Press Release

RC/HC statement on the closure of Damascus Airport [EN/AR]

13 June 2022

United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria, Imran Riza statement on the closure of Damascus Airport

I am deeply concerned about the recent airstrikes on the Damascus Airport that have led to the closure of the airport due to damages sustained in the airstrike. On 10 June, several airstrikes were reported early in the morning in rural Damascus, with Damascus Airport being one of the impact sites. The damages were incurred to the runway as well as to the terminal building forcing the airport to shut down until further notice.

The closure has severe humanitarian implications and could result in additional negative consequences for vulnerable Syrians. The closure has already resulted in suspension of all flights for the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) – the key enabler of access for humanitarian operations in Syria and in many other crisis countries.

In the period between 1 January and 9 June 2022, UNHAS provided transportation to a total of 2,143 humanitarian community members between Damascus, Qamishli and Aleppo. Since the beginning of the year, UNHAS has enabled HCT partners ability to serve a total of 2,097,840 people in need in Aleppo, Al-Hasakeh, Deir ez-Zor and Ar-Raqqa governorates. UNHAS also transports humanitarian cargo, including life-saving health supplies like tetanus vaccines, testing equipment for blood transfusion and diabetes medication across Syria.

The impact of this closure could further impede humanitarian access and if not resolved quickly, may have drastic humanitarian repercussions for more than two million people in need.

Targeting civilian objects and infrastructure runs contrary to international humanitarian law. I call on all parties to ensure protection of civilians and civilian objects and infrastructure. Humanitarian air services must resume without delay so that emergency assistance can continue to reach those in need.

For further information:

Olga Cherevko, Spokesperson, OCHA Syria, Damascus, cherevko@un.org

Nathalie Fustier

Nathalie Fustier

RCO
Resident Coordinator a.i and Humanitarian Coordinator
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Ms. Nathalie Fustier has over 30 years of experience in international relations, negotiations, and the management of political, humanitarian, and development affairs. She most recently served as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Morocco, leading and coordinating the work of more than 21 UN agencies, funds, and programmes in support of the country’s development priorities. She previously held the same position in Saudi Arabia, where she coordinated the work of 23 UN entities.
Before that, Ms. Fustier worked with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in several leadership roles, including Head of Office in Lebanon and Gaziantep (Turkey), and Senior Humanitarian Affairs Specialist for the Middle East at UN Headquarters in New York.
Earlier in her career, she spent eight years in the private sector advising international companies in the Gulf and the Middle East on risk analysis, negotiation strategies, due diligence, fundraising, and intercultural training. She also served as the volunteer Chair of the Women’s Foundation for the Mediterranean.
For three decades, Ms. Fustier has worked on Middle Eastern affairs. She has served as Counselor for Cooperation and Cultural Affairs at the French Embassy in Doha, worked with the United Nations’ Oil-for-Food Programme and the Department of Political Affairs in New York, and served in the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Baghdad. She also spent eight years in Paris overseeing the work of the Delegation for Strategic Affairs for the Middle East and North Africa.
Nathalie Fustier holds a master’s degree in political sciences from the Institute of Political Studies (Aix-en-Provence, France) and a master’s degree in international Negotiation from Aix-Marseille University (France).

She is married and has one son.

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