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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/feb/26/syria-crisis-will-humanitarian-access-improve-live-panel-discussion
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| Syria crisis: will humanitarian access improve? Live panel discussion | Syria crisis: will humanitarian access improve? Live panel discussion |
| (6 months later) | |
| The UN security council resolution has passed a resolution demanding safe and unhindered humanitarian access to civilians in Syria. The move follows a UN-brokered ceasefire in Homs this month, which enabled aid workers to reach thousands of people besieged there. | |
| The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, welcomed the resolution, but expressed regret that it was necessary. “Humanitarian assistance is not something to be negotiated,” he said. A coalition of NGOs described the resolution as a diplomatic breakthrough, but warned that it would only be meaningful if it resulted in swift and real changes on the ground. | |
| An estimated 9 million people need support as a result of the Syrian conflict. Some 6.5 million are internally displaced, and 2.5 million are registered as refugees. How should the UN prioritise those in need? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the resolution? Join our panel for a live discussion on Wednesday from 1-2pm GMT. | |
| Please leave your questions and comments in the thread below. You can also contribute on Twitter @gdndevelopment. If you have any problems posting a comment, or would prefer to comment anonymously, email us at development@guardian.co.uk and we’ll add your views. | |
| The panel: | The panel: |
| Chris Gunness, the director of strategic communications and advocacy at UNRWA, the UN’s largest aid agency in the Middle East. | Chris Gunness, the director of strategic communications and advocacy at UNRWA, the UN’s largest aid agency in the Middle East. |
| Abeer Etefa, the senior Middle East regional public information officer for the World Food Programme, who has just returned from Syria. | |
| Panel highlights: | Panel highlights: |
| Hi all. Can you explain the humantiarian situation on the ground in Syria? And what are the most important changes that need to happen? | Hi all. Can you explain the humantiarian situation on the ground in Syria? And what are the most important changes that need to happen? |
| @Carmenfishwick The humanitarian situation in Syria is getting more difficult by the day with millions of people who have become displaced and in many cases multiple times. The needs are growing and vulnerable Syrians have exhausted all coping mechanisms. Insecurity and access to besieged communities in Syria are one of the greatest challenges in one of WFP's largest and most complex emergency operations globally. Sporadic and one-off convoys into besieged areas can provide temporary humanitarian relief, but we need continuous and sustainable access to affected people to provide life-saving food assistance and to monitor and assess ongoing needs. | @Carmenfishwick The humanitarian situation in Syria is getting more difficult by the day with millions of people who have become displaced and in many cases multiple times. The needs are growing and vulnerable Syrians have exhausted all coping mechanisms. Insecurity and access to besieged communities in Syria are one of the greatest challenges in one of WFP's largest and most complex emergency operations globally. Sporadic and one-off convoys into besieged areas can provide temporary humanitarian relief, but we need continuous and sustainable access to affected people to provide life-saving food assistance and to monitor and assess ongoing needs. |
| The UN Security Council Resolution on humanitarian access should be widely welcomed, but it is difficult to understand who will monitor it and decide which sides - government and opposition - are meeting its demands. | The UN Security Council Resolution on humanitarian access should be widely welcomed, but it is difficult to understand who will monitor it and decide which sides - government and opposition - are meeting its demands. |
| @Greg | @Greg |
| This resolution is a starting point that reiterates the obligations of all parties to the conflict under international humanitarian and human rights law. Given the political deadlock we have faced in the last three years, this is surely a positive development. Translating the SC Resolution into access to besieged communities and an increased operational reach on the ground will be challenging and risky and requires multiple and concurrent negotiations with all parties on the ground. | This resolution is a starting point that reiterates the obligations of all parties to the conflict under international humanitarian and human rights law. Given the political deadlock we have faced in the last three years, this is surely a positive development. Translating the SC Resolution into access to besieged communities and an increased operational reach on the ground will be challenging and risky and requires multiple and concurrent negotiations with all parties on the ground. |
| Karen Leigh from Syria Deeply asks: | Karen Leigh from Syria Deeply asks: |
| Would safe corridors be successful? Who would police them? | Would safe corridors be successful? Who would police them? |
| In UNRWA and Yarmouk, the question has not arisen in that form. We have an escort to the last government checkpoint through the northern entrance into the camp and then we arrive in a no man's land where the distribution takes place (that's what you can see in the epic photo on the front page of the guardian site). The parties which signed up to the Yarmouk agreement all have a part in making sure that this process is safe for our unarmed workers. So the question of "who polices humanitarian corridor" is not something we are having yet. | In UNRWA and Yarmouk, the question has not arisen in that form. We have an escort to the last government checkpoint through the northern entrance into the camp and then we arrive in a no man's land where the distribution takes place (that's what you can see in the epic photo on the front page of the guardian site). The parties which signed up to the Yarmouk agreement all have a part in making sure that this process is safe for our unarmed workers. So the question of "who polices humanitarian corridor" is not something we are having yet. |
| Here’s the photo Chris describes: | Here’s the photo Chris describes: |
| Abeer, when you talk about meaningful access to the hungry people in Syria, how does that translate in real terms? | Abeer, when you talk about meaningful access to the hungry people in Syria, how does that translate in real terms? |
| it means that we can get into the besieged communities cut off from assistance in Syria in a more systematic and regular way so that monthly food rations reach people in need. Currently, we get to some communities through inter-agency convoys which happen every 4 or 5 months. People cannot wait for 4 months to get the food they need for their families. We have heard painful stories from people fleeing the old city of Homs where they have spent months eating weed and grass. | it means that we can get into the besieged communities cut off from assistance in Syria in a more systematic and regular way so that monthly food rations reach people in need. Currently, we get to some communities through inter-agency convoys which happen every 4 or 5 months. People cannot wait for 4 months to get the food they need for their families. We have heard painful stories from people fleeing the old city of Homs where they have spent months eating weed and grass. |
| Another anonymous question via email: | Another anonymous question via email: |
| What do you think has been missed or under-covered in media reporting on the humanitarian crisis | What do you think has been missed or under-covered in media reporting on the humanitarian crisis |
| I think one of the main issues in reporting the humanitarian crisis is the fact that journalists don't have access to both sides of the crisis. There is also the wrong perception that people who are in areas under the control of the government don't need assistance. Syria is full of desperation left and right. | I think one of the main issues in reporting the humanitarian crisis is the fact that journalists don't have access to both sides of the crisis. There is also the wrong perception that people who are in areas under the control of the government don't need assistance. Syria is full of desperation left and right. |
| I've often felt in conversations with journalists on the Syria story that there is a lack of understanding about the level of humanitarian assistance inside Syria. There's a tendency to view the crisis primarily through the lens of the refugee crisis because the refugees are easily accessible and that means that there is less attention given to the millions of internally displaced inside Syria and the millions of poor households in Lebanon / Jordan that are hosting refugees and facing an immense strain. | I've often felt in conversations with journalists on the Syria story that there is a lack of understanding about the level of humanitarian assistance inside Syria. There's a tendency to view the crisis primarily through the lens of the refugee crisis because the refugees are easily accessible and that means that there is less attention given to the millions of internally displaced inside Syria and the millions of poor households in Lebanon / Jordan that are hosting refugees and facing an immense strain. |
| I think one of the major issues is that Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan became the icon of the Syria crisis. It is accessible and journalists visit it often. Even though the population in Zaatari live in difficult conditions, there are millions of refugees in the urban areas with the poorest of the host community in the neighboring countries. There are huge needs beyond Zaatari and the level of desperation inside Syria is beyond what I have seen in many other places in the region. Almost halt of the population inside Syria is food insecure today. Over 6.5 million people are in desperate need of food assistance | I think one of the major issues is that Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan became the icon of the Syria crisis. It is accessible and journalists visit it often. Even though the population in Zaatari live in difficult conditions, there are millions of refugees in the urban areas with the poorest of the host community in the neighboring countries. There are huge needs beyond Zaatari and the level of desperation inside Syria is beyond what I have seen in many other places in the region. Almost halt of the population inside Syria is food insecure today. Over 6.5 million people are in desperate need of food assistance |