The Director of the International Organization for Migration, Antonio Vitorino, called on the international community to continue the arrival of aid to those affected by the earthquake in Syria and Turkey, stressing that the organization’s teams overcame complex coordination and logistical issues, to quickly deliver aid to the affected communities.
Vitorino visited a logistical center near the Turkish-Syrian border, where the organization has sent more than 150 aid trucks across the border so far, to northwestern Syria.
In turn, the United Nations called for taking advantage of the momentum in the file of humanitarian aid to Syria after the earthquake, to move for peace in this country.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement, coinciding with the approaching 12th anniversary of “the outbreak of war in Syria”, that mutual and verifiable steps on a comprehensive set of issues identified in Security Council Resolution 2254 can open the way towards sustainable peace.
The UN official indicated his conviction that the time has come to work in a unified manner to secure a nationwide ceasefire in Syria, promote the legitimate aspirations of the people, and create conditions for the voluntary return of refugees in safety and dignity, with a strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity, territorial integrity and regional stability of Syria.
He pointed out that the issue of arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance of tens of thousands of Syrians will remain an obstacle to peace as long as it is not resolved, and stressed that “there can be no impunity if we want to secure a sustainable peace path.”
Guterres also called for the establishment of a new international body concerned with clarifying the fate and whereabouts of missing persons in Syria.
Guterres stressed the importance of continuing cross-border aid into northwestern Syria for a year, and strengthening early recovery efforts.
