This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/15/world/middleeast/un-security-council-authorizes-strengthened-syria-aid.html
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| U.N. Security Council Authorizes Strengthened Syria Aid | U.N. Security Council Authorizes Strengthened Syria Aid |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Despite objections by Syria’s government, the United Nations Security Council unanimously voted on Monday to authorize cross-border convoys of emergency aid to millions of deprived Syrian civilians in rebel-held areas without prior approval by the Syrian authorities. | |
| The resolution signified a rare unanimity among the Security Council members over how to deal with the civil war in Syria, which is now in its fourth year and has created what international aid officials have called one of the world’s biggest humanitarian disasters. Nearly half of Syria’s population — 10.8 million people — are now in need of assistance because of the war, and many of them live in areas not controlled by the government of President Bashar al-Assad. | |
| Russia and China, which have historically backed Mr. Assad in the conflict, voted for the resolution, joining the three other permanent members of the Council — Britain, France and the United States — which have strongly supported the moderate elements of Mr. Assad’s political opposition. | |
| Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the resolution, asserting that it could help provide desperately needed aid to Syrians who “have not had secure food supplies or access to basic healthcare for many months.” | |
| A group of 34 nongovernmental organizations that have worked with the United Nations in seeking to assist Syrian civilians, including Oxfam and Save the Children, also welcomed the Security Council resolution. In a statement, the group called the measure “a diplomatic breakthrough that must translate into real change on the ground.” | |
| The resolution was the Council’s response to the repeated frustrations of relief officials from the United Nations and other emergency relief groups over their failure to reach nearly five million Syrian civilians trapped in besieged areas or hard-to-reach parts of the country because of the fighting. A Security Council resolution passed in February aimed at allowing the widespread distribution of aid has been repeatedly subverted or ignored. | |
| Mr. Assad’s government has insisted that all international aid be channeled through Damascus, the capital, and very little, if any, was getting to civilians who were not in areas controlled by the government. Mr. Assad’s political opponents said the inequity of aid distribution was part of what they called his effort to starve rebel-held areas into submission. | |
| Under the resolution, United Nations agencies and other aid groups are authorized to use four international routes — two on the Turkish border, one in Iraq, and one in Jordan — to transport emergency assistance meant for Syrian civilians. It requires that Syrian authorities be notified of the nature of the cargos, but they would not have control of the deliveries. | Under the resolution, United Nations agencies and other aid groups are authorized to use four international routes — two on the Turkish border, one in Iraq, and one in Jordan — to transport emergency assistance meant for Syrian civilians. It requires that Syrian authorities be notified of the nature of the cargos, but they would not have control of the deliveries. |
| Syrian officials had sharply criticized the resolution as an infringement on the country’s sovereignty. | Syrian officials had sharply criticized the resolution as an infringement on the country’s sovereignty. |