2 Humanitarian situation in Syria
5. According to UN estimates there are
presently 9.3 million people within Syria in need of humanitarian
assistance, including 6.5 million who are internally displaced.
Humanitarian access
6. Of the 9.3 million people in Syria
in need of humanitarian assistance, approximately 3.5 million
are in "hard-to-reach" areas.[4]
Between 22 April and 19 May this year, 12.6% of all hard-to-reach
locations received aid, including food aid from WFP, UNRWA and
UNICEF as well as some non-food items.[5]
7. Some areas of Syria are currently
under siege: the Minister of State told us that Syrian Government
forces were using "siege, starvation and surrender tactics".[6]
At present 196,000 people are besieged by Government forces in
Madamiyet Elsham, eastern Ghouta, Darayya and Yarmouk;[7]
the siege of the Old City of Homs ended in May.[8]
In addition, 45,000 are besieged by opposition forces in Zahra
and Nubul.[9] Between 22
April and 19 May, only a very small proportion of the besieged
population received aid: 6.9% received food and nutrition support,
4.1% received water and sanitation assistance, and 6% received
medicines.[10]
8. WFP reports that many drivers are
unwilling to travel to the most insecure areas,[11]
whilst the International Rescue Committee (IRC) highlights the
risk of humanitarian workers being detained or kidnapped or of
goods being confiscated.[12]
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) reports that in opposition-controlled
areas, foreign aid workers are threatened and kidnappings are
common.[13]
9. Denial of humanitarian access may
represent a breach of international law.[14]
In his evidence to us, Amir Abdulla, Deputy Executive Director
of WFP, summarised the challenges his organisation is facing in
respect of access:
I would say that we basically operate
in four areas. The first is clear regime control, where access
is possibly easier, for somebody from the Damascus side. Then,
there are areas that are clearly under control of a party with
whom we can negotiate and get permission to go; those we are reaching.
Then, there are areas where the control is not clear, and we try
to operate in those areas. There are, unfortunately, areas that
are controlled by groups such as al-Nusra, ISIS, ISIL and others,
who very clearly have said they do not want anything like the
United Nations or international humanitarian relief.[15]
10. In addition to the difficulties
in accessing opposition-controlled areas, many organisations are
prevented from operating in Government-controlled areas. The Syrian
Government has given just fifteen NGOs permission to operate in
the country.[16] Even
once permission is obtained, many obstacles remain: the Norwegian
Refugee Council reports that whilst it was given permission in
February 2013, it took until December 2013 to obtain visas for
its staff.[17] HelpAge
International reports that whilst the Government of Syria recently
issued 50 visas to humanitarian workers, these were valid only
for a short period of time and for a limited number of entries.[18]
11. On 22 February 2014, the UN Security
Council adopted Resolution 2139 (2014), which addresses the question
of humanitarian access in Syria. The resolution demands that "all
parties, in particular the Syrian authorities, promptly allow
rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access for United Nations
humanitarian agencies and their implementing partners, including
across conflict lines and across borders, in order to ensure that
humanitarian assistance reaches people in need through the most
direct routes." In the Resolution the Security Council also
requests the Secretary-General to "report to the Council
on the implementation of this resolution […] in 30 days of
its adoption and every 30 days thereafter", and expresses
its intention to "take further steps in the case of non-compliance
with this resolution."[19]
12. The Security Council had previously
issued a Presidential Statement addressing the same issues, but
this made little difference in practice.[20]
In his evidence Nigel Pont, Mercy Corps' Regional Director for
the Middle East, drew a comparison between humanitarian workers
and weapons inspectors, and pointed out that whilst the former
faced innumerable access restrictions, the latter had faced no
such constraints.[21]
13. Some witnesses were cautiously optimistic
that the Resolution might lead to substantial improvements. Amir
Abdulla said:
"I think there is, to be very
clear, a huge legal and binding difference between a presidential
statement and a Security Council resolution. We have to take the
fact that a resolution has been passed as a significant step forward.
A resolution is binding."[22]
Maria Calivis, UNICEF's Regional Director
for the Middle East and North Africa, was also strongly supportive
of the resolution, and stressed the need to ensure it was implemented
consistently. [23]
14. However, Amir Abdulla went on to
sound a more cautious note:
One of the concerns we do have,
though, is that the resolution itself does recognise the territorial
integrity of Syria. It is in the preamble and opening. If Syria
chooses to take that to mean, "Any border that we do not
control contravenes our territorial integrity," we may still
be in a difficult situation. As if it is not complicated enough,
there is a further complication. Several of the border crossings
that one would need to use are now controlled by al-Nusra and
ISIS, who do not recognise the United Nations or the Security
Council resolution.[24]
Similarly, the Minister of State told
us that the resolution had made little difference, with the Syrian
regime continuing to obstruct the delivery of aid.
[25]
In his most recent monthly report, the Secretary General reports
that the situation in respect of humanitarian access has in fact
deteriorated further.[26]
15. On 15 May 2014 the Secretary of
State for International Development, Rt Hon Justine Greening MP,
said:
The Syrian regime's refusal to allow
humanitarian agencies to deliver aid is clearly a breach of international
humanitarian law and it is vital that further steps are taken
to address this. We will strongly support a new UN Security Council
Resolution referring the Syrian regime to the International Criminal
Court.[27]
DFID's spending
16. Since the crisis began, DFID has
allocated £249.1 million for humanitarian assistance within
Syria.[28] The table
below indicates how this money is being spent.
| Organisation
| Funding allocation (£m)
|
| UN World Food Programme (WFP)
| 72.2 |
| UN Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF)
| 15.8 |
| UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
| 15.6 |
| UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
| 10.7 |
| International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
| 9.0 |
| World Health Organisation (WHO)
| 8.0 |
| UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
| 7.0 |
| International Organisation for Migration (IOM)
| 4.7 |
| UN Population Fund (UNFPA)
| 3.0 |
| UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
| 2.3 |
| UN Department for Safety and Security (UNDSS)
| 0.5 |
| Undisclosed humanitarian agencies, not named for security reasons (operating outside of the UN led response)
| 98.6 |
| In kind contributions
| 1.7 |
| Total |
249.1 |
Source: adapted from DFID, UK Aid
Syria Response (June 2014), p 4
Amir Abdulla told us that:
this operation costs on the order
of $42 million per week. However, that reaches about 6 million
people. Rounded up, that translates to $1 a day - 65p per day
- which is a lot less than you would spend on a cup of coffee
- to deliver food in what is basically a war zone.[29]
17. DFID
intends to deliver around 50% of its aid to Syria from across
international borders. The Minister of State told us that whilst
he held UN organisations in high-regard, their cross-border aid
work had left something to be desired; DFID therefore planned
to deliver more of its assistance through NGOs than it had done
previously.[30]
The Minister of State also said:
Let me highlight one thing that
is important above all: all of the people who are delivering aid
inside Syria are in serious danger and over 40 have been killed.
These are the heroes of the hour, who go on to the front line
and across it in order to deliver aid.[31]
18. The scale of humanitarian need in
Syria is vast. A wide range of organisations—UN organisations
and others—are working in Syria in extremely dangerous circumstances.
Organisations such as WFP, which is able to deliver food assistance
for around 65p per person per day, are providing exceptional value
for money. We commend the brave men and women working on the ground
in Syria to provide humanitarian assistance. We were interested
to hear that DFID was considering delivering more of its assistance
through NGOs.
19. We
warmly welcome the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution
2139 (2014). In view of the manifest failure of last October's
UN Security Council Presidential Statement, a Resolution was the
only option. We are nevertheless concerned that certain parties
may not abide by the resolution: groups such as al-Nusra and ISIS
do not recognise the UN. We are also concerned about the bureaucratic
restrictions which prevent NGOs from delivering humanitarian assistance
in Syria. Where NGOs are ready, willing and able to provide
much-needed humanitarian assistance, the Government should use
every means possible to help them to obtain permission to operate
in Syria, and to help their staff to obtain visas.
4 UN Security Council, Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of Security Council resolution 2139 (2014)
(May 2014), para 17 Back
5
Ibid., para 19 Back
6
Q 134 Back
7
UN Security Council, Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of Security Council resolution 2139 (2014)
(May 2014), para 21 Back
8
Q 134 Back
9
UN Security Council, Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of Security Council resolution 2139 (2014)
(May 2014), para 21 Back
10
Ibid., para 22 Back
11
World Food Programme (MID0060) para 14 Back
12
International Rescue Committee (MID0061) para 11 Back
13
Norwegian Refugee Council (MID0059) para 3 Back
14
DFID (MID0053) para 20 Back
15
Q 5 Back
16
International Rescue Committee (MID0061) para 12 Back
17
Norwegian Refugee Council (MID0059) para 3 Back
18
HelpAge International (MID0056) para 2.2 Back
19
UN Security Council, Resolution 2139 (2014) (Feb 2014) Back
20
Ibid. Back
21
Q 11 Back
22
Q 7 Back
23
Q 66 Back
24
Q 7 Back
25
Q 134 Back
26
UN Security Council, Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of Security Council resolution 2139 (2014)
(May 2014), para 18 Back
27
"Greening: access to humanitarian aid needed in Syria",
DFID press notice, 15 May 2014 Back
28
DFID, UK Aid Syria Response (June 2014), p 4 Back
29
Q 22 Back
30
Q 129 Back
31
Ibid. Back
|
