Annie's New Letters (& notes): ATFP Briefing on Palestinian Refugees in Syria and the Crisis at Yarmouk: The National Press Club Washington DC- January 22nd, 2014

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ATFP Briefing: Yarmouk Camp Crisis

The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) will be hosting a briefing on Palestinian Refugees in Syria and the crisis at Yarmouk on Wednesday, January 22 from 1-3 PM. The event will be held in the Zenger Room at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor, Washington, DC 20045.

Panelists will include Richard Wright, the Director of the UNRWA New York Representative Office; Andrew J. Tabler, Senior Fellow at the The Washington Institute for Near East Policy; and ATFP Senior Fellow Hussein Ibish.

January 22, 2014
1:00-3:00 PM

The National Press Club
Zenger Room
529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor
Washington, DC 20045

Palestinian refugees in Syria, especially at the Yarmouk refugee camp outside of Damascus, are facing a dire humanitarian crisis. 18,000 refugees are trapped in Yarmouk and there have been many reported deaths due to attacks, starvation, and lack of medicines and fuel.

On December 20, UNRWA Commissioner-General Filippo Grandi warned that "It is my responsibility to inform the international community that humanitarian conditions in the besieged refugee camp of Yarmouk are worsening dramatically and that we are currently unable to help those trapped inside. If this situation is not addressed urgently, it may be too late to save the lives of thousands of people including children."

On January 15, Secretary of State John Kerry said, "[in] Ghouta and other parts of the country, such as Yarmouk refugee camp, civilians are dying of malnutrition. That is absolutely unacceptable. If the regime can allow access to United Nations and international weapons inspectors, surely it can do the same for neutral, international humanitarian assistance.”

This ATFP panel will examine the crisis from numerous angles, including its humanitarian and regional components, and place it in the context of international responsibilities towards the
victims.