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WHO ‘Moving Rapidly’ with Syria Quake Relief as Sanctions Are Paused

21 February 2023, Syria, al-Atareb: Muhammad Al-Mula, 15, sits near his destroyed house as a result of the deadly earthquake that ripped through the Turkish-Syrian border. (dpa)
21 February 2023, Syria, al-Atareb: Muhammad Al-Mula, 15, sits near his destroyed house as a result of the deadly earthquake that ripped through the Turkish-Syrian border. (dpa)
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WHO ‘Moving Rapidly’ with Syria Quake Relief as Sanctions Are Paused

21 February 2023, Syria, al-Atareb: Muhammad Al-Mula, 15, sits near his destroyed house as a result of the deadly earthquake that ripped through the Turkish-Syrian border. (dpa)
21 February 2023, Syria, al-Atareb: Muhammad Al-Mula, 15, sits near his destroyed house as a result of the deadly earthquake that ripped through the Turkish-Syrian border. (dpa)

The World Health Organization said on Wednesday it was taking advantage of a temporary easing of sanctions against Syria designed to allow humanitarian aid to be more easily distributed in the war-torn country after deadly earthquakes.

"WHO is moving very rapidly right now together with our partners to take advantage of this pause in the sanctions," Rick Brennan, Regional Emergency Director of the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region, told a briefing.

"We have already started ordering equipment and supplies, and we are working with UN partners on a collective approach to take advantage of the pause."

Around 4,525 deaths have been reported in northwest Syria, according to the United Nations. The area is controlled by opposition factions at war with President Bashar al-Assad, which is complicating aid efforts.

With the devastating earthquake, there has also been a threat of the risk of infections in the opposition-held region in northwestern Syria.

WHO officials said the organization has scaled up its supply of antibiotics, painkillers, trauma supplies and non-communicable disease medicines to the country, with a key focus on the northwest region.

The agency has re-established its distribution channels within Syria, and has moved over 139 tons of additional medical supplies including antibiotics, and other surgical supplies to affected areas, said Catherine Smallwood, WHO's senior emergency officer for Europe.

WHO officials also said they are working to ensure better water and sanitation in northwest Syria, with 1.7 million doses of oral cholera vaccines on hand that they plan to target to the most vulnerable communities by first week of March.

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Security Council Urges Syrian Authorities to Protect Minorities

Security personnel inspect vehicles at a checkpoint set up to confiscate stolen items, in Latakia, Syria March 14, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Security personnel inspect vehicles at a checkpoint set up to confiscate stolen items, in Latakia, Syria March 14, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
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Security Council Urges Syrian Authorities to Protect Minorities

Security personnel inspect vehicles at a checkpoint set up to confiscate stolen items, in Latakia, Syria March 14, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Security personnel inspect vehicles at a checkpoint set up to confiscate stolen items, in Latakia, Syria March 14, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

The UN Security Council has condemned the widespread violence in several provinces in Syria, calling on the interim authorities “to protect all Syrians without distinction.”

In a presidential statement it adopted unanimously on Friday, the Council “condemned the widespread violence perpetrated in Syria’s Latakia and Tartus provinces since 6 March — including mass killings of civilians among the Alawite community.”

The Council “condemned attacks targeting civilian infrastructure” and “called on all parties to immediately cease all violence and inflammatory activities and ensure the protection of all civilian populations and infrastructure, as well as humanitarian operations.”

It said “all parties and States must ensure full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to those affected and the humane treatment of all persons. The Council also urged a rapid increase of humanitarian support across Syria.”

The Council “called for swift, transparent, independent, impartial and comprehensive investigations to ensure accountability and bring all perpetrators of violence against civilians to justice.”

It took note of the Syrian interim authorities’ establishment of an independent committee to investigate such violence and identify those responsible.

The Council also noted the Syrian decision to establish a committee for civil peace.

It renewed its call for an inclusive political process led and owned by Syrians, facilitated by the UN and based on the principles outlined in resolution 2254. “This includes safeguarding the rights of all Syrians — regardless of ethnicity or religion — meeting their legitimate aspirations and enabling them to peacefully, independently and democratically determine their futures.”

Meanwhile, the Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, hoped that the Constitutional Declaration issued by the Syrian authorities “will move Syria toward restoring the rule of law and promoting an orderly inclusive transition.”

Pedersen issued a statement on the fourteenth anniversary of the war in Syria.

“Now is the time for bold moves to create a genuinely credible and inclusive transitional government and legislative body; a constitutional framework and process to draft a new constitution for the long term that is credible and inclusive too; and genuine transitional justice,” he said.

“More than three months since the fall of the Assad regime, Syria now stands at a pivotal moment,” he added.

The Special Envoy called for “an immediate end to all violence and for protection of civilians in accordance with international law” and called “for a credible independent investigation into the recent killings and violence, and for the full cooperation of the caretaker authorities with the United Nations in this regard.”