Human Rights Watch accuses Damascus of manipulating international humanitarian aid

Several reports have accused the Syrian government of manipulating for political purposes humanitarian aid and funds for the reconstruction of the country. Based on testimonies from members of international humanitarian organizations and UN agencies present in Syria as well as Syrian civilians, Human Rights Watch and British think tank Chatham House say, in two independent surveys published respectively in June and July, that international aid is diverted by the regime to repress its opponents and reward its support.

This information was corroborated by internal documents made public in early August by the Syrian Justice and Accountability Center. To find out more, France 24 interviewed Sara Kayyali, Syria researcher at Human Rights Watch, behind the first report.

France 24 : Human Rights Watch denounces a policy of the Syrian regime and a legal framework to appropriate humanitarian aid, what is it ?

Sara Kayyali: The Syrian government is using legislation to restrict humanitarian aid to its opponents. He uses the security argument to refuse requests or does not respond at all when the request does not suit him. The mere fact of proposing a humanitarian project that displeases may be enough to be totally ousted. It prevents the country's access to disturbing projects by blocking the granting of visas.

Finally, the government establishes a list of local partners with which international organizations have the right to work. The two main ones, the Syria Trust for Development and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, are of course very supportive of the regime. These local organizations are not only "validated" upstream, they are controlled and supervised in the field.

How does the government go about manipulating the funds ?

It influences the choice of companies chosen by NGOs to carry out the reconstruction work and selects humanitarian projects according to its interests and not real needs. The scheme will, for example, give a list of schools to rehabilitate to an NGO. When the organization realizes that they are all in areas loyal to the government, they will ask permission to do a needs assessment in the field, and this type of request is systematically refused. The control exercised over humanitarian organizations is total, even in regions favorable to power. It is both a policy of government collusion and manipulation of funds for political purposes. We are far beyond a corruption case.

Has this system allowed Bashar al-Assad to stay in power ?

It is difficult to say that this is the main reason because there are a number of factors, but this use of humanitarian aid and money for reconstruction has clearly helped the regime to continue. The government uses this money as a weapon to maintain control. These are huge sums: $ 3.6 billion has already been paid in 2019; the United States has contributed $ 6 billion since the beginning of the war ...

On-site needs are enormous: millions of Syrians depend on foreign aid and two-thirds of the country's infrastructure has been destroyed. The priority of NGOs is to channel aid at any cost. But through this drastic and opaque system of regulations, leaders manipulate humanitarian aid to promote their interests and increase inequalities.

How are humanitarian organizations responding and what can they do ?

Some organizations have completely withdrawn or closed fields of operations because of restrictions. Others continue and claim that things are getting better, that it is better to act even if their action is limited. But they are veiling their faces. Given the scale of the problem, it makes no sense to compromise. Some even self-censure by ignoring the human rights violations they witness to continue working, which reinforces the policy of repression of the government.

With appeasement on the ground, the possibilities for action for humanitarian organizations are growing. But at the same time, the regime takes control of the territory and locks more requests. Nevertheless, the negotiation remains possible because the sums involved are enormous. Moreover, in the long term, the Syrian government has every interest in normalizing the situation and obtaining the lifting of sanctions. The same goes for its main support, Russia, which wants to be perceived as a credible actor. Humanitarian organizations must not give up and must demand transparency.