The International Syria Support Group has released a statement which 'calls on the World Food Program to immediately carry out a program for air bridges and air drops for all areas in need' if aid is not let into Syria's besieged communities by 1 June. Member states also pledged 'to support such a program'.
With the 1 June deadline now upon us, please take a few minutes NOW to write to your MP to take action to ensure that this deadline is adhered to. Simply click on the link below and then copy and paste the letter into the relevant area.
Please also sign the Parliamentary petition on this issue. Then kindly share this page with all your contacts on social media!
Dear MP,
I am writing to you with regards to conducting air drops on besieged areas in Syria. As you may know, the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) on 17 May released a statement calling on the World Food Programme (WFP) ‘to immediately carry out a program for air bridges and air drops for all areas in need’ by 1 June if there has not been any progress on the humanitarian situation in Syria.
While I welcome this statement, you must forgive me for being fearful that this will become yet another broken promise, and yet another failed international decision, of which the Syrian have people seen time and time again over the past five years.
Therefore, I urge you to take action to ensure that the following key steps are taken:
1. Enforcement of the ISSG’s statement should be intensive and sustained. Other international decisions for Syria, such as those banning the use of barrel bombs or instating a ceasefire, witnessed initial implementation which waned as the international community failed to address the Assad regime’s continuous breaches of these respective agreements.
2. Delivery of humanitarian aid must be comprehensive, thus spanning the entire geographic area of Syria.
3. The delivery of humanitarian aid should in no way be conditional, whether explicitly or implicitly, upon the consent of the Assad regime.
4. Humanitarian organisations, including the WFP, must be guaranteed their security by ISSG Member States, including military escorts for airdrops if necessary.
5. If the WFP is not able – or is not permitted by the Assad regime – to provide humanitarian assistance across the entirety of Syria, then the onus is on Member States of the ISSG to unilaterally take necessary measures that alleviate the humanitarian suffering.
6. In parallel, the ISSG should intensify its focus on the effective enforcement of the Cessation of Hostilities and press for progress on the detainees track.
I am also seeking clarification as to the specific means of support that the UK will provide to humanitarian operations (including aid drops) in Syria, in line with our pledge to ‘support such a program’ of air drops. Our credibility is now on the line. There needs to be a significant response if at any point after 1 June the Assad regime denies aid access to Syrians in need.
I hope that the full and long-term implementation of the 17 May ISSG decision will help save lives and deliver life-saving assistance to at-need communities. I also hope that it can represent one step forward towards achieving a political solution in Syria after five years of war.
Yours sincerely,
