OREANDA-NEWS. Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center reports that for the past ten days no humanitarian mission was able to delivery assistance for civilians to non-government controlled territories (NGCT). The humanitarian community is now studying the reasons of the situation (document requirements by NGCT).

The convoy of Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center carrying survival parcels for civilians crossed the contact line on 15 July. Distribution points on NGCT continue to dispense the stock of packages stored at Donbass Arena, the Donetsk-based storage facility of the Center. The stock is running low. 

The humanitarian situation beyond the contact line has aggravated recently, and the assistance is now needed there more than before. 

On 27 July 2015, a 19-truck convoy is leaving Dnepropetrovsk to Donetsk with 20,000 survival packages on board. The documents were duly executed in strict compliance with the current laws of Ukraine, all norms and procedures as it has always been the case for almost a year. 

Rinat Akhmetov set the objective to his Center to provide as much help as possible to civilians on both sides of the contact line. We are going to continue our efforts to be able to help the elderly, children and the disabled. 

We hope the convoy will be allowed to the NGCT and the people needing help so much today will get the parcels. Otherwise, we will have to close the distribution points on non-government controlled areas starting from 29 July. 

The Center has been delivering humanitarian help to the residents of the NGCT and the internally displaced people for a year. Unfortunately, we have come across numerous restrictions in deliveries during this time (from hostilities and closed checkpoints to detention of goods by territorial defense battalions). However, working in the interests of people in strict compliance with key humanitarian principles and the law are a paramount condition to ensure that our convoys always reach their destinations. We hope that the convoy today will not be an exception. 

Aid+Help Humanitarian Center is the biggest humanitarian organization in the region. We know that every of over 500,000 people receiving our assistance waits for it and needs it. 

United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that more than 5 million Ukrainians need humanitarian help, firstly, in non-government controlled areas. 

The humanitarian disaster is so huge that we can cope with the distress of millions only through joint actions of international and Ukrainian humanitarian organisations and by following common transparent principles and rules. 

We call on all the parties of Minsk agreement to develop, agree and approve as soon as possible the transparent rules for deliveries of humanitarian help to Donbass. Humanitarian assistance has always and everywhere been beyond boundaries and conflicts. 

Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center calls on everyone in charge of these issues to rise above political considerations and enable ALL international and Ukrainian humanitarian organisations to save people. This is an imperative of the international law and mere humanity.

Humanitarian help must get a green light, an unobstructed access always and everywhere. Humanitarian help has always and everywhere been beyond boundaries and conflicts. It’s been beyond laws made by one side or another. All obstacles and restrictions for humanitarian help must be removed immediately. Civilians must not be dying of hunger and diseases.