Press encounter with Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, following Security Council meeting on Syria

Mr. Eliasson: Thank you very much. I am here with the High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres.  We look back to this meeting and I think one of the conclusions to make is that we have a very high degree of awareness of the critical situation, both inside Syria and, as the High Commissioner will also expand upon, of the situation outside Syria. I think we will have very strong support for efforts to have access to the people of Syria, who are in need, and it’s about 2.5 million people, and I think we also will have a strong push for more funding to our operations.  We have only 50 percent received in the $180 million appeal and of course we need resources very quickly to alleviate the situation.  So the meeting was a good reminder of this humanitarian crisis but, as we all noticed, we basically realise it's a political crisis.  And we need to deal with the root causes and therefore the frequent mentions of Lakhdar Brahimi and the role that he occupies for the possibility of a political process were very important also, so by that the humanitarian meeting also was connected to the basic political issues which are at stake.

So, with this, Antonio, you would like to say something?

Mr. Guterres: I just would like to underline that in this crisis all the neighbouring countries have kept their borders open. Refugee protection was granted – Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq are receiving all Syrians that seek protection.  Since yesterday, 229 have asked to be registered as refugees in these four countries, and this represents a very strong impact in the economy, in the society, with implications also from the point of view of security, that these four countries have given a lesson to the world, fully assuming their responsibilities under international law by keeping their borders open, receiving refugees, and providing assistance and protection to them. I appeal to the international community to express a strong concrete solidarity with these four countries that are really doing a very important contribution to humanitarian action at the present moment.

Q:  Mr. Guterres, I want to ask you about a specific UNHCR issue where there is this camp in Jordan, the Zatari camp, where some people were protesting, or rioting against the conditions. Now Jordan has said it is going to return some people to Syria, and I heard that there was a protest in Amman at your office, saying maybe they shouldn’t be in the middle of the desert with winds and scorpions. What is your position on one, the placement of that camp, and what should happen with the people who were protesting the conditions?

Mr. Guterres: First of all, the overwhelming majority of the Syrians in Jordan – and we are talking now about 180,000 people - are within the community, received by families.

At a certain moment, for reasons related to their impact on the economy, the society, the Jordanian Government – and Jordan is a sovereign country – has decided that a camp should be opened.  And, obviously, that was done.  The camp is in a very difficult situation, from the point of view of the environmental conditions. All agencies are doing their best, in order to provide assistance, and a lot of efforts are being made now in order to improve the camp. And I hope that these incidents will just be an incident in the context of something that will be quickly solved.

Q:  For Mr. Eliasson, do you see that there is an overriding humanitarian crisis that allows some countries in the world, some groups of countries that bypass the Security Council, to act against the situation that is threatening the peace and security in the region, and maybe internationally?

Mr. Eliasson: I have seen no such indications. The meeting was focussing on the humanitarian needs, and it was strongly stated that those efforts were going to be guided by principles of humanitarian assistance and law and also under the leadership of the United Nations.  I suppose you made a reference to the discussion about safe areas or buffer zones, and on that I raised some questions. This needs to be a subject for careful and critical consideration, because you have to raise very serious questions about protection, and of course the implications of an activity inside a country.  Therefore, I noticed that in the meeting there were a few references to this issue, so that I think it is a realistic assumption that that will not be an issue that can easily be discussed and be accepted in the Security Council.

Q:  I was going to ask the same thing, because Turkey gave another, a list of proposals to help ease the refugee situation, including a buffer zone. Was there any response on the sidelines to Turkey, or some of the other proposals he gave which were all concerning UNHCR?

Mr. Guterres: First of all, I think we should pay tribute to the extremely generous approach that Turkey has had.  Now, 80,000 refugees are already at camps being built to allow for all those that are coming in – and with high standards, with high quality, with a concern related not only to shelter but education, health, all the aspects that I think should be stressed. You also need to recognize, it is a heavy impact in the economy and in the society of Turkey.  But for us, there is a principle that is sacred, and that principle is that everybody in a situation like the one that exists in Syria has the right to seek and enjoy asylum. So our position is that borders should always be open. Now, that doesn’t mean that more effective humanitarian aid done in Syria will [not] inevitably reduce the outflow of refugees. That has happened in many other parts of the world.  So we would be totally in favour of a bigger effort and bigger support of the international community to increase humanitarian aid in Syria, in all areas of Syria, but we think it is very important to preserve the principle that the right to seek and enjoy asylum is a right defined in international law and that all borders should remain open to protect those who would seek international protection.

Q: Just a follow-up about the same question about Turkey.  I was going to ask you that Turkey has said that about the secure zone inside Syria for IDPs should be there, and you just said that that will somehow inhibit the asylum seekers. Is that what you are saying?

Mr. Guterres: No, what we are saying is that we are strongly in support of more effective humanitarian aid inside Syria, and that of course will inevitably reduce the number of people having to cross the borders.  But we are, and as High Commissioner for Refugees it is my duty to always stress that there is a right in international law to seek and enjoy asylum, and I believe that borders should always be kept open.

Q: So you’re in favour of the zone that Turkey is asking for, but you have the caveat that they should also be allowed to seek asylum?

Mr. Guterres: There are many complex aspects related to the political and military implications.  I am not going to enter into that detail.  The point, as High Commissioner for Refugees, it is my duty to preserve the right to seek and enjoy asylum. And independently, and what I believe is important, which is to improve the conditions of security for the people and the conditions of humanitarian aid inside Syria - this right should be upheld.

Mr. Eliasson: Let me also be very clear, because you have probably already, earlier, heard Valerie Amos respond to this issue.  She is responsible for these humanitarian operations, and she expressed very serious concerns about such buffer zones, that they were built up during a period of fighting, and by that requiring protection, maybe even military protection. What this would imply are very serious consequences, and therefore I cautioned in my intervention today that this really requires, as I said, careful and critical consideration, taking into account the consequences and the implications of introducing such zones in a period of such great insecurity and conflict.