Jordan welcomes UN renewal of cross-border Syria aid authorisation

AMMAN — Jordan on Wednesday welcomed the UN Security Council's decision to renew its authorisation for humanitarian access without Syrian government consent into rebel-held areas of Syria for 12 months. 

The resolution enables UN humanitarian agencies to use the border crossings of Bab Al Salam and Bab Al Hawa in Turkey, Al Yarubiyah in Iraq and Ramtha in Jordan to deliver aid to displaced Syrians.

The decision also entails creating a monitoring mechanism for humanitarian shipments dispatched into Syrian territory, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The resolution says the council is "gravely concerned" with the ineffective implementation of previous resolutions demanding increased aid access to Syrian civilians trapped in hard-to-reach areas, Reuters reported.

Jordan's permanent envoy to the UN, Dina Kawar, noted that the Syrian crisis is directly affecting Jordan, voicing hope that the new decision will help the Kingdom mitigate the suffering of Syrians and reduce the number of Syrians seeking refuge in Jordan, Petra reported.

In remarks to reporters, Kawar reiterated the Kingdom's stance in supporting a political solution in Syria as the sole way to resolve the crisis, stressing that the Ramtha border crossing will remain open for delivering aid to Syria in accordance with the international resolution.

The resolution adopted on Wednesday also had the council condemning impediments to the delivery of humanitarian aid across borders and front lines, according to Reuters.

It added that UN humanitarian aid agencies and their partners should “scale up humanitarian deliveries into hard-to-reach and besieged areas, including by using, as effectively as possible, [the authorised] border crossings”.