The US and countries in Europe have been asked to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Syria on the tenth anniversary of the start of the war.

The call came from the International charity, Aid to the Church in Need.

Executive President, Dr. Thomas Heine-Geldern said there is a duty to provide help to the suffering civil population of Syria – and especially to the rapidly dwindling Christian minority.

“In their name I beg you to implement the existing international legal framework, which allows humanitarian exceptions to the embargo.”

Syria is currently under sanction by the international community. There are provisions for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Syria under the sanctions, but according to ACN the mechanism is not working properly. The system makes it extremely difficult to transfer money to Syria and also to deliver humanitarian related goods.

Dr. Heine-Geldren calls on the international community to clarify what is permitted under the sanctions and what is not, and to also  facilitate the provision of aid to the war-torn Middle Eastern country. In  addition he calls for a clearer and easier permitting system for relevant NGOs. Since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, Aid to the Church in Need has given almost €42 million in aid to help more than 900 humanitarian and pastoral programmes run by the Church in Syria.