12 July 2022 – At a time when the needs of children in Syria have never been greater, Save the Children calls on the United Nations Security Council to commit to keeping what is currently the only effective route for aid into North West Syria open for the long term after voting to only reauthorise the crossing for six months today.

This decision to only reauthorise the Bab al-Hawa crossing for six months left UN agencies and humanitarian actors with limited options to reach more than four million people in North West Syria – most of whom are women and children – depending on humanitarian aid to survive.

Tamer Kirolos, Syria Response Director at Save the Children, said: “A six-month renewal is markedly insufficient and lets down some of the world’s most vulnerable children. The short timeframe will cause significant challenges for us to plan programmes. This is particularly important because this resolution will expire during Syria’s harsh winter, when children and their families – most of whom live in camps -  endure unimaginable cold temperatures without warm clothes, food or heating to protect them.

“The world is watching the worst global hunger crisis in history unfold before us and Syria, which has been in conflict for 11 years, is no different. In the North West, chronic malnutrition is rising and child labour and child marriage are on the rise. Aid through the Bab al-Hawa crossing is a vital lifeline for children and their families.

“When the mandate of this resolution is up in six months, the UN Security Council must adopt a resolution renewing and expanding the cross border mandate for 12 months. The lives of millions of children are at stake.”

ENDS

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Emily Wight, Emily.Wight@savethechildren.org

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