State Department Calls on All Sides in Syria to Protect Civilians

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

Guest Contributor

Guest Contributor

Guest contributions to the Armenian Weekly are informative articles or press releases written and submitted by members of the community.

7 Comments

  1. I believe strongly that the Aleppo Armenians need more humanitarian aid than the Armenians refugees in Lebanon, Turkey or Jordan. The Refugees in these countries get aid from UN 200$/month/family, also all their medication are free, also most of them have secured jobs. Meanwhile, Aleppo Armenians are kept prison in their own city, are and homes, hardly they get water and power, everything is very very expensive, their houses and shops were luted, gone, they live in fear every minute, while the refugees who moved to neighbouring countries do not live the life that Aleppo Armenians are facing. So wake up from your dream and rush to help of the Armenian of Aleppo instead of helping the ones who left the city. I was in Beirut and saw how the families are living in a relaxed way compared to the ones in bloody Aleppo.

  2. If you believe that you believe anything,the usual lip service coming from the US state department which has lost all credibility.
    A load of cods wallop.

  3. The US State Department is not aiding or helping the Christians of the Syria, Egypt or anywhere else they are being persecuted, beheaded or slaughtered…..worse ran out of their ancestorial lands. Most of these agitator rebels in Syria are outsiders funded by the US Government.
    The only organizations that are helping the Christian Armenians is the various Armenian Diaspora groups that have tiredlessly given charity concerts and through the help of the Armenian Red Cross (ARS) have helped to move them out.
    Today, the US State Department has announced they are immigrating Syrian refugees to the USA they gave the count of 5,000. I assure you they are not from Aleppo which got hit the hardest and are not of the Christian faith.
    Aleppo was specifically targeted as it is a financial area as most of the Christian population of Syria were educated and the white collar workers. Looting of our church and Armenian community center have transpired and of Christian homes. Not to mention kidnapping of our children and clergy for money.
    Unfortunately, there is still an elder care home standing in Aleppo I fear for the remaining residents and their safety. They cannot be moved, hopefully they will not destroy, loot or takeover this home for the aged.

  4. Coming for the US state department such empty statements is a bit rich.

    The US with its middle east allies have engineered,financed,armed,and conducting this cruel war in Syria for their geopolitical advantage,nothing to do with human rights or so called democracy.

    The US is now hand in glove working with Al Qaeda in Syria, work that one out.

    • US and Al Qaeda in bed together? Not a surprise for any Armenian who has watched America’s long love affair with Turkey. Seems like the leaders of this country have no hesitation at ‘turning out’
      Lady Liberty.

  5. It would have been nice if the “U.S.” State Department was actually part of the United States, so that at the very least we would just listen to what they have to say, instead of ignoring them outright.

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