The UK government announced in a news release that British Minister Wendy Morton attended the Bab Al-Hawa border crossing between Turkey and northern Syria on Tuesday to witness how the essential UK and international humanitarian aid is reaching 2.4 million Syrians every month.

Her arrival comes before a critical decision on July 10 by members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as to whether to keep this crossing operational.

“The UK's position is evident: the Bab Al-Hawa border crossing must stay open, as must other border checks, such that life-saving food, shelter, and medical supplies could be provided and important relief operations may continue,” the government said in a statement.

The border with Turkey is now the sole permitted route for UN-coordinated humanitarian supplies to reach more than 2 million people who've been forced to relocate from their homes in northwest Syria.

Russia and China have utilized their veto authority to restrict the variety of possible border crossings, leaving just Bab al-Hawa, making it difficult to respond to the region's increasing humanitarian assistance.

These two nations continue to prioritize political backing for the Assad government over life-saving support for Syrians. The United Kingdom requests all UN Security Council delegates to vote to increase humanitarian access into Syria to prevent a worsening of the country's grave humanitarian crisis in the country's northwest.

Wendy Morton stated after she visited the border crossing, "The Bab Al-Hawa border crossing should stay open so that life-saving humanitarian supplies can reach the most vulnerable Syrians."

“Between 2020 and 2021, the UK supplied safe drinking water to over 225,000 people, health consultations to approximately 400,000 Syrians, and formal education to almost 200,000 children in northwestern Syria – all through this critical humanitarian crossing.”

“As a regional force for good, the United Kingdom would vote in support of maximum humanitarian assistance at the UN Security Council, permitting charities operating in northwestern Syria to complete their life-saving work. “Across the war-torn country, more than 13 million Syrians remain in desperate need of assistance,” she continued.