GENEVA (January 21, 2016) — Three years ago, the leaders of UN humanitarian agencies issued an urgent appeal to those who could end the conflict in Syria. They called for every effort to save the Syrian people. “Enough”, they said, of the suffering and bloodshed.
That was three years ago.
Now, the war is approaching its sixth brutal year. The bloodshed continues. The suffering deepens.
So today, we – leaders of humanitarian organizations and UN agencies – appeal not only to governments but to each of you – citizens around the world – to add your voices in urging an end to the carnage. To urge that all parties reach agreement on a ceasefire and a path to peace.
More than ever before, the world needs to hear a collective public voice calling for an end to this outrage. Because this conflict and its consequences touch us all.
It touches those in Syria who have lost loved ones and livelihoods, who have been uprooted from their homes, or who live in desperation under siege. Today, some 13.5 million people inside Syria need humanitarian assistance. That is not simply a statistic. These are 13.5 million individual human beings whose lives and futures are in jeopardy.
It touches the families who, with few options for a better future, set out on perilous journeys to foreign lands in search of refuge. The war has seen 4.6 million people flee to neighboring countries and beyond.
It touches a generation of children and young people who – deprived of education and traumatized by the horrors they have experienced –increasingly see their future shaped only by violence.
It touches those far beyond Syria who have seen the violent repercussions of the crisis reach the streets, offices and restaurants closer to their homes.
And it touches all those around the world whose economic wellbeing is affected, in ways visible and invisible, by the conflict.
Those with the ability to stop the suffering can – and therefore should – take action now. Until there is a diplomatic solution to the fighting, such action should include:
- Unimpeded and sustained access for humanitarian organizations to bring immediate relief to all those in need inside Syria
- Humanitarian pauses and unconditional, monitored ceasefires to allow food and other urgent assistance to be delivered to civilians, vaccinations and other health campaigns, and for children to return to school
- A cessation of attacks on civilian infrastructure – so that schools and hospitals and water supplies are kept safe
- Freedom of movement for all civilians and the immediate lifting of all sieges by all parties
These are practical actions. There is no practical reason they could not be implemented if there is the will to do so.
In the name of our shared humanity… for the sake of the millions of innocents who have already suffered so much…and for the millions more whose lives and futures hang in the balance, we call for action now.
Now.
21 January 2016
Names of signatories:
Adriano Campolina, Chief Executive, Actionaid
Daniel Wordsworth, President and CEO, American Refugee Committee
Marie-Pierre Caley, CEO, ACTED
Daigo Takagi, Association for Aid and Relief, Japan
Mohammad Zia-ur-Rehman, Chief Executive, AwazCDS and Pakistan Development Alliance
Hisham Dirani, CEO, BINAA Organization for Development
Wolfgang Jamann, Secretary General, Care International
Michel Roy, Secretary General, Caritas International
Carolyn Woo, President and CEO, Catholic Relief Services
Marie Soueid, Policy Counsel, Center for Victims of Torture
Meg Gardinier, Secretary General, ChildFund Alliance
Leila Zerrougui, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict
Rev. John L. McCullough, President and CEO, Church World Service
Dominic MacSorley, Chief Executive Officer, Concern Worldwide
W. Douglas Jackson, PhD, JD, President/CEO, PROJECT C.U.R.E.
Benoit Van Keirsbilck, Director, DEI-Belgique
Dr. Dirk Hegmanns, Regional Director Turkey/Syria/Iraq, Deutsche Welthungerhilfe
Stephen O’Brien, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator
Rosa G. Lizarde, Global Director, Feminist Task Force
Global Call to Action against Poverty
Florence Syevuo, Global Call to Action against Poverty, Kenya
David A. Weiss, President and CEO, Global Communities
Barry Andrews, CEO, GOAL Ireland
James Mitchum, Chief Executive Officer, Heart to Heart International
Anne Hery, Director for Advocacy and Institutional Relations,Handicap International
Handicap International, Belgium
Pierre Ferrari, President and CEO, Heifer International
Samuel A. Worthington, CEO, InterAction
Maryanne Diamond, Chair, International Disability Alliance
Elhadj As Sy, Secretary General, CEO, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
Nancy A. Aossey, President & CEO, International Medical Corp
William L. Swing, Director General, International Organization for Migration
International Organization for Migration, Netherlands
Constantine M. Triantafilou, Executive Director and CEO, International Orthodox Christian Charities
Dr. Mohamed Ashmawey, CEO, Islamic Relief Worldwide
Rev. Thomas H. Smolich, S.J. International Director, Jesuit Refugee Service
Lina Sergie Attar, co-founder and CEO, Karam Foundation
Kerk in Actie, Netherlands
Neal Keny-Guyer, Chief Executive Officer, Mercy Corps
Dato Dr Ahmad Faizal Perdaus, President, Mercy Malaysia
Richard Allen, CEO, Mentor Initiative
Anne-Marie Helland, General Secretary, Norwegian Church Aid
Jan Egeland, Secretary-General, Norwegian Refugee Council
Mark Goldring, Chief Executive, Oxfam Great Britain
People in Need
Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen, CEO, Plan International
Dirk Van Maele, Director, Plan België
Monique van ‘t Hek, Director, Plan Nederland
Dr. Tessie San Martin, President and CEO, Plan International USA
Curtis N. Rhodes Jr., International Director, Questscope
Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Michel Gabaudan, President, Refugees International
Nancy E. Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Relief International
Dr. William Vendley, Secretary General, Religions for Peace
Dr. Haytham Alhamwi, Director, Rethink Rebuild
Janti Soeripto, Interim CEO, Save the Children, International
Patricia Erb, President and CEO, Save the Children Canada
Jonas Keiding Lindholm, CEO Save the Children Denmark
Kathrin Wieland, CEO, Save the Children Germany
Amy Fong, Chief Executive, Save the Children Hong Kong
Pim Kraan, Director, Save the Children Netherlands
Heather Hayden, Chief Executive Officer, Save the Children New Zealand
Tove Wang, CEO, Save the Children Norway
Justin Forsyth, CEO, Save the Children UK
Carolyn Miles, President and CEO, Save the Children USA
SOS Kinderdorpen, Netherlands
Dr. Jihad Qaddour, President, Syria Relief and Development
Tineke Ceelen, Director, Stichting Vluchteling, Netherlands
Abdullah Hanoun, CEO, Syrian Community of the South West UK
Cécil Van Maelsaeke, Director, Tearfund, Belgium
Tearfund, UK
Noreen Gumbo, Head of Humanitarian Programmes, Trócaire
Anthony Lake, Executive Director, UNICEF
David Morley, President and CEO, UNICEF Canada
Marja-Riitta Ketola, Executive Director, Finnish National Committee for UNICEF
Bergsteinn Jónsson, Executive Director, UNICEF Iceland
Peter Power, Executive Director, UNICEF Ireland
Jan Bouke Wijbrandi, Executive Director, UNICEF Netherlands,
Vivien Maidaborn, Executive Director UNICEF New Zealand
Bernt G. Apeland, Executive Director, UNICEF Norway
Carmelo Angulo Barturen, President, Spanish National Committee for UNICEF,
Caryl M. Stern, President and CEO, U.S. Fund for UNICEF
Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund
Thomas G. Kemper, General Secretary, General Board of Global Ministries, United Methodist Church
Lavinia Limón, President and CEO, U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
Sarina Prabasi, Chief Executive Officer, WaterAid America
Sarah Costa, Executive Director, Women’s Refugee Commission
Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director, World Food Programme
Margaret Chan, Director-General, World Health Organization
John Lyon, President, World Hope International
Hélène H. Oord, Chief, Worldview Mission
Kevin Jenkins, President and CEO, World Vision International
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About World Vision:
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization conducting relief, development, and advocacy activities in its work with children, families, and their communities in nearly 100 countries to help them reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. For more information, please visit www.WorldVision.org/media-center/ or on Twitter @WorldVisionUSA.
Highlights
- Nearly 100 organizations have come together to call for immediate action
- Calling for full, unrestricted access to those desperately in need of aid
- 13.5 million people inside Syria are in need of humanitarian assistance