[Vredeslijst] Petition to UN: Deliver aid to ALL sides in Syria!
Jeff
meisner op xs4all.nl
Wo Jun 15 16:52:22 CEST 2016
Sign the petition to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon:
https://act.thesyriacampaign.org/sign/stop-taking-sides/
Taking sides: The United Nations’ loss of impartiality, independence and
neutrality in Syria.
FULL REPORT:
http://takingsides.thesyriacampaign.org/
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The United Nations (UN) in Syria is in serious breach of the
humanitarian principles of impartiality, independence and neutrality.
By choosing to prioritise cooperation with the Syrian government at all
costs, the UN has enabled the distribution of billions of dollars of
international aid to be directed by one side in the conflict. This has
contributed to the deaths of thousands of civilians, either through
starvation, malnutrition-related illness, or a lack of access to medical
aid. It has also led to the accusation that this misshapen UN aid
operation is affecting – perhaps prolonging – the course of the conflict
itself.
This report documents a departure from humanitarian principles beginning
with the UN’s failure to deliver aid to the government-besieged town of
Daraa at the very start of the crisis in 2011. The government of Syria
used the explicit threat of removing the UN’s permission to operate
within Syria and withdrawing visas for its non-Syrian staff to keep
humanitarians from delivering aid to Daraa. The Syrian government has
used this threat consistently since then to manipulate where, how and to
whom the UN has been able to deliver humanitarian aid.
Facing this attack on their humanitarian principles, UN agencies did not
unite or set out red lines or conditions formeisner op xs4all.nl their
cooperation with the Syrian government. Rather, they chose to accept the
government’s constraints on their operation. As a result, a culture of
compliance was born. UN agencies were unwilling to push hard for access
to areas outside of government control. In the words of one recent
evaluation by the UN itself, agencies were
“simply not willing to jeopardise their operations in Syria by taking a
tougher stance with the government. The reasons for this are beyond the
scope of this evaluation, but will surely be scrutinised unfavourably at
a later point.”1
That point is now. This report scrutinises not only the UN’s reasons for
failing to take a tougher stance with the government, but also the
impact of this failure upon Syrian civilians and the conflict itself.
The UN has provided the Syrian government with an effective veto over
aid deliveries to areas outside of government control, enabling its use
of sieges as a weapon of war. While there are people in need all over
Syria, by putting the Syrian government in charge of humanitarian aid
this way, the UN has beleaguered its ability to deliver aid to those who
need it most. To date the UN has not undertaken a single aid delivery
inside the country without government consent, despite multiple Security
Council resolutions sanctioning this.
The UN has allowed the Syrian government to direct aid from Damascus
almost exclusively into its territories. In April 2016, 88% of food aid
delivered from Damascus went into government-controlled territory. 12%
went into territories outside the government’s control.2 Some months
provide an even starker illustration of the government’s use of UN aid
to further its own agenda. In August 2015, the government directed over
99% of UN aid from Damascus to its territories.3 In 2015, less than 1%
of people in besieged areas received UN food assistance each month.4
Aid deliveries from Damascus are determined through UN negotiation with
the Syrian government. However the UN’s failure to set red lines for its
Syria operation has undermined its negotiating power. The Syrian
government knows there is no sanction for denying access to territories
it does not control. It will continue to receive billions of dollars in
UN aid regardless. This is the main reason why UN negotiations with the
Syrian government almost always fail to gain access. In the whole of
2015, almost 75% of UN requests were not even responded to by the
government.5
Early attempts to bypass government control of aid by distributing
across the borders from neighbouring countries were actively opposed by
parts of the UN. Even now with the cross-border operation in place, the
UN has not fully capitalised on the opportunity for fear of damaging its
relationship with the government.
Safety of humanitarian staff is not the primary determinant of aid
access in Syria, although UN aid chiefs often cite security concerns to
deflect criticism of partial aid delivery. The UN has driven through
besieged towns which have not received aid in months in order to deliver
aid to other towns. They did not stop and offload because of the lack of
permission, not the lack of security. A study of UN evaluations agreed
that aid deliveries were limited “more for internal political and
strategic reasons than for security ones”.6
Aid deliveries on the ground from inside Syria are implemented and
overseen by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC). At the branch level,
SARC volunteers maintain a reputation for self-sacrifice and integrity –
many have been killed by the government for attempting to deliver aid to
those most in need. However, at the senior levels where the organisation
is controlled, SARC is an auxiliary of the government. This puts the
UN’s independence in serious jeopardy.
The UN’s acquiescence to the dominant role of the government in drafting
key strategy documents, the UN’s support for controversial local truces
following sieges and the UN’s systematic failure to recognise and
classify besieged areas all contribute to further weakening of its
humanitarian principles.
Signatories to this report recommend that the UN immediately define a
set of public conditions under which the UN humanitarian agencies could
continue to cooperate with the Syrian government and still maintain
impartiality, independence and neutrality. If these conditions are not
met, the UN should suspend cooperation with the Syrian government. A UN
operation that violates its humanitarian principles becomes party to the
conflict and stands accused of doing harm.
FULL REPORT:
http://takingsides.thesyriacampaign.org/
Meer informatie over de Vredeslijst
maillijst