Mr. Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator – Briefing to the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Syria, 17 September 2026
Country: Syrian Arab Republic Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Please refer to the attached file. New York, 17 September 2026 As delivered Mr. President, Thank you for the opportunity to brief the Council on the humanitarian situation in Syria. And thank you, as ever, to my colleague [UN Deputy Special Envoy for Syria, Claudio Cordone] for his work. Mr President, my briefings tend to feature many numbers, but here is the most important one. Since December 2024, more than 2 million internally displaced Syrians and 1.8 million refugees have gone home voluntarily. This historic wave of return – the highest in Syria in decades – is a profound sign of hope. Improved security, eased sanctions and resilient communities are driving this recovery. Through 300 partners, we have reached over 2.5 million people monthly this year with humanitarian support, reopening key routes into Al-Hassakeh and flights to Deir ez Zour in August. However, four obstacles threaten this progress: continued displacement, localized insecurity, regional escalation and landmines. First, 5.5 million people inside Syria have not yet gone home, nearly 800,000 of them still in camps – over 75 per cent of them women and children. And currently only 18 per cent of Syrians outside the country say that they plan to return home in the coming year. Without homes, schools or clean water, today’s returnees risk becoming tomorrow’s displaced. So, we must continue to support all efforts to see the Government’s No Tents and No Camps initiative to achieve safe return for all those who choose to go home. A second challenge, localized insecurity risks choking recovery. ISIL attacks in the east and northeast, sporadic violence, rebuilding challenges, and bureaucratic hurdles threaten lasting peace. True stability is not possible until every community, most crucially Syria’s women, are fully integrated in the nation’s political and economic fabric. Third, and as you’ve just heard, the mounting risks beyond Syria's borders. The escalation of tension across the region means maritime choke points, disrupted supply chains, reduced humanitarian access and even greater economic pressure on Syrian families. Alongside the weeks of disruption to the Strait of Hormuz, we now face blockages in Bab al-Mandab. And for Syrians, I fear that means increased fuel prices, freight charges, insurance premiums, procurement lead times, as well as disruptions to imports from Asia and the Gulf and to shipping through Tartous and Latakia. Higher diesel costs – up 40 per cent only this week – will hit agricultural production, water pumping, electricity generation, bakeries and heating as winter approaches, with disproportionate consequences for displaced people and other vulnerable households. For families already struggling, higher fuel and transport costs will increase the prices of food, medicines and other essential goods. The cost of what we call a Minimum Expenditure Basket has increased 33 per cent since June 2025, while electricity tariffs have increased in some places by several hundred per cent. And those price increases, of course, drive up the cost of our humanitarian response. A fourth challenge: mines are making recovery efforts a lethal gamble. Since December 2024, explosive ordnance has killed 880 people, including 269 children, and maimed 1,616 more, nearly 40 per cent of them children. Mines block the fields, orchards, grazing lands that families need to feed themselves. You cannot build an economy over a minefield. So, it is right that the Syrian government has made the No Mines initiative a centrepiece of its planning, backed by the humanitarian community. Mr. President, I close with three asks of this Council, all in pursuit of the effort to help Syrians return, rebuild and move beyond crisis – and beyond the need for Security Council discussion. First, we must invest in the transition out of humanitarian need and towards reconstruction and growth. We should be making a collective push alongside the Syrian authorities to move through this transition in the coming year. But while humanitarian organizations continue to deliver, resources fall dramatically short of what is needed. Agencies are being forced to reduce, delay or stop activities just when families with the most severe needs need help to make the journey from displacement to recovery. Food assistance for the most vulnerable is being halved. Our hyper-prioritized appeal may be 57 per cent funded now, but key sectors lag behind. Our food and education plans are only 26 per cent funded. So, I thank all donors who are stepping up to fund the appeal. All of this tracked in our publicly available system, including the US with $297 million; the European Commission $221 million; the UK, $46 million; Japan, $42 million; and Germany, $40 million. All those figures publicly available, and many more. And I thank donors for doing so in line with the Humanitarian Reset. As of the end of August, the Syria Humanitarian Fund has received $325 million, over twice last year’s figure. As winter approaches and the regional situation remains unstable, funding will be vital as a bulwark against losing those advances that Syria has fought so hard to achieve. If we fail to invest today, the costs will be higher tomorrow – in renewed displacement, deteriorating services and lost opportunities to consolidate stability and transition towards reconstruction and development in Syria. My second ask: remove the obstacles standing between recovery and development. We must work with the Syrian authorities to clear the mines. Remove the rubble. And continue progress in unblocking administrative delays. And to fund livelihoods. Third, we must invest the political capital needed to keep Syria out of regional conflict. We must redouble diplomatic efforts in support of Syria’s territorial integrity. We must take every measure so that the Syrian people are not subjected to further conflict, displacement and chaos. Mr. President, Syrians have endured enough. They are making progress that has defied many who predicted or wished it impossible. Let us also meet this moment. Thank you.
ReliefWeb•UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs22 Sept
