Ankara, SANA-David Carden, Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, stressed the need to invest in Syria to secure a better future for its people and support the safe and dignified return of displaced persons and refugees.
“I hope that the humanitarian assistance phase in Syria will be as short as possible, so that we can move forward toward recovery and reconstruction, and in that context, see further easing of sanctions,” Carden was quoted as saying by the UN News Centre last night during a video conference with journalists in New York from the Turkish city of Gaziantep.
The UN official noted that Syria is witnessing a positive trajectory, the continuation of which will provide opportunities for a life of peace. He emphasized that the Syrian people do not want “temporary relief, but rather opportunities to earn a living and rebuild their lives with dignity.”
Carden said that more than 16 million people, equivalent to seven out of every ten Syrians, the majority of whom are women and children, need assistance.
He added that the UN and its partners are doing what they can with the resources available, but there is a severe funding shortfall, with the humanitarian community securing only $179 million, representing less than 9 per cent of the $2 billion needed to help the most vulnerable groups until the end of next June.
In a related context, Carden announced that his position will be officially abolished as of Tuesday, as part of the UN’s transition efforts in the “new Syria,” with the aim of streamlining the coordination response, led by the Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Damascus, by the end of June.
Manar Salameh
