UN authorizes cross-border aid delivery to Syria

World Today

The UN Security Council has unanimously passed a resolution authorizing cross-border aid delivery to Syrians in need without government approval. CCTV’s Alaa Ebrahim reports.

Follow Alaa Ebrahim on Twitter @Alaa_Ebrahim_TV

UN authorizes cross-border aid delivery to Syria

The UN Security Council has unanimously passed a resolution authorizing cross-border aid delivery to Syrians in need without government approval. CCTV's Alaa Ebrahim reports.

According to the UN, 10.8 million Syrians are in desperate need of food and medicine. Now that this resolution has been passed, the UN no longer needs the approval of Syrian president Bashar Assad to send them aid.

Most of the western member states, such as the United States, believe the resolution would not have been necessary had Assad complied with the UN resolution in February that demanded all sides to allow civilians immediate access to aid.

This resolution marks a rare instance in which the often divided UN Security Council agreed on an issue regarding Syria. The council ordered UN agencies and aid organizations to deliver humanitarian assistance across conflict lines, and through four border crossings in Turkey, Iraq and Jordan.

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the new resolution and called on the international community to ensure “unconditional humanitarian access to all people in need without discrimination, using all available routes.”

Report compiled with information from The Associated Press.