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STATE DEPARTMENT CALLS ON ALL SIDES IN SYRIA TO PROTECT CIVILIANS
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2013/08/08/state-department-calls-on-all-sides-in-syria-to-protect-civilians/
By Contributor // August 8, 2013
Letter to ANCA Outlines U.S. Humanitarian Response to Syria Conflict
WASHINGTON- The U.S. Department of State, in response to concerns
raised by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) and a
broad cross-section of Armenian American civic and church leaders,
has stressed the urgency of ongoing U.S. diplomatic initiatives to
remind all sides in Syria of their obligations under international
law to protect civilians and to allow humanitarian organizations safe
access to all people in need.
The Department's letter comes following a July 17th U.S. government
briefing on Syria humanitarian assistance efforts hosted by the
State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID) for representatives of Armenian American civic, church, and
charitable organizations from across the United States. The letter to
the ANCA underscores the importance that the United States attaches
to ensuring regular medical and humanitarian access to Aleppo, and
notes the life-saving U.S. contributions to meeting basic needs for
those in host countries, including Armenia and Lebanon.
The full array of urgent humanitarian issues of concern to Armenian
Americans has consistently been raised by community leaders, including:
1) Ensuring the balanced and needs-based distribution of U.S.
humanitarian aid to all areas of Syria, including those like Aleppo
with large Armenian and other Christian populations;
2) Preventing humanitarian blockades of civilian populations, such
as those creating crises in Aleppo;
3) Providing additional assistance to the Armenian government and NGO's
supporting and helping to settle Syrians who have fled to Armenia, and
4) Assisting the Armenian Church and charitable groups in Lebanon
as they support the very considerable humanitarian needs of refugees
from Syria.
In his Aug. 5 letter to the ANCA, State Department Director of the
Office of Europe, Central Asia and Americas, Bureau of Population,
Refugees, and Migration for John Underriner referenced community
concerns about getting vital humanitarian aid to the affected
communities in Syria and the devastating effects of a recent blockade
of assistance to Aleppo. "We recognize the critical need to ensure
regular medical and humanitarian access to those who remain in
Aleppo and for all displaced and conflict-affected people in Syria,"
noted Underriner. "Humanitarian workers are risking their lives to
provide life-saving assistance to those suffering and have worked
tirelessly with contacts on all of the conflict to attempt to negotiate
humanitarian pauses to allow aid delivery. We have reminded all sides
to the conflict of their obligations under international humanitarian
law to protect civilians, and urge them to allow humanitarian
organizations safe access to all people in need."
The full text of Underriner's letter is provided below. Since issuing
the letter, President Obama announced an additional $185 million in
assistance to those affected by the Syrian crisis, bringing to $1
billion the total U.S. assistance commitment to date.
The Armenian American community, along with Armenian communities around
the world, has undertaken far-reaching and life-saving humanitarian
efforts, through the Armenian Apostolic, Catholic, and Evangelical
churches, Syrian Armenian Relief Fund, Armenian Relief Society,
Armenian General Benevolent Union and other avenues. The Armenian
National Committee of America (ANCA) has undertaken a grassroots
effort to educate Congressional legislators about the plight of
Armenians and other affected minorities in Syria and urged Congress
to provide relief and resettlement support for at-risk Armenians and
other Christian populations in Syria and throughout the Middle East
as part of the FY 2014 foreign aid bill.
***
Text of State Department Letter to ANCA Regarding U.S. Humanitarian
Assistance to those Affected by the Syrian Crisis
United States Department of State Washington, D.C. 20520
August 5, 2013
Aram Hamparian Executive Director Armenian National Committee of
America 1711 N Street NW Washington, DC 20036
Dear Mr. Hamparian,
Thank you for your July 24 letter outlining the Armenian National
Committee of America's concerns regarding the humanitarian situation
resulting from the crisis in Syria. We share your concern and
appreciate your community's willingness to raise awareness and mobilize
resources to provide relief and humanitarian assistance to Syrian
Armenians affected by violence in Syria and throughout the region.
The U.S. government is providing funding to the United Nations,
the International Committee of the Red Cross, and non-governmental
organizations to meet the humanitarian needs of all those affected by
the current crisis. These agencies are a key part of the international
humanitarian system, governed by humanitarian principles, which
brings technical expertise and operational capacity to respond to a
large-scale crisis such as this. The United States is providing nearly
$815 million in humanitarian assistance to date to support those
affected by the Syria crisis. Our contributions provide life-saving
emergency assistance to meet basic humanitarian needs, such as shelter,
water, sanitation, and health both inside Syria and in host countries,
including Armenia and Lebanon.
As you highlight in your letter, humanitarian access inside Syria
has been one of the greatest challenges to organizations responding
on the ground. While humanitarian partners have been able to provide
food and medical treatment to some of those affected, other areas
remain inaccessible to humanitarian organizations. We recognize
the critical need to ensure regular medical and humanitarian
access to those who remain in Aleppo and for all displaced and
conflict-affected people in Syria. Humanitarian workers are risking
their lives to provide life-saving assistance to those suffering
and have worked tirelessly with contacts on all of the conflict to
attempt to negotiate humanitarian pauses to allow aid delivery. We
have reminded all sides to the conflict of their obligations under
international humanitarian law to protect civilians, and urge them
to allow humanitarian organizations safe access to all people in need.
The United States will continue to encourage other international
donors to provide assistance through the UN humanitarian appeals
inside Syria and in the region, and will continue to partner with
those organizations inside Syria working to access those most in need
in all fourteen governorates.
We hope this information is helpful to you. Please do not hesitate
to contact us if we can be of further assistance on this or any
other matter.
Sincerely,
John Underriner
Director, Office of Europe, Central Asia and Americas, Bureau of
Population, Refugees, and Migration, U.S. Department of States
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2013/08/08/state-department-calls-on-all-sides-in-syria-to-protect-civilians/
By Contributor // August 8, 2013
Letter to ANCA Outlines U.S. Humanitarian Response to Syria Conflict
WASHINGTON- The U.S. Department of State, in response to concerns
raised by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) and a
broad cross-section of Armenian American civic and church leaders,
has stressed the urgency of ongoing U.S. diplomatic initiatives to
remind all sides in Syria of their obligations under international
law to protect civilians and to allow humanitarian organizations safe
access to all people in need.
The Department's letter comes following a July 17th U.S. government
briefing on Syria humanitarian assistance efforts hosted by the
State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID) for representatives of Armenian American civic, church, and
charitable organizations from across the United States. The letter to
the ANCA underscores the importance that the United States attaches
to ensuring regular medical and humanitarian access to Aleppo, and
notes the life-saving U.S. contributions to meeting basic needs for
those in host countries, including Armenia and Lebanon.
The full array of urgent humanitarian issues of concern to Armenian
Americans has consistently been raised by community leaders, including:
1) Ensuring the balanced and needs-based distribution of U.S.
humanitarian aid to all areas of Syria, including those like Aleppo
with large Armenian and other Christian populations;
2) Preventing humanitarian blockades of civilian populations, such
as those creating crises in Aleppo;
3) Providing additional assistance to the Armenian government and NGO's
supporting and helping to settle Syrians who have fled to Armenia, and
4) Assisting the Armenian Church and charitable groups in Lebanon
as they support the very considerable humanitarian needs of refugees
from Syria.
In his Aug. 5 letter to the ANCA, State Department Director of the
Office of Europe, Central Asia and Americas, Bureau of Population,
Refugees, and Migration for John Underriner referenced community
concerns about getting vital humanitarian aid to the affected
communities in Syria and the devastating effects of a recent blockade
of assistance to Aleppo. "We recognize the critical need to ensure
regular medical and humanitarian access to those who remain in
Aleppo and for all displaced and conflict-affected people in Syria,"
noted Underriner. "Humanitarian workers are risking their lives to
provide life-saving assistance to those suffering and have worked
tirelessly with contacts on all of the conflict to attempt to negotiate
humanitarian pauses to allow aid delivery. We have reminded all sides
to the conflict of their obligations under international humanitarian
law to protect civilians, and urge them to allow humanitarian
organizations safe access to all people in need."
The full text of Underriner's letter is provided below. Since issuing
the letter, President Obama announced an additional $185 million in
assistance to those affected by the Syrian crisis, bringing to $1
billion the total U.S. assistance commitment to date.
The Armenian American community, along with Armenian communities around
the world, has undertaken far-reaching and life-saving humanitarian
efforts, through the Armenian Apostolic, Catholic, and Evangelical
churches, Syrian Armenian Relief Fund, Armenian Relief Society,
Armenian General Benevolent Union and other avenues. The Armenian
National Committee of America (ANCA) has undertaken a grassroots
effort to educate Congressional legislators about the plight of
Armenians and other affected minorities in Syria and urged Congress
to provide relief and resettlement support for at-risk Armenians and
other Christian populations in Syria and throughout the Middle East
as part of the FY 2014 foreign aid bill.
***
Text of State Department Letter to ANCA Regarding U.S. Humanitarian
Assistance to those Affected by the Syrian Crisis
United States Department of State Washington, D.C. 20520
August 5, 2013
Aram Hamparian Executive Director Armenian National Committee of
America 1711 N Street NW Washington, DC 20036
Dear Mr. Hamparian,
Thank you for your July 24 letter outlining the Armenian National
Committee of America's concerns regarding the humanitarian situation
resulting from the crisis in Syria. We share your concern and
appreciate your community's willingness to raise awareness and mobilize
resources to provide relief and humanitarian assistance to Syrian
Armenians affected by violence in Syria and throughout the region.
The U.S. government is providing funding to the United Nations,
the International Committee of the Red Cross, and non-governmental
organizations to meet the humanitarian needs of all those affected by
the current crisis. These agencies are a key part of the international
humanitarian system, governed by humanitarian principles, which
brings technical expertise and operational capacity to respond to a
large-scale crisis such as this. The United States is providing nearly
$815 million in humanitarian assistance to date to support those
affected by the Syria crisis. Our contributions provide life-saving
emergency assistance to meet basic humanitarian needs, such as shelter,
water, sanitation, and health both inside Syria and in host countries,
including Armenia and Lebanon.
As you highlight in your letter, humanitarian access inside Syria
has been one of the greatest challenges to organizations responding
on the ground. While humanitarian partners have been able to provide
food and medical treatment to some of those affected, other areas
remain inaccessible to humanitarian organizations. We recognize
the critical need to ensure regular medical and humanitarian
access to those who remain in Aleppo and for all displaced and
conflict-affected people in Syria. Humanitarian workers are risking
their lives to provide life-saving assistance to those suffering
and have worked tirelessly with contacts on all of the conflict to
attempt to negotiate humanitarian pauses to allow aid delivery. We
have reminded all sides to the conflict of their obligations under
international humanitarian law to protect civilians, and urge them
to allow humanitarian organizations safe access to all people in need.
The United States will continue to encourage other international
donors to provide assistance through the UN humanitarian appeals
inside Syria and in the region, and will continue to partner with
those organizations inside Syria working to access those most in need
in all fourteen governorates.
We hope this information is helpful to you. Please do not hesitate
to contact us if we can be of further assistance on this or any
other matter.
Sincerely,
John Underriner
Director, Office of Europe, Central Asia and Americas, Bureau of
Population, Refugees, and Migration, U.S. Department of States