Ban Ki-moon: Committing to Kuwait II Donor Conference for Syria important

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon depicted a gloomy picture of the humanitarian situation in Syria, urging member states to support the Kuwait II Donor Conference scheduled for next January. Addressing the General Assembly after an African tour and briefing on world affairs from climate change to political hot spots worldwide late Monday, Ban said the humanitarian response to the appeal for Syria is being hampered by a "severe lack of funding." Of the USD 1.5 billion pledged last January in Kuwait I, only 54 percent have been translated into cash. Kuwait paid its USD 300 million pledge in full. Ban announced that "I will be organizing a High-Level Pledging Conference for Syria in January in Kuwait. But let me be clear: you need not wait until then to provide support. The Syrian people are desperate for help today. I thank those Member States that delivered on the promises they made at this year's pledging conference (January 2013), and call on all others to follow through as well." His spokesman Farhan Haq told KUNA in answer to a question "we appreciate the effort made by the Government of Kuwait" to hold the Conference in January to obtain more donations for the humanitarian work in Syria. "We hope that governments will be generous in making new pledges at that Conference and in providing the funds pledged at the Donor's Conference in Kuwait earlier this year (January 2013)." Ban told the Assembly that the situation in Syria remains the "world's biggest threat to international peace and security," adding that the UN continues its efforts on three fronts: first, verifying the destruction of the country's chemical weapons; second, providing life-saving humanitarian assistance; and third, achieving a political solution. He said the Joint Mission of the United Nations and the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) now faces the "most challenging phase" of the operation: the destruction of weapons and chemicals by June 2014, adding "I am grateful" for Member State pledges of logistical and other support, and welcome further contributions to the relevant trust funds of both Organizations. The humanitarian situation in Syria "continues to deteriorate rapidly and dramatically," he said, noting that more than 9 million people in Syria - nearly half the country's population -- need humanitarian assistance, and expressing "grave concern" that the UN has been unable to reach 2.5 million people trapped in besieged and hard-to-reach areas. Ban called on Damascus "in particular" to ease the severe constraints it has imposed on humanitarian access, and urged "all parties, and all those with influence over them," to ensure the protection of civilians, safe passage for medical personnel and supplies, and the unhindered delivery of aid. On the political front, he said "ultimately, the only way to end the unconscionable violence and suffering is through an inclusive and Syrian-led political process," adding that the UN continues to work "hard to convene the Geneva II Conference before the end of this year." Ban said the situations in Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic, among others, "highlight a basic truth: human rights violations are often our best early warning signals of emerging conflict. They are a symptom of weak rule of law institutions which we must strengthen to prevent escalation. They are also an indicator of the severity of an ongoing crisis." Ban also spoke about the importance of "building a more secure world," which involves working for a world free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. In this regard, he commended the new Iranian leadership and the senior officials of the European Union and P5+1 countries for their recent "strenuous efforts" in Geneva to forge an agreement on Iran's nuclear programme. "I urge all involved to find the will and the solutions that will overcome the remaining differences when the talks resume later this month" in Geneva, he added. He also expressed satisfaction that the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yukiya Amano, was Monday in Tehran where a cooperation framework that aims to resolve present and past verification issues was signed by both sides.