Europa Newswire

Photos Luiz Rampelotto

New York – March 12 2012
The United Nations humanitarian chief said today that the government of Syria has said they need more time to consider the UN proposals for humanitarian access. “This is a minimal start, she said, “we need much, much more.”

Just back from her two-day visit to Syria, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos said “we need a robust and regular arrangement, which allows humanitarian organizations unhindered access – and time – to assess humanitarian needs.”

Amos said that she was “desperately worried” about what has happened to Syrians like those who live in Homs.

Valerie Amos, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Operations and Emergency Relief Coordinator, United Nations:
“My job is to try to find a solution and to do my best to get in, to get humanitarian assistance to the people who need it. I am desperately worried about what is happened to the people, for example, who used to live in Homs. We don’t know where they are, we don’t know what they need are, some of course will be sheltering with friends or with family, some may have crossed the border we don’t know. We need more transparency, more openness. We need to know what is happening to people.”

When asked if it was at all possible to end the humanitarian crisis in Syria, she said
it was “entirely possible” to get humanitarian assistance into the country now if the Syrian authorities agree to it. But what was not known was the scale of the humanitarian needs and how it might develop. “It is critical,” she said, “to have a better sense of what is going on.”

Last week Amos urged Syrian authorities to allow unrestricted access to humanitarian organizations to deliver aid to people affected by the ongoing violence, saying she was “horrified” by the destruction she had seen in some of the areas she visited during her two-day visit to the country.

Source: UNTV