New York: Qatar’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations organised a symposium ‘Slow Death: Life Under Siege in Syria’ attended by France, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Britain and the US.
The symposium, in coordination with Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), was held at the UN headquarters, and was moderated by Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Sheikha Alia bint Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani.
Dr Zaher Sahloul, President, SAMS, reviewed the health situation in Syria during the past four years and highlighted the life in the areas under siege and in areas subject to partial blockade.
He also spoke about people being killed in the besieged areas due to lack of potable water, and the scarcity of food and medical supplies and stressed that infants, children aged one to 15, the elderly and women are most vulnerable to death and diseases.
“We have to break the siege and break the silence.”
Former British foreign secretary and President, International Rescue Committee, David Miliband, urged the five permanent members of the Security Council and the countries concerned by the Syrian crisis to appoint permanent coordinators for humanitarian relief to deal with the humanitarian crisis on a daily basis.
The fourth anniversary of the Syrian crisis reflects not only the suffering of the Syrians, but also the international community’s failure to resolve it, he said. QNA
