Too little, and far too late

As I often say in the UN Security Council: I’ll be brief.

I spent yesterday morning in a closed meeting in a room just outside the iconic Security Council at UN Headquarters. I heard from the leading advisors who know the situation on the ground in Syria. I sat opposite top diplomats from every region of the world.

And as the briefers briefed, and as the diplomats manoeuvred according to their instructions from capital, my mind kept reverting back to the reason we were in that room: the people of Syria.

I deal with Syria on a near-daily basis at the UN. I could recite the statistics in my sleep:

11.5 million have fled their homes.

13.5 million in need.

6 million children without hope.

Nearly half a million in besieged areas.

Besieged areas. These two words don’t seem to fully describe the horror associated with a siege. It’s a concept from medieval times: starvation as a weapon of war and purposefully withholding lifesaving medicines.

As I type this, the Asad regime, is employing this barbaric tactic without regard for human life. With no distinction between the often referenced ‘terrorist’ or one of the 6 million children living a nightmare.

The world has failed Syria. We’ve fallen short. But as the top representative of the United Kingdom at the UN, I refuse to give up the fight. The International Syria Support Group (the group of countries that is trying to find that elusive route to end the 5 year civil war) agreed to a new approach to try and reach those poor souls under siege: humanitarian air drops.

This is something the regionals and allies of both parties, including Russia and Iran agreed to. We agreed a clear timeline and a clear deadline; the Asad regime needed to open access to all besieged areas by 1 June or else the UN would request to deliver vital aid through air drops.

That was three days ago. And access had been granted to two locations. That is too little, and far too late.

Air drops were never meant to be anything other than a last resort. But that’s where we are. In truth, we’re way past the last resort. We’re in a place that lies decimated after five years of barrel bombs, chemical weapons attacks, and massacre after massacre. A place where millions have had to make the impossible choice to uproot their lives and flee. A place where promise after promise has been broken.

Air drops are complicated. They are risky. They are costly. They are not perfect.

But the people of Syria don’t need perfect.

They need food.