The complaint was made by Syria’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, Al-Hakam Dendi, during a session of the Security Council to discuss political and humanitarian issues in Syria.

The diplomat assured that these hostile policies have caused, and continue to do so, serious damage to humanitarian efforts in Syria and to the ability of the United Nations and its specialized agencies to carry out their mandate, support the resilience of Syrians and promote early recovery of humanitarian projects in basic sectors such as health, education, water, electricity and housing.

According to the functionary, Damascus maintains its positive approach and constructive cooperation with its partners in humanitarian and development work. “We continue to provide support and facilities to humanitarian agencies and extended an additional three months to the permission granted to the United Nations to use the Bab Al-Salama and Al-Rai border crossings to ease the arrival of humanitarian aid to Syrian civilians in the northwest of the country,” the functionary said.

Dendi also explained before the Security Council that the Syrian Government continues to take measures to improve the humanitarian situation, provide basic services to its citizens and follow up on the process of modernizing administrative and legislative structures.

He referred to the devastating earthquake that shook Syria in February 2023 and denounced the lack of modern machinery and equipment due to sanctions, which forced many Syrians to dig with their own hands to try to find their loved ones and rescue them from among the rubble.

“The United States and its allies in the West persist with their destructive policies and collective punishment against all layers of the Syrian people without exception,”Dendi pointed out, explaining that the recent report of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia on the effects of sanctions in Syria constitute further evidence of their disastrous effects.

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