The full implementation of this version of the HIP is subject to the adoption of the decision amending Decision C(2014)10012 final and the availability of the relevant appropriations.
AMOUNT: EUR 164 000 000
0. MAJOR CHANGES SINCE PREVIOUS VERSION OF THE HIP
The violence continues relentlessly inside Syria. More than 16 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, 12.2 million of whom inside Syria alone. 5.6 million of those are children. In addition, more than 7.6 million people have been internally displaced, of whom around 4.8 million reside in hard-to-reach areas, including at least 440 000 people trapped in areas besieged by either government or opposition forces.
The rapid rise of ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) has further complicated the situation, changing the dynamics and geographical frontlines of the conflict. Widespread retaliatory attacks against civilian populations in areas newly liberated with support of the international coalition are extremely worrying. Likewise, an upsurge in indiscriminate violence in contested areas is having a dramatic impact on civilian populations. Since the beginning of 2015, more than 250 000 persons have been displaced within and across the governorates of AlHassakeh, Idleb, Dar’a and Quneitra following violent attacks and aerial bombardments. Many of them have been displaced multiple times, with an unknown number of people living in precarious, temporary arrangements in Aleppo and parts of Rural Damascus. These trends urge the reinforcement of humanitarian contingency planning.
The capacity of host communities is under immense strain. Reportedly there are increasing restrictions on some roads and access to cities and villages to prevent the arrival of numbers of internally displaced who in some areas outnumber the local population. Providing adequate shelter for this uprooted population is a major concern.
Humanitarian access to people in need in Syria is severely constrained by insecurity, administrative and bureaucratic impediments as well as systematic access denials. There has been an overall decrease in the number of beneficiaries reached through cross-line deliveries, including the denial of life-saving health assistance. Additionally, insecurity and increasing pressures on humanitarian actors to work in and across areas of control under different armed groups are contributing to gaps and delays in humanitarian assistance compared to the rising scale of needs in Syria. Further scaling up of cross border operations is urgently needed to assist the estimated 2 million people in need that can be reached through cross-border assistance deliveries.
In addition to the further rising needs inside Syria, almost four million Syrian people have sought safety in neighbouring countries (Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt). Their governments are facing immense security, social, economic and political pressures in hosting this large number of refugees, with tensions growing towards the refugee communities. As a result, border restrictions have been tightened for persons fleeing conflict and persecution in Syria.
In Turkey, the current number of nearly 1.8 million registered Syrian refugees is projected, to rise to 2.5 million in the course of 2015. The large majority of them have found refuge in host communities, with one third (300 000) spread over 25 camps. Insufficient access to health, education, livelihoods, and adequate shelter for off-camp refugees remains of concern, with limited current international assistance and capacity of local actors.
In Lebanon, which hosts the largest refugee per capita rate in the world with almost one in four residents being Syrian refugees, the government tightened the previous open-border policy in January 2015. In absence of a clear mechanism to assess the refugees’ eligibility according to humanitarian criteria, the borders can be considered de facto closed. In addition, refugee registrations have been suspended upon Government request, further aggravating the livelihoods and protection situation.
In Jordan, asylum seekers remain stranded at the border with Syria in dire conditions waiting to get access. The number of severely war-wounded refugees that were no longer allowed to enter Jordan unless there was a guarantee that their medical expenses would be covered has almost doubled.
The extra funds under the HIP 2015 (EUR 64 million) will be used to respond to the projected increase in needs in Syria and neighbouring countries and will allow for supporting operations until the first semester of 2016.
All parties to the conflict persistently have shown an utter disregard for international humanitarian and human rights law, with warring parties blind to the mandatory distinction between civilians and combatants. Violence, including the indiscriminate use of barrel bombs, car bombs, mortars and shelling, continue to cause civilian deaths and injuries.
Health is the most worrying sector in Syria. Facilities have collapsed and the population has almost no access anymore to surgical treatment, post-op rehabilitation, etc. There is a clear lack of drugs and of medical staff in the country. An average of 25 000 people are being injured each month, an increasing number of whom experience complications due to the severe shortage of surgical supplies.
The destruction of water and electricity infrastructure in contested areas is impacting thousands of people (over 700 000 people affected in Aleppo Governorate alone), not only in terms of access to clean water, but also in increasing the risk of the spread of diseases. Similarly, attacks, shelling and bombing have destroyed a number of schools, hospitals and markets, disrupting already scarce basic services needed for peoples’ survival.