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Parliamentary question - E-002315/2014Parliamentary question
E-002315/2014

Syrian Refugee Crisis

Question for written answer E-002315-14
to the Commission
Rule 117
Fiorello Provera (EFD)

On February 26 2014, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, announced that Syrians would soon replace Afghans as the world’s largest refugee population. Approximately 9.3 million Syrians, almost half the population, are in need of help, and 2.4 million have fled the country. Children in particular are extremely vulnerable. In Lebanese refugee camps, nearly 2 000 Syrian children are at risk of starving to death and 10 000 Syrian children aged five years and younger are suffering from acute malnutrition. According to UN deputy aid chief Kyung-Wha Kang, ‘Syria is in danger of losing a generation of children’.

The UN Secretary-General has called for the Syrian Government to grant aid workers greater access to the country. Humanitarian supplies are available, but guaranteeing their safe passage has proved difficult. The government’s indiscriminate use of barrel bombs has resulted in hundreds of innocent civilians being killed, and there appears to be no let-up in the use of such tactics. The Geneva 2 peace talks ended on February 15 2014, with a tentative agreement for a third round of talks at a later date.

1. What role is the Commission playing, together with the UN, to pressure the Syrian Government to allow safe passage for humanitarian and relief workers into parts of the country that have been under siege?

2. What efforts are being undertaken by the Commission in countries such as Lebanon, where Syrian children are at risk of starvation?

OJ C 355, 08/10/2014