The heads of the U.N.’s humanitarian organizations called on the Security Council to extend the resolution on the global body’s cross-border aid operations into northwest Syria without delay.

A joint statement signed by the heads of the U.N. humanitarian affairs office (OCHA), International Organization for Migration (IOM), U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP), World Health Organization (WHO), U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) and U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR), highlighted the importance of the humanitarian assistance, noting that 4.1 million people’s lives were at stake.

"Without UN cross-border operations, millions of people, especially those displaced for years and multiple times, will not have access to food and shelter; to help in coping with harsh winter conditions; to the surveillance, treatment and testing capacities needed to contain cholera; to safe water; and to protection from gender-based violence," the statement read.

The statement said the U.N. is determined to maintain and expand aid deliveries and calls on all stakeholders to ensure unhindered, sustained and predictable access to northwest Syria from regime-controlled areas.

"Unlike earlier resolutions which extended the cross-border operations for 12 months, the last action taken by the Council only granted a six-month authorization. This led to additional logistical and operational challenges, increased operational costs, and curbed the capacity of humanitarian partners to help those in need," the statement said and added: "The millions of people who depend on the cross-border lifeline for survival need this resolution to be renewed without delay."

The council asked for a report from the secretary-general on Syria's humanitarian needs in the July resolution that extended the delivery of food, medicine and other desperately needed aid through the Bab al-Hawa crossing from Türkiye to northwest Idlib for six months until Jan. 10.

Russia has sought to reduce cross-border aid to eliminate it.

In July 2020, China and Russia vetoed a U.N. resolution that would have maintained two border crossing points from Türkiye for humanitarian aid to northwest Idlib. Days later, the delivery of aid was reduced to just the Bab al-Hawa crossing for a year, as they demanded.

In July 2021, Russia pressed for a further reduction, finally agreeing to a six-month extension with another six-month contingent on a report from the secretary-general on progress in cross-line deliveries. But in July this year, Russia insisted on U.N. authorization for just six months.

Enormously appealing for Bab al-Hawa to remain open for U.N. assistance, Antonio Guterres warned that "a halt to cross-border deliveries amid winter months would risk leaving millions of Syrians without the aid needed to endure harsh weather conditions."