“Stop Playing Politics and Put Children’s Lives First”: Save the Children Statement on the Renewal of the UN Cross Border Resolution

Fairfield, Conn. (July 10, 2020) – Despite a sharp increase in humanitarian needs across Syria, the United Nations Security Council today failed to renew Resolution 2504 (2020), which would have ensured that the UN and partners could continue to deliver aid using border crossings not controlled by the government of Syria.

Save the Children condemns the non-renewal in the strongest terms. The border crossings were the only meaningful way for vital humanitarian aid – which children rely on to survive – to reach families in North West Syria.

Janti Soeripto, President and CEO of Save the Children said:

“Syria’s children have endured unfathomable suffering for almost a decade. They have seen their homes destroyed and their families ripped apart. The decision to allow this vital lifeline of aid to lapse will stop food, medicine and shelter reaching vulnerable families just when the first case of COVID-19 has been announced and parents are struggling to feed their children as they watch the economy collapse around them.

Children’s lives depend on this. If the border crossings are not reinstated, many families will not be able to eat, will not receive healthcare, and will not find shelter after being uprooted from their homes. 

We urge the Security Council to stop playing politics and put children’s lives first. Save the Children is calling on the Security Council to urgently reconvene and to reauthorize cross-border humanitarian assistance in Syria.”

To learn more about our work in Syria, please visit savethechildren.org/syria.