On Why Yarmouk Not Called Besieged by UN, Spox Cuts ICP's Q

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, August 19 -- The Yarmouk camp for Palestinian refugees in Damascus, which the UN ruled is not besieged, now has typhoid in it, UNRWA announced on August 18 saying it had accessed the camp for the first time since June 8.

  So on August 19, Inner City Press asked UN spokesperson Vannina Maestracci how the camp could be deemed to not be besieged, video here, transcript here:

Inner City Press: the Yarmouk Camp in Damascus.  It was announced yesterday by UNRWA that they got the first access there since June, you know, 8th or 9th and found typhoid in the camp.  In their announcement, they call it besieged, but OCHA has said that it’s not besieged.  So I wanted to know, is this a change?  Has the UN decided now that, according… by OCHA, because there’s some legal distinction about besieged and not besieged.  Mr. O’Brien said it’s not besieged.  UNRWA says — that runs the camp — says it is besieged.  Is it besieged or not?  And what’s going to be done on the typhoid, which they say has now doubled to 11 cases?

Associate Spokesperson:  On the typhoid, I don’t know.  And I’ve seen the UNRWA information, but I don’t know, so I’ll check on that.  On besieged, not besieged — look, you know, given the… I understand your point about that it could mean different things, but the most important thing here is that, you know, Yarmouk is in a desperate condition and that we are trying to do our best whether it’s the Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs and USG O’Brien or through UNRWA to get assistance there as much as we can and help the people that are in Yarmouk.

Inner City Press:  I guess I’m just saying—

Associate Spokesperson:  I know what you’re saying.

[inaudible]

But I’m not going to say anything else than this.  Anybody else has a question?  Joe.

  So the UN cut off the questions. But we'll have more on this.

  UNRWA spokesman, Chris Gunness said, in a statement emailed to the press: "UNRWA has had its first access to civilians from the besieged Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk, Damascus, since 8th June.  We can now confirm a typhoid outbreak among this UN assisted population with at least six confirmed cases. Never has the imperative for sustained humanitarian access been greater. UNRWA’s priority remains the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians within Yarmouk itself and reiterates its strong demand for respect and compliance with obligations to protect civilians and to establish secure conditions under which UNRWA can deliver life-saving humanitarian assistance.”

  If UNRWA could not access the Yarmouk camp since June 8 - that is, for two months and ten days, why would the UN have declassified 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."

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