John Ging speaking in Geneva 5 June
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – John Ging, director of operations for UN emergency relief, told journalists in Geneva Tuesday 5 June that the Syrian government has signed an agreement that allows UN agencies to deliver humanitarian aid. Ging emphasized, however, that “pieces of paper that purport to be agreements are meaningless” and it remains to be seen if Syria allows aid workers to enter the country.
“After a long time of very intense negotiations, we now have an agreement in writing with the Syrian government on the scale, scope and modality of humanitarian action in Syria. The proof of their good faith in that agreement will be in their action of the coming days. So I report to you today progress in so far as we didn’t have before now an agreement. Whether it’s a breakthrough or not will depend on the action on the ground. I cannot predict what that will be but we will work very hard to make it a breakthrough because the people of Syria need us to breakthrough with a much bigger humanitarian response.”
