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Senior UN officials calls for "meaningful change" in Syria

Xinhua, March 14, 2015 Adjust font size:

Senior UN officials on Friday called on world leaders to bring about "meaningful change" in Syria as the country's "appalling" crisis enters its fifth year.

The Syrian crisis that the international community has failed to stop continues to exact an unconscionable human cost, said a joint statement released by UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Margaret Chan, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Anthony Lake, and five other senior officials.

"We ask 'what does it take' to end this crisis? The future of a generation is at stake. The credibility of the international community is at stake," said the statement.

The officials called on world leaders to press the parties in Syria to end attacks on civilians, to enable delivery of surgical and medical supplies, to resume water and power supplies to civilians and also to avoid the complete collapse of the education system, according to the statement.

The conflict in Syria, which began in March 2011, has led to over 220,000 deaths. More than 4 million people have sought refuge in neighboring countries while a further 7.6 million are displaced within Syria.

According to UNICEF statistics, more than 5.6 million Syrian children are facing with the most desperate situation inside the country, and almost 2 million Syrian children are living as refugees in Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and other countries.

"As humanitarian leaders we are committed to continuing to do our best to help all those caught in the middle of this war," said the statement.

The other five officials joining the statement are Zainab Hawa Bangura, special representative on sexual violence in conflict, Ertharin Cousin, executive director of World Food Programme, Antonio Guterres, high commissioner for refugees, Pierre Krahenbuhl, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and Leila Zerrougui, special representative of the secretary-general for children and armed conflict. Endite