2023-07-19 15:45:00
© Muhammed Said/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images.
UN member states should unequivocally condemn the abuses committed by Russia of its right of veto and the General Assembly should affirm the legality, impartiality, neutrality and independence of the cross-border humanitarian aid mechanism for northwestern Syria; This was stated by Amnesty International today, on the eve of the General Assembly meeting on July 19 to discuss the Russian veto.
The General Assembly meeting is preceded by the non-renewal of the UN cross-border humanitarian aid facility for northwestern Syria — where four million people depend on UN humanitarian aid for their survival — by the UN Security Council on July 11, because Russia vetoed the renewal of the mechanism, which expired on July 10 when neither of the other two proposed resolutions was approved.
“Since 2019, Russia has abused its veto power to reduce the scope of the resolution on the cross-border mechanism: from four border crossings it went to just one and now to none. This time, Russia’s veto means the UN can no longer deliver humanitarian aid and essential services to the four million people living in northwestern Syria,” said Sherine Tadros, Deputy Advocacy Director and UN Representative for Amnesty International.
“UN member states should publicly denounce how Russia uses its veto power by describing the consequences of such political games in real life. Russia and China are well aware of the catastrophic humanitarian situation in northwestern Syria, where millions of people depend on UN humanitarian aid and services. The cross-border mechanism was the only way to get UN humanitarian aid from Turkey to northwestern Syria and the main source of funding for local and international humanitarian organizations providing essential services.”
The first draft of the resolution, a text submitted by Switzerland and Brazil proposing the renewal of the cross-border mechanism for nine months, was vetoed by Russia on July 11. A second draft submitted by Russia, which proposed a six-month extension, only received support from China and thus did not muster the nine affirmative votes required for adoption. Russia’s veto led to the convening of the General Assembly, which requires all member states to meet to discuss the issue that has been vetoed.
Since the outbreak of the conflict in Syria, the country’s government arbitrarily restricts access to humanitarian aid in civilian areas beyond its control. After armed opposition groups seized control of northwestern Syria in 2014, the Syrian government cut off all essential services to the area, prompting the UN Security Council in 2014 to unanimously pass Resolution 2165, which allowed the UN to cross three borders to deliver humanitarian aid, including the one separating Turkey from northwestern Syria, without the authorization of the Syrian government. There are still no alternatives for the distribution of humanitarian aid with the magnitude and scope of the cross-border humanitarian aid mechanism.
Control of UN humanitarian aid by the Syrian government is not an option
On July 13, the Syrian government authorized the United Nations to use the Bab al Hawa border crossing to deliver cross-border humanitarian aid to civilians in northwestern Syria for six months, but on the condition that the UN and its implementing partners fully cooperate with the government and not communicate “with terrorist organizations and groups.” In addition, the Syrian government stressed that the distribution of humanitarian aid should be monitored and facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. The UN says these conditions are “unacceptable.”
Since 2014, Amnesty International, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria and other local and international human rights organizations have documented how the Syrian government persists in instrumentalizing humanitarian aid, obstructing and restricting its delivery in areas controlled by the opposition or formerly in the hands of the opposition, sometimes as a measure of punishment against the civilian population living there.
Several local and international humanitarian staff have told Amnesty International that the Syrian government will not engage with humanitarian actors who in recent years have delivered aid to areas under opposition control through the cross-border mechanism. However, those Humanitarian actors have the recognition and acceptance of the community to distribute humanitarian aid and direct projects that facilitate access to essential services and better living conditions for the civilian population.l Northwestern Syria.
An aid worker from northwestern Syria told Amnesty International: “We have experience from Deraa and Quneitra, where we had 14 medical centers. We were forced to talk to the Syrian government [después de que éste arrebatara el control de la zona a las fuerzas de oposición] to continue our work. We agreed to open talks because Russia said it could provide security. But the Syrian government refused to discuss on the grounds that we are ‘terrorist’ organizations. Why would it be any different now?
Another aid worker in northwestern Syria said: “It is impossible to assume that the Syrian government will coordinate our work or allow us to continue it.. On the other hand, we cannot rely exclusively on the Syrian Arab Red Crescent or the Syria Trust [organización local vinculada al gobierno sirio] for the distribution of humanitarian aid […] How am I going to reveal my name to the Syrian government endangering my life and that of my family? The government considers us traitors [por vivir en zonas controladas por la oposición].”
Humanitarian aid staff, as well as internally displaced people in north-western Syria, repeatedly told Amnesty International that people in opposition-controlled areas do not perceive the Syrian Arab Red Crescent as an impartial and neutral humanitarian organization, as they believe that the government has agents infiltrated it.
Human Rights Watch has already documented how Syrian government policies allow authorities to regulate humanitarian response in areas under their control., which enables the government to “divert humanitarian aid and development and reconstruction aid, creating a considerable risk (which in many cases has materialized) of discrimination against those who disagree with the government’s political program and preventing humanitarian aid from being distributed in a manner that respects the rights of the population.” The report adds that local humanitarian organizations, including the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, linked to the Syrian government, have a very close relationship with the Syrian security apparatus.
“Transferring from the UN Security Council to the Syrian government the authorization of the UN cross-border humanitarian aid mechanism jeopardizes the unimpeded access of the civilian population to humanitarian aid in the northwest of the country. Such an agreement would also undermine the impartiality of aid delivery, given the government’s well-documented record of diverting humanitarian aid to people in opposition-held areas. There are no guarantees at all that the Syrian government will not hinder access,” Tadros said.
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