this urgent pursuit.

We need leadership, political will and determination to change the course from war to peace.  But, in tandem with efforts to de-escalate the conflict, we must do more to support the Syrian people and neighbouring countries as they shoulder the inordinately heavy burden of the status quo.

This meeting will address three vital aspects of this relief effort.  First, we must address humanitarian needs within Syria.  Despite the volatile and insecure environment, the United Nations and its partners continue to deliver life-saving assistance.  This includes food for nearly 6 million people a month and medical supplies for 9 million people in the first half of 2015 alone.

Yes, we are reaching significant numbers of people.  But, we are still unable to deliver enough to people in the hardest-to-reach areas due to insecurity and deliberate restrictions by the parties.

A second vital aspect is addressing the regional impact of the crisis.  More than 4 million refugees have now sought safety Syria, mainly in Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Lebanon.  Infrastructure, health systems and school systems are under strain.  We must pursue broader, structural responses to the crisis of displacement.

An example of one such approach is the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan, which I launched in December 2014 together with Prime Minister [Tammam] Salam.  The plan aims to mitigate the impact of the crisis by combining humanitarian support to refugees with increased support to Lebanese host communities and national and local institutions.  But, the fact remains that the donor community, UN agencies and NGOs [non-governmental organizations] simply are not meeting all the needs these front-line countries confront.  Humanitarian funding has not kept pace with needs.

Only 37 per cent of the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan is funded.  Tens of thousands of people lack medical attention, shelter and sufficient food.  The World Food Programme (WFP) has had to cut down rations to an absolute minimum.  Increasing numbers of refugees are undertaking perilous journeys to escape this despair.  Of the 442,000 arrivals in Europe this year, the majority are refugees from Syria.

A third priority — inside and outside Syria — is and must be education.  Education offers a path from poverty.  It provides the skills to break the cycle of violence, rebuild damaged societies and build a stable and prosperous future.  A generation of children inside and outside Syria risk not being educated.  This is why the UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East] financial crisis this summer was so serious.

Efforts across these three areas are vital to ensure a generation of Syrians are not lost to violence, starvation and despair.  But, our overarching priority must remain an international mobilization of efforts and political will towards a peaceful settlement of the Syria crisis.  The Security Council and the key countries in the region must be in the centre of fulfilling these duties of the international community.

The millions of displaced, disposed or besieged Syrians depend on us.  Confronting this crisis requires a holistic approach and responses:  additional humanitarian support; development assistance to countries who have taken in the largest proportion of refugees; coordinated and comprehensive asylum programmes and broader avenues for legal migration; and of course, political commitment to solve the crisis.

The people of Syria have a harsh and cold winter ahead of them.  This week when the eyes of the world are on the United Nations, let us give them a reason for hope.