Brussels, 08/01/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 8 January, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides made a joint call for unconditional access to be opened up in Syria.
Although the talks held in Vienna and New York over recent months are expected to result in the launch of a peace process in Syria, “the humanitarian situation in the country remains dramatic: civilian populations are under siege in many areas and are being forced to live in appalling conditions with no access to food supplies or aid”, Mogherini and Stylianides state. The EU welcomes the Syrian regime's decision to allow humanitarian access in Madaya, but Mogherini and Stylianides say that this is only “a first step in the right direction”.
“Humanitarian access must be granted unconditionally so that aid organisations can deliver vital assistance such as food and medicines to people in need, as requested by the UN Security Council”, Mogherini and Stylianides state.
They both call on all parties to the conflict to “desist from targeting civilian facilities, including schools and hospitals”, and they underline the importance of implementing measures to build confidence, in support of the intra-Syrian political talks that are due to start at the end of January. This involves “an end to attacks on civilians, to aerial bombardments and sieges of civilian areas”, Mogherini and Stylianides state.
The humanitarian crisis in Syria continues to worsen and 7 million people are in need of assistance. The crisis will remain a European Commission priority for 2016, Stylianides states (see other article). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)