This morning, the United Nations Security Council is meeting once again to discuss the situation in Syria. Since December, 900,000 desperate Syrians, more than half of whom are children, have been forced to flee – 100,000 in the last week alone. A humanitarian catastrophe – the worst since the conflict began nearly 9 years ago - is rapidly unfolding before our eyes and still the Council has failed to act. 

What is needed now is an urgent ceasefire resolution - which the Council has the power to adopt without delay. The failure of Council members to unite around this most basic aspect of its mandate  - protecting civilians and easing humanitarian suffering - is calling into question the Council’s credibility. 

The IRC calls on the UN Security Council to issue an immediate ceasefire resolution at this morning's meeting and spare the egregious human cost of any further violence. This is what the resolution should look like. Anything less is an abandonment of Syrian civilians and a serious blow to the authority and global standing of the Council.   

“Expressing grave concern at the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Northwest Syria and ongoing violations of international humanitarian law by parties to the conflict, the Security Council