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Helfer rufen nach Frieden in Syrien
UN-Organisationen appellieren an Regierungen, brutalen Konflikt zu beenden
Von Karin Leukefeld *
UN-Organisationen haben dazu aufgerufen, dringend eine politische Lösung für die »entsetzliche Krise« in Syrien zu finden.
Die Erklärung verfassten die unter dem Dach des UN-Nothilfeprogramms OCHA in Syrien und den Nachbarstaaten tätigen Organisationen des Welternährungsprogramms, das Flüchtlingshilfswerk UNHCR, das Kinderhilfswerk UNICEF und die Weltgesundheitsorganisation. Die politischen Führer von »Regierungen und von allen am Krieg beteiligten Seiten« werden aufgefordert, »ihre Verantwortung gegenüber dem syrischen Volk und der Zukunft der Region wahrzunehmen«.
Als UN-Organisationen seien sie beauftragt, die »menschlichen Kosten dieser Tragödie« zu verarbeiten. Das betreffe Millionen Inlandsvertriebene und mehr als eine Million Flüchtlinge in den Nachbarstaaten. Die Probleme überstiegen die Möglichkeiten der UNO, was an der fehlenden Sicherheit in Syrien und den ausbleibenden Finanzen liege. Die politisch Verantwortlichen müssten »auf einer politischen Lösung für diese entsetzliche Krise bestehen«, heißt es weiter. Regierungen und die am Kampf beteiligten Parteien zeigten eine nur »ungenügende Wahrnehmung dafür, wie dringend es ist«, dass die »Grausamkeiten und das Blutbad« in Syrien aufhören.
Man fordere »etwas Wichtigeres als Geld«, obwohl man es brauche, endet der knappe Appell. »Alle, die in diesen brutalen Konflikt involviert sind, und alle Regierungen, die auf sie Einfluss haben«, seien aufgerufen einzuhalten.
UNICEF-Sprecher Simon Ingram in Amman (Jordanien) betonte auf nd-Anfrage, nur eine politische Lösung könne das Leid der Kinder und ihrer Familien in Syrien beenden. Wie das gehen könne, sei Sache der Politiker. Alle UNO-Mitgliedsstaaten müssten und könnten eine Rolle spielen. »Wir alle müssen uns für Frieden in Syrien einsetzen.«
Bei einer Geberkonferenz in Kuwait im Januar waren der UNO 1,5 Milliarden US-Dollar zugesagt worden, um bis Mitte des Jahres in Syrien und den Nachbarstaaten zu helfen. Bis Mitte März war von dem Geld weniger als ein Fünftel überwiesen worden. Die Golfstaaten, die rund eine Milliarde US-Dollar versprochen hatten, finanzieren in großem Umfang die bewaffneten Aufständischen, die von Jordanien und der Türkei nach Syrien gelangen. Der jordanische Geheimdienst hat sich (laut libanesischer Zeitung »As Safir«) bei seinen syrischen Amtskollegen dafür entschuldigt, den Schmuggel von Waffen und Kämpfern über die Grenze in die Region Deraa nicht verhindern zu können. Jordanien stehe unter massivem Druck der USA, diese Grenzverletzung zuzulassen. Syriens Geheimdienstchef Ali Mamluk habe den Jordaniern erklärt, man müsse Jordanien als Feind ansehen, wenn Waffen und Kämpfer nicht gestoppt würden.
Der syrische Präsident Baschar al-Assad hat derweil eine Amnestie erlassen, von der Tausende von Strafgefangenen und politischen Gefangenen profitieren können.
* Aus: neues deutschland, Mittwoch, 17. April 2013
UN senior officials issue urgent call to end bloodshed in Syria **
15 April 2013 – In a joint appeal for an urgent political solution to the prolonged crisis in Syria which has killed some 70,000 people, the heads of five United Nations agencies today called on political leaders to meet their responsibility to the people of Syria and to the future of the region.“After so many families torn apart and communities razed, schools and hospitals wrecked and water systems ruined […] there still seems to be an insufficient sense of urgency among the governments and parties that could put a stop to the cruelty and carnage in Syria,” they said.
In an article published in the New York Times, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Valerie Amos, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) Ertharin Cousin, UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres, Executive Director of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Anthony Lake, and the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Margaret Chan, said their agencies are working at overcapacity to help those affected by the violence, but stressed that finding a solution to the conflict is the only way to stop the growing needs of the population.
“We ask that they use their collective influence to insist on a political solution to this horrendous crisis before hundreds of thousands more people lose their homes and lives and futures — in a region already at the tipping point,” they urged.
More than five million people have been displaced by the conflict which began over two years ago with UN agencies fulfilling basic needs. In the past few weeks, the agencies have separately warned that their resources are running low, and added that without additional funds they will be forced to scale back relief efforts.
Over a million refugees in neighbouring countries have been given shelter while UN agencies have helped 5.5 million Syrians get access to food, water and sanitation as well as basic health services, including vaccinations to over 1.5 million children against measles and polio.
“Our agencies and humanitarian partners have been doing all we can,” the UN officials said. “But it has not nearly been enough. The needs are growing while our capacity to do more is diminishing, due to security and other practical limitations within Syria as well as funding constraints. We are precariously close, perhaps within weeks, to suspending some humanitarian support.”
“Our appeal today is not for more resources, needed as they are. We are appealing for something more important than funds,” they said. “To all involved in this brutal conflict and to all governments that can influence them:
In the name of all those who have so suffered, and the many more whose futures hang in the balance: Enough! Summon and use your influence, now, to save the Syrian people and save the region from disaster.”
** Source: UN News Centre, 15 April 2013; www.un.org
Dokumentiert:
A U.N. Appeal to Save Syria
By Valerie Amos, Ertharin Counsin, Antonio Guterres, Anthony Lake and Margaret Chan ***Enough. Enough.
After more than two years of conflict and more than 70,000 deaths, including thousands of children. ... After more than five million people have been forced to leave their homes, including over a million refugees living in severely stressed neighboring countries ... After so many families torn apart and communities razed, schools and hospitals wrecked and water systems ruined ... After all this, there still seems to be an insufficient sense of urgency among the governments and parties that could put a stop to the cruelty and carnage in Syria.
We, leaders of U.N. agencies charged with dealing with the human costs of this tragedy, appeal to political leaders involved to meet their responsibility to the people of Syria and to the future of the region.
We ask that they use their collective influence to insist on a political solution to this horrendous crisis before hundreds of thousands more people lose their homes and lives and futures — in a region already at the tipping point.
Our agencies and humanitarian partners have been doing all we can. With the support of many governments and people, we have helped shelter more than a million refugees. We have helped provide access to food and other basic necessities for millions displaced by the conflict, to water and sanitation to over 5.5 million affected people in Syria and in neighboring countries, and to basic health services for millions of Syrians, including vaccinations to over 1.5 million children against measles and polio.
But it has not nearly been enough. The needs are growing while our capacity to do more is diminishing, due to security and other practical limitations within Syria as well as funding constraints. We are precariously close, perhaps within weeks, to suspending some humanitarian support.
Our appeal today is not for more resources, needed as they are. We are appealing for something more important than funds. To all involved in this brutal conflict and to all governments that can influence them:
In the name of all those who have so suffered, and the many more whose futures hang in the balance: Enough! Summon and use your influence, now, to save the Syrian people and save the region from disaster.
Valerie Amos is U.N. under secretary general for Humanitarian Affairs. Ertharin Cousin is executive director of the U.N. World Food Program. António Guterres is U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. ANTHONY LAKE is executive director of the U.N. Children’s Fund. Margaret Chan is director general of the World Health Organization.
*** Dieser Appell erschien in der New York Times vom 15. April 2013; er ist auf der Website von unicef-Australien dokumentiert: www.unicef.org.au
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