UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th January, 2020) The members of the UN Security Council were able to agree on the reauthorization of cross-border humanitarian aid deliveries mechanism into Syria before its expiration.
The resolution, proposed by Germany and Belgium, "decides to renew the decisions in paragraphs 2 and 3 of Security Council resolution 2165 (2014), for a period of six months, that is, until 10 July 2020, excluding the border crossings of Al-Ramtha and of Al Yarubiyah," according to the text.
The document also requests UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to report to the Security Council by the end of February this year on the possibility of using alternatives for the crossing of Al Yarubiyah to ensure that aid reaches Syria through the most direct sources.
The resolution was supported by 11 countries, while four Security Council members, including Russia and the United States, abstained.
Speaking after the vote, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said that his country did not cast a veto on the European resolution because of people in Idlib who heavily rely on such assistance.
"We say frequently that humanitarian assistance must remain within the context of the humanitarian focus," Nebenzia said.
Earlier on Friday, Russia proposed to amend the adopted resolution by replacing a part of the draft which stipulates that humanitarian assistance into Syria should be delivered based on the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence by the phrase that such aid should be provided " in accordance with the guiding principles of humanitarian emergency assistance, as contained in UNGA resolution 46/182."
The proposed amendment was not adopted, having failed to obtain the nine votes in favor, required for a resolution to be passed at the Security Council. The Russian initiative received three votes in support, seven against and five abstentions.
The agreement was reached after Belgium and Germany decided to amend the original version of their joint resolution, which proposed keeping three points for cross-border deliveries into the Arab republic.
On December 20, the Security Council failed to reach an agreement and extend the delivery mechanism into the Arab republic, which authorization was about to expire on January 10. The members of the Security Council disagreed over the number of checkpoints for assistance delivery and the length of the extension period.
Russia advocated for two on the Syria-Turkey border and a mandate for only six months, while Belgium, Kuwait and Germany wanted to keep the one-year extension and preserve three checkpoints.
In the vote last month, the Russian draft failed to obtain the required nine votes in support, while China and Russia vetoed the draft resolution of the Humanitarian Troika.
The cross-border assistance was established in 2014 and has since been renewed every year. Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia argued that the UN Security Council's 2014 resolution was outdated and used to politicize relief aid by favoring some groups over others.
