«Πάντα έχουμε σχέδια αντιμετώπισης εκτάκτων καταστάσεων», δήλωσε η επικεφαλής των ανθρωπιστικών αποστολών του Οργανισμού...
Οι υπηρεσίες του ΟΗΕ που είναι παρούσες στη Συρία έχουν προετοιμαστεί για μια ενδεχόμενη στρατιωτική επιχείρηση στη χώρα αυτή όμως θέλουν να συνεχίσουν το έργο τους, παρέχοντας ανθρωπιστική βοήθεια, δήλωσε την Παρασκευή η επικεφαλής των ανθρωπιστικών αποστολών του Οργανισμού Βάλερι Έιμος.
"Πάντα έχουμε σχέδια αντιμετώπισης εκτάκτων καταστάσεων, συνεχίζουμε την προετοιμασία μας για να αντιμετωπίσουμε μια απότομη αύξηση των αναγκών" εάν υπάρξει επέμβαση, εξήγησε η Έιμος μιλώντας μέσω τηλεδιάσκεψης από τη Βηρυτό όπου βρίσκεται μετά τη διήμερη επίσκεψη που πραγματοποίησε στη Συρία.
Πρόσθεσε ότι οι εργαζόμενοι στον ΟΗΕ και τις μη κυβερνητικές οργανώσεις που δρουν στη χώρα αυτή "είναι αποφασισμένοι να συνεχίσουν το έργο τους".
Ο ΟΗΕ απασχολεί στη Συρία 4.500 εργαζομένους, στην πλειονότητά τους Σύρους. Λόγω του πολέμου τα τελευταία δυόμισι χρόνια 2 εκατομμύρια Σύροι έχουν καταφύγει σε γειτονικές χώρες (κυρίως στο Λίβανο, την Τουρκία και το Ιράκ) ενώ άλλα 4,25 εκατομμύρια έχουν γίνει πρόσφυγες μέσα στην ίδια τους την πατρίδα.
Η Έιμος είπε ότι ο Οργανισμός οφείλει να φροντίσει "για την ασφάλεια των εργαζομένων του" οι οποίοι "θέλουν να βελτιώσουν τη ζωή των Σύρων αλλά ταυτόχρονα έχουν συναίσθηση των επιπτώσεων που θα είχε μια ενδεχόμενη στρατιωτική επέμβαση για τους ίδιους και τις οικογένειές τους", εξηγώντας ότι "φοβούνται επειδή η κατάσταση είναι αβέβαιη".
Αναφερόμενη στον Λίβανο, η Έιμος είπε ότι η κατάσταση είναι πολύ ανησυχητική επειδή λόγω της εισροής προσφύγων πλέον ο ένας στους πέντε κατοίκους της χώρας είναι Σύρος, γεγονός που έχει σοβαρές αρνητικές συνέπειες στην οικονομία.
Η Ύπατη Αρμοστεία του ΟΗΕ για τους πρόσφυγες ανακοίνωσε την Πέμπτη ότι λόγω έλλειψης πόρων είναι υποχρεωμένη να μειώσει τη βοήθεια που παρέχει στους Σύρους οι οποίοι έχουν εγκατασταθεί στον Λίβανο. Περίπου το ένα τέταρτο από αυτούς θα σταματήσουν να λαμβάνουν βοήθεια σε τρόφιμα από τον Οκτώβριο αφού από το ποσό που ζήτησε ο Οργανισμός (1,7 δισεκατ. δολάρια) για να συνεχίσει να τους φροντίζει καλύφθηκε μόνο το 27%.protothema.gr
6/9/13
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- UN draws up emergency plan for Syria strike.
UNITED NATIONS, United States: UN agencies have drawn up emergency plans for a military strike on Syria but are determined to keep delivering aid in the stricken country, a top UN official said Friday.
"We continue to update and look at our contingency planning" in case the numbers of refugees fleeing Syria rises, UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said after a trip to Damascus.
The United Nations has concerns about the safety of its 4,500 staff in Syria, she added. But Amos said: "We have a commitment to continue our humanitarian operations."
Amos said the mainly Syrian staff "want to continue to work for the good of Syrians" but "at the same time they are mindful of the impact that any possible military action might have on themselves and their families."
UN agencies and private aid groups already have problems reaching many areas in Syria because of fallout from the 29-month-old conflict which the UN says has left more than 100,000 dead. Eleven UN workers have been killed in the war.
Amos, speaking by video conference from Beirut, said she had discussed lifting obstacles to getting approval for aid deliveries, convoys and visas for aid workers with officials in President Bashar al-Assad's government.
More than 4.25 million people have fled their homes in Syria and two million are registered as refugees in countries around Syria, according to UN figures.
Amos highlighted the case of Lebanon.
The UN humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon, Robert Watkins, said there are now 726,000 Syrians registered with UN agencies and the figure is expected to rise above one million by the end of year.
The UN said this week that it would have to cut aid to more than a quarter of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon because of funding shortages.
The world body has launched its biggest ever annual appeal, $4.4 billion, for Syria. Less than half has been raised so far.
"We continue to update and look at our contingency planning" in case the numbers of refugees fleeing Syria rises, UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said after a trip to Damascus.
The United Nations has concerns about the safety of its 4,500 staff in Syria, she added. But Amos said: "We have a commitment to continue our humanitarian operations."
Amos said the mainly Syrian staff "want to continue to work for the good of Syrians" but "at the same time they are mindful of the impact that any possible military action might have on themselves and their families."
UN agencies and private aid groups already have problems reaching many areas in Syria because of fallout from the 29-month-old conflict which the UN says has left more than 100,000 dead. Eleven UN workers have been killed in the war.
Amos, speaking by video conference from Beirut, said she had discussed lifting obstacles to getting approval for aid deliveries, convoys and visas for aid workers with officials in President Bashar al-Assad's government.
More than 4.25 million people have fled their homes in Syria and two million are registered as refugees in countries around Syria, according to UN figures.
Amos highlighted the case of Lebanon.
The UN humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon, Robert Watkins, said there are now 726,000 Syrians registered with UN agencies and the figure is expected to rise above one million by the end of year.
The UN said this week that it would have to cut aid to more than a quarter of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon because of funding shortages.
The world body has launched its biggest ever annual appeal, $4.4 billion, for Syria. Less than half has been raised so far.
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
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| UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos |
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Germany’s Interior Minister calls for European conference on Syrian refugees...
ReplyDeleteBERLIN, September 7 (Itar-Tass) - Germany’s Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich calls for organisation of a conference on the problem of Syrian refugees.
“Any military action may cause growth of refugees,” he said in an interview with Der Tagesspiegel. “We should organise a European conference on the issue in order to find a solution.”
First Syrian refugees, whom Germany has agreed to welcome, are expected to come to Hannover next week. The German authorities said they would receive 5,000 Syrians. Several German regional authorities said the number of refugees coming to the country should be higher.
Meanwhile, Syrians have been entering Germany illegally since the conflict began. The Interior Ministry said over one thousand Syrians applied for shelter in Germany in August.
http://www.itar-tass.com/c32/868057.html
7/9/13
Humanitarian workers under threat in Syria - UN...
ReplyDeleteArmed groups openly threaten humanitarian workers in Syria, a top UN official stated on Friday. UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said that 11 UN workers have already been killed in the country, and cited several cases of abductions.
Humanitarian abuses and violence are on the rise in Syria, Amos said after a trip to Damascus.
Amos argued that over the past few weeks and months, UN workers have faced threats from various armed groups. She added that a number of volunteers from Syria’s Red Crescent Movement have been killed, along with UN staff, totaling 11 individuals. Amos also cited cases of staff abductions.
Amos stressed that “we take all the threats seriously” and despite the “very difficult and dangerous conditions,” humanitarian aid will be continued, as all organizations remain committed to the task.
She said that the UN has around 4,500 staff in Syria who are working with non-governmental and community organizations in both government and opposition-controlled areas.
Amos also stated that the UN has drawn up emergency plans for a military strike on Syria. "We continue to update and look at our contingency planning," she said, noting that the UN has great concern for its staff on the ground. ....http://rt.com/news/un-workers-syria-threat-533/
7/9/13
Syrians queue for passports despite reprieve from U.S. strike...
ReplyDelete(Reuters) - The threat of U.S. air strikes on their country may be receding for now, but Syrians queuing for passports in a central Damascus office were taking no chances.
Dozens stood in line for hours on Tuesday, many returning for a second day, seeking passports in case talks over Syria's chemical weapons unravel or the country's protracted civil war reaches once more into the heart of the capital.
Already two million people have fled to neighboring countries, escaping bloodshed in which at least 100,000 people have died, according to the United Nations.
Damascenes remain wary even though U.S. military action in response to a chemical gas attack in Damascus, which Washington blames on President Bashar al-Assad's forces, has been deferred after Syria welcomed a Russian proposal to put its chemical weapons stocks under international supervision and destroy them.
"We just decided it was time we got passports for the whole family," said Raghad, a mother of three in her thirties. Her family has traveled to neighboring Lebanon - where Syrians can stay without travel documents - every time "things got bad here", but are unable to go further without passports.
"Now with all this news, what if we went to Lebanon and couldn't return? We need passports in case we have no choice but to travel to a third country," she said. "For now, based on the latest news, we're staying until something changes.".....http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/11/us-syria-crisis-damascus-idUSBRE98A0U420130911?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
11/9/13