Syria

A man carried a child in his suitcase as he fled eastern Ghouta in 2018.
© UNICEF/UN0185401/Sanadiki

Syria: 10 years of war has left at least 350,000 dead

24 September 2021
Human Rights

A decade of war in Syria has left more 350,200 people dead, High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet told the Human Rights Council on Friday, noting that this total was an “under-count of the actual number of killings”.

A young girl and a woman walk past destroyed buildings in the city of Maarat al-Numaan in Idlib, Syria.
© UNICEF/Giovanni Diffidenti

After 10 years of war in Syria, siege tactics still threaten civilians

14 September 2021
Human Rights

The future for Syria’s people is “increasingly bleak”, UN-appointed rights experts said on Tuesday, highlighting escalating conflict in several areas of the war-ravaged country, a return to siege tactics and popular demonstrations linked to the plummeting economy.

The UN humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, visits the Transhipment Hub near the Bab al-Hawa crossing on the Syria-Turkey border.
©OCHA

Syria: Prevent ‘entire generation from being lost’, urges UN humanitarian chief

4 September 2021
Humanitarian Aid

Some 13.4 million Syrians throughout the beleaguered country are in need of assistance, the UN humanitarian office said on Saturday, calling for “greater access and expanded funding”, to better help them.

Young refugees from fighting in Dera'a Governate (file)
UNICEF/Al-Faqir

Palestine refugees face ‘dire’ humanitarian conditions amid ongoing clashes in southern Syria: UNRWA

16 August 2021
Migrants and Refugees

Some 30,000 Palestine refugees registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in south Syria have become increasingly vulnerable, following recent clashes in and around the Dera’a Governorate, the UN agency warned on Sunday.

Families fleeing escalating violence in Deraa set up tents on the southwestern borders of Syria. (file)
UNICEF/Alaa Al-Faqir

Civilians in southern Syria ‘under siege’ – UN human rights chief

5 August 2021
Peace and Security

The top UN rights official once more sounded the alarm on Thursday over the plight of civilians in Syria, as intense fighting and indiscriminate shelling by Government forces and armed opposition groups paralyze neighbourhoods in and around the southern city of Daraa. 

Trucks carrying food assistance cross the Turkish border into Syria. (file photo)
OCHA/David Swanson

Syria: UN chief welcomes Security Council extension of vital cross-border aid operation

9 July 2021
Humanitarian Aid

The UN chief has welcomed a decision on Friday by the Security Council to extend the UN cross-border aid operation in northwest Syria for another 12 months, providing a lifeline for more than 3.4 million people in need, including some one million children.

Izumi Nakamitsu, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs (file).
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Accountability crucial to ‘truly relegate’ Syria chemical weapons to history

3 June 2021
Peace and Security

Until those responsible for any and all chemical weapons use in Syria are held responsible, the global community will continue sending a message of impunity, the senior UN disarmament official warned the Security Council on Thursday.

Children wait for food distribution during the COVID-19 crisis in Aleppo, Syria.
© WFP/Jessica Lawson

Syria: Prolonged violence, violation and abuse ‘bound to affect generations to come’ 

19 May 2021
Peace and Security

Millions of children trapped in protracted conflict in Syria continue to endure severe violence with little support for survivors, according to the UN Secretary-General’s third report on the situation, launched on Wednesday.  

Boys wander amid rubble of destroyed buildings in Idlib, Syria. (file)
© UNICEF/Giovanni Diffidenti

Nearly 8 years on, ‘gaps, inconsistencies, discrepancies’ remain over Syria chemical weapons declaration

6 May 2021
Peace and Security

The Security Council heard new evidence in longstanding international efforts to eradicate Syria’s chemical weapons programme on Thursday, including the results of an investigation into the possible of use of chlorine gas in the city of Saraqib in 2018, as the UN’s top disarmament official provided her regular briefing to ambassadors.

Children in the Al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria face a harsh winter due to a lack of proper clothing.
© UNICEF/Delil Souleiman

Revived peace process, lasting calm, and a new constitution needed in Syria 

28 April 2021
Peace and Security

In addition to the challenges that all Syrians have faced during a 10-year conflict, women have experienced sexual and gender-based violence, early and forced marriage and trafficking, the country’s UN envoy told the Security Council on Wednesday.