On October 22, 2025, senior United Nations officials delivered a stark message to the Security Council: Syria stands at a crossroads, facing both a rare opportunity for recovery and the grinding reality of one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. The calls for urgent international support come as the country, still reeling from more than a decade of war and dictatorship, attempts to chart a new course under a recently established government.
Ramesh Rajasingham, director of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ (OCHA) Coordination Division, described the situation in Syria as a “challenging but crucial opportunity to build a better future,” according to Anadolu Agency. Yet, he did not mince words about the scale of need: more than 70% of Syrians remain affected by the crisis, with millions displaced and basic services in tatters. “Syria continues to navigate a challenging but crucial opportunity to build a better future,” Rajasingham told the Security Council, echoing a sentiment that was repeated by other UN officials throughout the day.
The numbers are sobering. Approximately 7 million people remain internally displaced, including 1.3 million living in camps or similar sites—many of whom are especially vulnerable as winter approaches. Over 2.4 million children are out of school, and one in three schools across the country is either damaged or being used as a shelter for displaced families. The impact of the conflict is everywhere: from the battered urban landscapes of Aleppo and Homs to the makeshift camps that dot the countryside.
Recent months have brought fresh challenges. Earlier in October, clashes in Aleppo caused civilian casualties and forced families to flee their homes once again. While the ceasefire in As-Sweida has largely held, the region’s fragile security environment has led to shortages and soaring prices for essentials like fuel and bread, and has hampered the restoration of critical services such as healthcare and water. “Developments on the ground continue to add to or exacerbate people’s needs,” Rajasingham explained during his Security Council briefing, as reported by OCHA.
Explosive ordnance remains a daily threat. In just the week before the UN briefing, there were 16 incidents across Syria, resulting in three deaths and 19 injuries—including six children. Since December 2024, more than 550 people have been killed and over 800 wounded by such devices, nearly a third of them children. The dangers do not end there: wildfires in Lattakia, Tartous, and Homs governorates have affected over 5,000 people in the past month, displacing dozens of families, damaging agricultural land, and disrupting already overstretched essential services.
Despite these daunting obstacles, the UN and its partners have managed to reach an average of 3.4 million people each month across Syria—a figure that is 25% higher than the same period last year. This achievement comes in the face of dwindling resources and a humanitarian response plan that is only 19% funded, one of the lowest levels among the UN’s largest appeals. Humanitarian convoys, organized in coordination with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, have delivered blankets, medical supplies, food, and fuel to an average of 424,000 people per month in As-Sweida Governorate since July. The World Food Programme (WFP) has provided hundreds of tons of wheat flour to bakeries in As-Sweida, Dar’a, and Rural Damascus, supporting subsidized bread for 2 million people every month.
Other agencies are also working to address the country’s complex needs. UNICEF, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, is running a “Back-to-Learning” campaign to reach displaced and at-risk children, rebuild schools, and expand access in remote areas. The Syria Humanitarian Fund and Syria Cross-Border Humanitarian Fund, which are merging as part of an operational transition, have allocated $84 million so far this year to support water, sanitation, explosive ordnance clearance, and solar-powered water supply projects. About 63% of these funds are channeled directly or indirectly to national partners, and over 300 trucks per month have delivered assistance from Türkiye to various locations in Syria, with the consent of Syrian authorities.
Yet, the needs continue to outpace available resources. Water trucking services for internally displaced people in Ar-Raqqa were suspended this month, and similar services in Al-Hasakeh are at risk of being curtailed next month without additional funding. The WFP has warned that, without new resources, it will have to scale back its assistance by January 2026. Over 340 health facilities have already suspended services, reducing access to healthcare and medicine for more than 7 million people. Funding cuts have also led to the closure of at least 45 service points for survivors of gender-based violence this year—a particularly troubling development, given a recent UNFPA report highlighting ongoing insecurity and abuse faced by women and girls, despite a surge of hope around Syria’s political transition.
That transition, while fragile, is real. The Syrian civil war came to an official end in December 2024 after Bashar al-Assad, who had ruled for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia. The Ba’ath Party’s decades-long grip on power was broken, and a new government led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa has since embarked on a program of political and economic reforms. The government has prioritized social cohesion and has sought to expand cooperation with both regional and international partners.
Najat Rochdi, the UN’s deputy special envoy for Syria, used the 25th anniversary of Security Council Resolution 1325 to highlight the central role of women in the peace process. “Syrian women remain invested and engaged in the political transition and expect and demand future electoral processes designed to protect their legitimate right to participate,” she said. Rochdi called for authorities and civil society “to define an inclusive pathway for holding future elections,” and pressed for economic support to overcome the “staggering consequences of fourteen years of conflict and over half a century of dictatorship.”
Both Rajasingham and Rochdi emphasized the importance of de-escalating ongoing flashpoints and preventing new ones, as well as the need for additional funding and tangible investment in reconstruction to support a Syrian-led recovery. Rochdi also warned against external interference, specifically calling for an end to “ongoing Israeli territorial incursions into southern Syria” and urging “full respect for Syria’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.” She further urged that remaining sanctions be lifted “at a larger and quicker scale to give this transition a chance to succeed.”
There are signs of hope. More than 1 million refugees have returned to Syria since December 2024, along with 1.9 million internally displaced people who have also come back. However, the sustainability of these returns depends on greater investment in basic services, shelter, and reconstruction. Last month, during the UN General Assembly High-Level Week, OCHA and other humanitarian partners met with Syrian officials to discuss scaling up support and improving conditions for those returning home.
“Syria has a viable path forward towards Syrian-led recovery, supported by development partners, and away from reliance on a massive emergency humanitarian operation,” Rajasingham stated. But he cautioned that “decisive and sustained action from the international community” is required, including maintaining the flow of critical humanitarian aid as the country attempts to rebuild.
As Syria stands at this pivotal moment, the world’s response will help determine whether the country can finally move beyond crisis and toward a future marked by stability, inclusion, and hope.