The American Relief Coalition for Syria (ARCS) would like to emphasize that the Syrian crisis is a human rights crisis at its core that has evolved into a humanitarian crisis because of the brutal actions of the Syrian regime against its people. Thus, we will continue to support all efforts that ensure accountability to the Syrian people and that perpetrators of human rights abuses are held accountable and are not rewarded financially and politically. As diaspora humanitarian organizations and workers, we align with human rights demands, accountability, and justice principles.

On May 13th, 2023, Syrian authorities extended their consent for UN humanitarian agencies to use international border crossings at Bab Al- Salameh and Al-Ra'i for 90 days. This follows consent having previously been given for UN humanitarian agencies to use those border crossings after the earthquakes of February 6th, 2023. Although prior ARCS' analyses have demonstrated that state consent is not a legal prerequisite for remote cross-border aid programming by UN humanitarian agencies, the extension of consent reinforces the basis on which they may do so, and fulfils basic legal obligations not to arbitrarily refuse, and more importantly not to arbitrarily withdraw, consent to humanitarian-need-centred offers of principled humanitarian aid.

The American Relief Coalition for Syria (ARCS) calls on the Lebanese Government to cease the forced return, arbitrary arrest, and deportation of Syrian refugees residing in Lebanon, and to fulfill its obligations under the customary international law principle of non-refoulement. Instances of forced returns and deportations back to Syria have been documented by Amnesty International to place returnees at an elevated risk of serious human rights violations including arbitrary arrest, torture, sexual violence, enforced disappearance, and death committed by the Syrian Government.

This week marks the 12th anniversary of the first peaceful protests in Syria and over one month since the devastating February 6th 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes. These catastrophic earthquakes exacerbated an already fragile humanitarian situation in Syria that was already in a state of decline. ARCS is urging the donor community to promptly release additional funds specifically for earthquake response programs and efforts prioritizing Syrian humanitarian organizations.

The American Relief Coalition for Syria (ARCS) is deeply saddened by the destruction and loss of life in Türkiye and Syria resulting from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake, the additional earthquakes and aftershocks that followed on February 6th, 2023. ARCS is urging the UN Secretariat and Secretary-General to recognize that the UNSC is no longer needed for UN-coordinated cross-border aid provision in Syria.

The American Relief Coalition for Syria (ARCS), is relieved that Resolution 2672 will allow for a continuation of the life-saving cross-border aid mechanism, but reiterates that such a short extension period will never be sufficient to provide a reliable and dependable humanitarian response in Northwest Syria.

Syrian NGO Alliance (SNA), the American Relief Coalition for Syria (ARCS), Syrian Networks League (SNL) and the White Helmets, urges the UN Security Council members, through the current legal basis, to continue its authorization for UN-led cross-border humanitarian assistance and coordination in Northwest Syria for a minimum of 12 months with no further changes in the resolution language that would lead to restrictive interpretation of the humanitarian life-saving activities and access.

While The American Relief Coalition for Syria (ARCS) is grateful that UN cross-border resolution 2642 will allow UN agencies to continue to supply essential aid through the Bab Al-Hawa border point, ARCS has conducted, in partnership with a group of specialist international lawyers, a legal research on the legality of the continuation of cross-border aid in Syria without a UNSC mandate. This research shows that it is not clear that a resolution was in fact necessary, and that whilst it may have made the mandate clearer, it is far from the only claim to legality for non-consensual cross-border humanitarian assistance in Syria.