In FocusFortnightly Update

Feb 2014

UNHCR provides assistance to evacuees from besieged Old HomsHighlights

Issued by the Reporting Team in Syria

A Year in Review 2013

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A number of areas in different governorates in Syria are besieged due to the conflict. Humanitarian organizations as a result have not been able to gain access to these areas nor provide assistance to their inhabitants suffering from shortages of food, basic needs and basic infrastructure.

One of the longest besiegement which lasted for 18 months was for the Old City of Homs with approximately 4,000 individuals in-side. Following the talks in Geneva 2 conference, an agreement was reached to apply cease-fire in this area and parties to the conflict were urged to respect the International Humanitarian Law and the Human Rights law especially in terms of allowing and facilitating rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need. This humanitarian pause has been vital to allow aid to be delivered to communities which have been blockaded for almost a year and a half.

UNHCR seized this opportunity to provide humanitarian assistance in one of the most challenging aid operations in the Syrian conflict. In collaboration with UN agencies and partner organizations, UN-

• 1,366 persons have been provided with various forms of assistance from the Old City of Homs

• 15 airlifts were conduct-ed to Qamishly delivering 10,000 winterized kits to 50,000 IDPs and medical supplies including polio vac-cine to 250,000 child

• The shelter upgrade project has benefited 3,700 individ-uals so far

Issue 01 of 2014

©UNHCR/B.Diab Homs 2014

©SARC Homs 2014

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HCR participated in the evacuation of a total of 1,366 persons out of the old city of Homs over the course of four days in very difficult circumstances in light of the deterioration of medical and psychological conditions of inhabitants coupled with the logistical difficulties of access.

UNHCR staff remained present at the point of exit of the Old City of Homs ensuring the identification of various vulnerabilities. They were also engaged in the facilitation of transferring people to processing facil-ity called Al Andalus or to other destinations of their choice to the city of Homs. UNHCR provided since the start of the evacuation 633 families/1,027 individu-als with cash to the value of SYP 12,660,000 ($87,300) as well as psychosocial support and urgently needed CRIs including winter clothes, hygiene kits, sanitary napkins, crutches and wheelchairs. UNHCR has also monitored protection concerns in the collective shel-ter through individual interviews and groups discus-sions and made the necessary referrals to relevant actors and Ministry of Social Affairs for response and follow up.

Despite the positive outcomes of this humanitarian assistance and the hope it raises for further opportu-nities to access the estimated 250,000 individuals who are still living in besieged areas in Syria, the disregard for basic principles of international humanitarian law (IHL) in the Homs evacuation, particularly the attack on UN staff and humanitarian workers as well as the lack of protection guarantees for boys and men, was of great concern to UNHCR. UNHCR therefore devel-oped a set of Minimum Standards for UN and part-ner engagement in the evacuations of civilians from besieged areas in Syria. The Minimum Standards are founded on core principles of IHL and international human rights law, which must be guaranteed by all parties to ensure a neutral, impartial and independ-ent humanitarian action.

Airlifts: providing life-saving relief items to vulnerable people

UNHCR opened its office in Hassakeh in 1991 with the first Iraqi war and expanded operation afterwards with the mas-sive influx of Iraqi refugees in the middle of the last dec-ade. Since the start of the Syrian crisis, the office has been supporting internally displaced people (IDPs) in Hassakeh, Raqqa and Deir es Zour, who fled the fighting in the areas surrounding Qamishly and Hassakeh cities. It is because of its unique access to the area that UNHCR was able to actively register IDPs in cooperation with its implementing partners and local communities.

UNHCR in Hassakeh has responded to the needs of 260,000 registered IDPs in the area through provision of various ser-vices such as Protection, CRIs, Cash Assistance, and Shel-ter Rehabilitation. Since May 2013, access to Hassakeh has been difficult and no items have been able to reach by road. Many needs that could not be met by UNHCR’s depleting warehouse were met by the distribution of cash assistance by UNHCR worth $1,525,698 for the benefit of 65,253 vul-nerable IDPs. However, the needs for life-saving items in-creased massively and could wait no longer especially with the harsh weather conditions. One particular harrowing ac-count, and picture received, was of a toddler who had such frost bite on his feet that they may have to be amputated. Another story was about the sad death of a child because of the cold weather. In these tough conditions, UNHCR had to opt for an alternative last-resort method of providing life-saving CRIs which is the airlift.

UNHCR has successfully completed the planned 15 air-lifts to Qamishly carrying more than 500 tones of winter-ized kits to 50,000 IDPs and 31 tons of medical supplies in northeastern Syria. The first airlift this year started on 6 February 2014, heading to Qamishly and others followed till 26 February. Through UNHCR implementing partners, the initial distribution plan includes distribution of these

©UNHCR/B.Diab Homs 2014

©UNHCR Qamishly 2014

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Since the beginning of the crisis in Syria, around 1.2 million houses have been damaged includ-ing 400,000 which have been totally destroyed causing the displacement of affected people from their areas (ESCWA). As a response, UNHCR has worked on the rehabilitation of public buildings such as schools, tower buildings, hospitals, base-ments and mosques and has completed so far the rehabilitation of 103 shelters to host vulnerable internally displaced people (IDPs) in cooperation with its implementing partners in Homs, Lattakia, Hama, Quneitra, Damascus and Rural Damascus.

There are 938 shelters in Syria accommodating more than 182,000 displaced individuals which represents around 3% of IDPs in the country. To meet the needs of a greater number of IDPs, UN-HCR, with the support of other members of the Shelter Working Group comprising of the Ministry of Local Administration, UN agencies and human-itarian NGOs, considered the option of upgrading unfinished private buildings where IDPs live in ex-tremely bad conditions especially in winter.

The Shelter Working Group has specified the up-grade guidelines for each residence which involve main building works, apartment works, electri-cal works, water sanitation and Hygiene works (WASH), and equipment providing internal living space, closure of openings in the facade, and tem-porarily insulation for ground, walls and roofs. For each residence unit, common services are also offered such as water supply, sanitation, toilet/ bathroom and kitchen basic items, lightning, and safety equipment.

The shelter upgrade project has benefited 740 families (3,700 individuals) since its launch in Sep-tember 2013.

Shelter upgrade, a new alter-native to support IDPs

items to 12,000 individuals in Hassakeh, 17,500 individuals in Qamishly city and the surroundings, 10,000 individuals in Jawadia, Yaroubia and the northeast of Qamishly city and a further 10,000 individuals east of Qamishly.

This series of airlifts started in 2013 through which UNHCR succeeded in providing CRIs and life-saving medical equip-ment and supplies to more than 60,000 displaced individu-als last year such as incubators, ultrasound machines, he-modialysis machines, high thermal blankets, plastic sheets, plastic tarpaulins, kitchen sets, sleeping mats, jerry cans and hygiene supplies, in addition to vaccines against the polio for 538,000 children following confirmation of the polio outbreak in Syria. As a result, 36,637 children were vaccinated in the rural and urban parts of this area till the beginning of the year in addition to 5,640 children who were outreached by 24 UNHCR medical volunteers.

©UNHCR Qamishly 2014

©UNHCR Qamishly 2014

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