UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th December, 2019) United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hopes the Security Council will next week extend a resolution that authorizes cross-border humanitarian deliveries in Syria, UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq said in a press briefing on Friday.
"We have emphasized very clearly and repeatedly the importance of the flow of cross-border traffic; this is a vital way of making sure that we can maintain levels of humanitarian assistance in Syria," Haq said. "So, whatever agreement they [UN Security Council] can come up with, [which] can help protect and preserve the accomplishments that have been provided through cross-border traffic, will be appreciated."
According to the Security Council's monthly program of work, its members will vote on resolution 2165 during a humanitarian discussion on Syria scheduled to take place on December 19.
The current authorization of cross-border access, which includes four crossing points named in the resolution, was extended last December and expires on January 10, 2020.
When asked about the possibility of adding a fifth point for cross-border deliveries, the spokesman said the Council's members should decide by themselves whether the action is needed.
"We leave this as a matter for the members of the Security Council themselves to discuss and to agree on," Haq said.
In November, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock appealed to the council's states to renew the provisions of the resolution 2165, stressing that there is no alternative to cross-border operations on which 4 million Syrians depend on.
