I thank the Secretary-General for his remarks. I also thank Under-Secretary General Griffiths and Mr. Iyad Agha for their briefings.

Mr. President,

The worst man-made humanitarian crisis since the Second World War is still unfolding in Syria.

And today the needs are at their highest level since the beginning of the conflict 11 years ago.

Let me remind you of the picture we are looking at:

4.4 million people live in northwest Syria.

4.1 million of those need humanitarian aid.

2.8 million are IDPs, 80 percent of whom are children, elderly and women, living in overcrowded camps. Most of them displaced multiple times.

Through the single Bab Al Hawa crossing, the UN cross-border mechanism delivers aid to the most vulnerable 2.4 million people in the area with an average of 800 trucks every month.

Since July 2014, more than 47 thousand trucks of aid have been delivered through the Bab al-Hawa crossing point.

More than 2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines as well as over 231 thousand childhood vaccines have been delivered to northwest Syria through the UN cross-border mechanism.

As we have said before in this Chamber, there is no hidden agenda at issue here. The aim is nothing but to save lives.

We simply cannot turn a blind eye to the millions of Syrians squeezed in northwest Syria, most of whom are in desperate conditions.

We cannot abandon them to their fate.

They need cross border humanitarian aid, and the best way to do it is through the UN’s cross-border operations.
We are talking about one of the most sophisticated, scrutinized and transparent humanitarian assistance systems ever put in place by the international community.

One that includes multiple layers of checks to ensure the highest possible degree of transparency and full UN control of the entire operation.

The humanitarian nature of the cross-border assistance is consistently inspected by the UN Monitoring Mechanism at the transshipment hub in Reyhanli, Hatay.

The Secretary General’s reports confirm time and again that there have been no incidents of non-humanitarian items being found among these consignments.

A halt in the delivery of UN food assistance, critical medical supplies and other life-saving aid would threaten the lives of the millions who rely on us to keep them alive.

As the Secretary-General recently emphasized, the extension of the cross-border mandate is a moral and humanitarian imperative. It must be guided solely by humanitarian considerations and should not be politicized.

Mr. President,

We would like to remind all members of this Council that in the absence of this monitoring mechanism, humanitarian operations will only become less transparent, less accountable and less effective.

Make no mistake: This mechanism is a reflection of the international community’s commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria.

So, the question is: Can anyone, who respects human life and who respects the fundamentals of the UN Charter, afford to disrupt such a vital system?

Mr. President,

Türkiye constructively facilitates cross-line humanitarian deliveries and will continue to do so.

Further progress on cross line access, including to Ras al-Ayn, requires more engagement also from the UN Country Office in Damascus, the Russian Federation and the regime.

Mr. President,

Türkiye is providing temporary protection to close to 4 million Syrians, with access to health, including COVID vaccines, education, labor market as well as social assistance and services.

In the last 11 years, more than 750 thousand Syrian babies were born in Türkiye.

Together with around 330 thousand international protection applicants and status holders from other nationalities, Türkiye has been hosting the largest number of asylum seekers and refugees in the world since 2014.

A total of over 4 million refugees under Türkiye’s temporary protection.

A figure which exceeds the total population of many UN member states.

We will continue to do our utmost to alleviate the humanitarian suffering of the brave and the resilient Syrian people.

Yet, on this World Refugee Day, let me reiterate that the scale and magnitude of Türkiye’s efforts in humanitarian response to the Syrian crisis, including the refugee aspect, calls for greater international solidarity and burden-sharing.

This is a moral and legal responsibility that rests with the international community, including the members of this Council.

The world entrusted the permanent members of the Security Council to protect the people we have pledged to serve, including the millions of Syrians who depend on us for their lives.

They want to see a united Council, able to make the right decisions and honor its moral obligations.

This Council must heed these calls, as well as the joint appeal made by the heads of UN agencies last week.

We urge the Members of this Council to do what is right, and to preserve the indispensable UN cross border mechanism.

Mr. President

As to the hallucinatory statement made by the criminal Syrian regime representative, I will repeat, I do not consider him as my legitimate counterpart.

His presence here is an affront to the millions of Syrians who suffered countless crimes at the hands of the regime.

Therefore, I will not honor his delusional accusations with a response.

Thank you.