UN and international community have failed: 2014 worst year for Syrian civilians
London (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The UN Security Council and the international community are responsible for "the most terrible year" yet in the Syrian conflict: the UN has failed to implement its resolutions; the world has failed to respond sufficiently to the humanitarian disaster which is exacing an increasingly higher toll.
The heavy accusations
are contained in a report entitled "Failing Syria" drafted by 21
human rights organizations and presented today, which criticizes States for not
being able to enforce a series of UN security Council resolutions to protect
civilians victims of the war that has been tearing Syria apart for four years.
In 2014 three resolutions had appealed to the warring parties to protect
civilians. "Unfortunately - the report says - the resolutions and hope
that they bore, have become empty of meaning for the Syrian civilians. Parties
to the conflict have acted with impunity and ignored the Security Council's
demands, civilians are not protected and their access to relief has not
improved".
2014 was the
bloodiest year of the conflict, with at least 76 thousand people killed out of 210
thousand since March 15, 2011.
The text accuses the Assad regime and the rebels of indiscriminately targeting civilian
infrastructure, including schools, clinics and hospitals to limit the access of
civilians in need.
NGOs that have signed the report include Oxfam, the International Rescue
Committee and Save the Children. They state that at least 7.8 million Syrians
live in "hard to reach" areas with no access to aid.
Moreover the
growing needs of the civilian population was faced with a decrease in donor aid:
in 2014, only 57% of the necessary funds was collected; in 2013 only 71%.
Next year, the UN needs at least $ 8.4 billion to help more than 11 million
Syrian refugees. Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee
Council, among those responsible for the report, points out that the sum is
one-sixth of the cost of the Olympic Games in Sochi (Russia).
"Noi non
stiamo portando alcuna speranza ai milioni di giovani siriani - ha detto
Egeland -... come non pensare che essi siano facilmente attirati
dall'estremismo?".
"We are not bringing any hope to the millions of young Syrians - said Egeland -... so it is no surprise that they are easily lured by extremism".