UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2022) Tensions between countries around the world may impede on efforts by humanitarian groups to access and deliver aid to people in zones of conflict such as Syria, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) President Francesco Rocca told Sputnik.
"I think that the main issue that is not only about Syria, but it's about many places in the world in these difficult times, is the risk of politicization of the aid," Rocca said.
Rocca said, with respect to Syria, that their organization has always faced challenges gaining access to people in need in the country, but the IFRC has always negotiated this matter with several third parties involved in the conflict.
In July, the United Nations Security Council extended for six months a mechanism that facilitates vital cross-border aid deliveries into northwest Syria from Turkey.
The mechanism was launched in 2014 and initially used four crossing points to bring aid to Syria, which eventually reduced to only one crossing from Turkey. The cross-border mechanism allows the UN to deliver aid to at least 4 million residents and internally displaced people in northwest Syria, according to Amnesty International.
