Foes accuse Assad of collective punishment by preventing food from arriving
[Gaziantep, Turkey] The United Nations Security Council is meeting again this week to discuss progress on Resolution 2139, which it passed last February, demanding access for humanitarian aid to reach all of those in need within the conflict in Syria. While they do, NGOs [non-government organizations] involved in the distribution of humanitarian goods like Mercy Corps will simply be getting on with the job they've been doing in hard-to-reach areas of the country.
In a report released last week, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon painted a sorry picture of non-compliance. “Parties to the conflict, particularly the government of Syria, continue to deny access for humanitarian assistance in a completely arbitrary and unjustifiable manner,” he said.
The degree to which the resolution is being flouted was revealed last week when Mercy Corps went public about the fact the Syrian Government had forced them to leave the nation's capital. “Mercy Corps ceased its operations in Damascus, Syria, at the end of April, following a request from Syrian government authorities to stop delivering humanitarian assistance from across borders into non-government-controlled territory inside Syria.” said Mercy Corps director Cassandra Nelson.
The size and scale of its programme in the Aleppo Governorate, where they support 1.7 million beneficiaries, was unacceptable to the government of Syria. The United Nations has admitted publicly that they, too, have been threatened with expulsion from Damascus if they undertake cross-border work in the country.
In the absence of compliance with Resolution 2139’s demand that cross-lines and cross-border aid be allowed by the Syrian Government, aid-providing NGOs, like Mercy Corps, are simply forging ahead to do the best job possible. Previously unable to speak publicly about their work for fear of jeopardizing their ability to work in Damascus, they are no longer so inhibited, allowing them to speak openly about the scale and nature of their work.
“[Mercy Corps] has distributed essential items including food, blankets, clothing, winter survival kits, emergency water and sanitation. In addition, Mercy Corps is providing psycho-social assistance to children suffering from extreme stress,” Ms. Nelson told The Media Line.
During the course of the conflict, now in its fourth year, NGOs have been operating in the north of the country under a veil of secrecy, delivering aid to some of the 9 million Syrians in need. At least 30 International NGOs are operating this way, according to Dominic Bowen, coordinator of the NGO Forum in Gaziantep.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's opinion is clear: “The Security Council must take action to deal with these flagrant violations of the basic principles of international law,” he said. This desire to react to the Syrian government’s clear violations of Resolution 2139 is backed by the Security Council members. A US official told The Media Line that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has a clear disregard for 2139 and that further steps by the Security Council are imminent.
But this fiery rhetoric and the possibility of equally inflammatory language being used in this week’s Security Council meeting seems unlikely to translate into action from the delivery arm of the UN. In a United Nations report on cross-border aid obtained by The Media Line, the primary strategy of the UN seems to be the continuation of the status quo, tasking NGOs rather than the UN itself to conduct the cross-border work into the north of the country.
Some small shipments of aid have recently been allowed cross-lines. A UN spokesperson said that 73 cross-line missions have been undertaken throughout the conflict, including one last week by the International Committee of the Red Cross — which operates exclusively in government-controlled areas of the country – that managed to deliver aid into areas controlled by the Islamist ISIS organization in the northeast part of the country on a government-approved mission in coordination with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. Publicity by the groups suggested the areas of Manbij and Al-Bab had not received aid for nine-months, a claim with was dismissed by an NGO operating in the north that has been delivering aid to these cities but did not wish to be named.
Aid has been highly politicized within the conflict. The government is accused of inflicting collective punishment against rebel-held areas. Through its “siege-and-starve” campaign in areas like old-Homs, Ghouta and Yarmouk, for instance, rebel strongholds are said to be punished for their allegiance to the opposition buy ensuring food is not allowed into the areas, and this doesn't look set to change.