ICP
Asks OCHA's
O'Brien of
Yarmouk No
Longer
Besieged, When
Accessed?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, July
28 -- Why
would the UN
declassify the
Yarmouk camp
in Syria from
being
"besieged,"
after calling
it just that
in April? On
July 24 Inner
City Press
asked at the
UN noon
briefing and
was told that
the UN Office
for the
Coordination
of
Humanitarian
Affairs
remains
concerned
about Yarmouk.
Video
here.
So on July 28
when OCHA
chief Stephen
O'Brien took
questions
about Syria,
Inner City
Press asked
him about OCHA
saying that
Yarmouk is no
longer
besieged.
Video here.
O'Brien said
that aid has
been getting
into three
neighboring
areas,
including
which those
from Yarmouk
are able to go
back and
forth.
Responding to
the question
was
appreciated -
but the UN
Spokesperson's
Office seemed
to tell Inner
City Press
that even the
surrounding
areas had not
been accessed
since June 7.
One month,
three weeks.
That's not
besieged?
According
to IRIN,
"The final
decision on
the status of
the camp,
however, is
made not by
UNRWA but by
the UN
secretary-general
on the advice
of the Office
for the
Coordination
of
Humanitarian
Affairs." We
aim to have
more on this.
Back
on April 6
amid news that
ISIS has taken
over most of
the UN's
Yarmouk camp
for
Palestinian
refugees in
Syria, the UN
Security
Council
scheduled an
urgent meeting
on April 6 at
11:30 am, to
get a briefing
by video from
Pierre
Krähenbühl,
the
Commissioner
General of the
United Nations
Relief and
Works Agency
for Palestine
Refugees in
the Near East,
UNRWA.
Inner City
Press arrived
early, and saw
going into the
Council the
UN's head of
Political
Affairs,
Jeffrey
Feltman. The
State of
Palestine's
Permanent
Observer to
the UN Riyad
Mansour spoke
outside the
Security
Council,
saying “we are
concerned
about the
safety and
well-being of
our
people,
About 2000
were able to
run to safety
away from the
camp on their
own. We hope
that the
Security
Council will
adopt a
position to
secure a
safety passage
through UN
agencies to
save and
protect the
16,000 now in
the refugee
camp and we
hope that all
countries will
help in
securing this
objective of
safety
passage,
security
passage and
for the
refugees to be
safe.”
Inner City
Press asked
Mansour
whether he
expects a
Security
Council
resolution on
the question
of Palestine
this month. He
answered -- video here -- always ready, but
that the key
is the
political will
to implement
such a
resolution. He
said that the
independence
of Palestine
would
eliminate
sixty to
seventy
percent of
extremist
recruitment in
the Middle
East.
Later, Inner
City Press
asked UNRWA's
Krähenbühl if
UNRWA is in
contact with
ISIS (no) and
who he thinks
might
influence
them. His
reply -- video
here --
cited the
“broad
spectrum”
including of
religious
leaders.
Inner
City Press
asked where
the displaced
refugees have
gone. He said
there are an
additional
44,000
Palestinian
refugees in
Lebanon, not
all from
Yarmouk.
Overall, he
said that of
560,000
Palestinians
in Syria
before, now
460 to 470,000
remain, with
half of them
having been
displaced.
The Security
Council agreed
to what's
called
“Elements to
the Press,”
which the
Council's
president for
April Dina
Kawar of
Jordan read
out; here's
the hard copy,
which Inner
City Press tweeted
in real time:
"The
members of the
Security
Council
expressed deep
concern
regarding the
grave
situation in
the Yarmouk
refugee camp
in Syria.
The
members
condemned in
the strongest
terms the
grave crimes
committed by
Daesh and
Jabhet al
Nusra against
18,000
civilians in
the camp and
emphasized the
need that such
crimes do not
go unpunished.
The
members called
for the
protection of
civilians in
the camp, for
ensuring
humanitarian
access to the
area including
by providing
life-saving
assistance,
and ensure
safe passage
and evacuation
of the
civilians.
The
members
welcomed
UNRWA's
efforts in
protecting and
assisting
Palestinian
refugees and
the need for
providing
UNRWA with the
necessary
resources to
carry out its
mandate in
Syria, provide
providing the
necessary
life-saving
assistance and
evacuate
civilians.
The
members
reminded all
parties of
their
obligations to
work toward
the safety,
security and
protections of
the civilians
in the camp.
The
members called
on all parties
to immediately
implement the
relevant
Security
Council
resolutions
including SCRs
2139, 2165 and
2191 and in
line with the
international
humanitarian
law.
The
members
recalled SCR
2139 which
inter alia
calls upon all
parties to
lift the siege
of populated
areas, demands
all parties
allow delivery
of
humanitarian
access and
enable rapid,
safe and
unhindered
evacuation of
civilians.
The
members will
look into
further
measures that
can be taken
to help in
providing the
necessary
protection and
assistance."
, 
