LOC09:14
06:14 GMT
NEW YORK, Feb 23 (KUNA) -- UN Emergency relief chief emphasized the need for a genuine political commitment to peace if 2017 was to offer any different prospect than the death and destruction of the past six years in Syria.
Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O'Brien told the Security Council that the eyes of all of Syria, and the eyes of the world, are looking to Geneva.
As stated so many times already, the UN official told the Council that there was no humanitarian or military solution to this conflict.
"Millions of battered and beleaguered women, men and children depend on meaningful action and the constructive engagement by the Syrian parties and their allies, starting tomorrow at the intra-Syrian negotiations in Geneva, to assure Syrians that an end to the conflict may finally be within reach," he added.
The majority of the population, he said, some 13.5 million people are in dire need of protection and humanitarian assistance, and nearly 85 percent of Syrians live in poverty, with more than two thirds of the population in either extreme or abject poverty.
Over 12.8 million people in Syria require health assistance and more than seven million are food insecure amidst rising prices and food shortages, he confirmed.
O'Brien also voiced concern over the destruction of essential infrastructure including schools, and hospitals, the devaluation of the currency, the impact of sanctions, rising food prices, shortages of fuel and electricity, as well as a lack of clean water has exacted a high toll on the majority of Syrian families and communities throughout the country.
"I cannot emphasize strongly enough my support for all efforts to see the guns fall silent," he said.
However, the UN humanitarian affairs chief expressed concern over the ongoing significant attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, which are conducted with seeming impunity.
He also underlined that the conflict has taken its worst toll on children: thousands have been killed and maimed or have lost their parents to the violence.
The briefing came a day before negotiations on the crisis in Syria kick off in Geneva. (end)
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