The dark side of aid

The second European Union-United Nations conference on Syria was held in Brussels on 24 and 25 April this year. It was attended by 57 countries, ten regional organisations and 19 UN agencies. Five international banks and even small countries such as Liechtenstein were in attendance, but the Syrian government was not represented. Around 250 non-governmental organisations were hosted on the sidelines of the main conference of which only 15 represented Syria.Certain quarters have criticised both the EU and the UN for using aid as a tool to remove the regime of Bashar Al-Assad in the country.Russia's permanent representative to the EU, ambassador Vladimir Chizhov, expressed his surprise that the Syrian government was not represented. “I am perplexed by the format of today's meeting that does not include official representatives of the Syrian government. It looks strange, to say the least, that the distinguished delegates are planning to help Syria in a situation when official contacts with the legitimate government of the country have for many years remained a taboo for European politicians, and some states have even been promising 'not to give a cent' until political change takes place in Syria.” Almost nothing to Syria The conference called for US$6 billion in aid to “support refugee and host community humanitarian and resilience related assistance in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt and the Syrian population.”At the 2017 conference, a total of US$9.7 billion was offered in grants running over three years until 2020 of which US$6 billion was pledged for the year. A mere quarter of this went directly to Syria while the remainder of the funds were channelled to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq.According to the EU foreign policy chief Frederica Mogherini, there will be no EU assistance to rebuild Syria until the political process begins.“The latest territorial gains by Damascus and its allies has not brought peace any closer. We still believe that it is vital that the cessation of hostilities, in particular for humanitarian access, is guaranteed.”This is in spite of an undertaking by the conference to strengthen “the political, humanitarian and financial commitment of the international community to support the Syrian people, the neighbouring countries, and the communities most affected by the conflict.” Aid should be politics free Russia and Iran, two of Syria's strongest allies, have often clashed with the EU and the UN with regard their policies towards the country and Russia has openly accused the EU of using aid as a political tool to put pressure on the Assad government.Last year at the first Brussels conference, the Russian deputy foreign minister Gennady Gatilov said, “The politicisation of issues related to aid and the statements on the need to wait for the end of the political process are unacceptable. Aid is needed now to help rebuild schools, hospitals and critical infrastructure.”Mogherini is quoted as saying that they are “ready to help even more, once a political agreement is reached in Geneva”. The presence of the Islamic State or ISIL, known as Da'esh in Syria, has been removed in Syria following Russian military intervention and the conference acknowledged that. However, conflict on the ground continues. The most recent was the announcement by the 'humanitarian group' the White Helmets, that the Assad regime had used sarin gas on its citizens on 7 April. 'Chemical' attack The White Helmets themselves are mired in controversy and were, until very recently, funded by the United States and others. In April 2016, Raed Al Saleh, the head of the White Helmets (who was cordially received by the French President) was denied entrance to the United States, tentatively because of his connections to terrorists.Alexander Shulgin, Russia's permanent representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on 26 April told The Hague, “Unfortunately, our concerns came true - literally one day before the government troops took full control of Douma, an incident occurred there, the alleged use of sarin gas on citizens. “Common sense suggested that OPCW professionals should have a chance to give an authoritative voice, to check reports on the incident in Douma. However, the United States, Great Britain and France, without waiting even for the start of the OPCW inspectors' work, claimed offhand that everything was clear to them – Bashar al-Assad government's guilty was beyond doubt.”The coalition led airstrikes on Douma on 14 April, the very date the OPWC inspectors were set to arrive.Several reports questioned the use of chemical weapons and no official news agency which published photographs, could verify the source and place the photographs were taken, saying they were provided by a 'third party'.Russia has been at the forefront of aid to Syria, in the form of military, diplomatic and humanitarian support. Russia, along with Turkey and Iran jointly established the Astana process (a dialogue platform that set up de-escalation zones, boosted humanitarian cooperation and the Syrian settlement in general), and this has genuinely enabled progress towards a political solution to be attained via a broad intra-Syrian dialogue and talks under UN auspices as envisaged by UNSC Resolution 2254. The Sochi Congress of Syrian National Dialogue was another contributing element. According to Russia, the key to success on this track lies with ensuring compliance of all international and regional actors with their obligations regarding the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic. First stabiliseRussia is one of the key humanitarian donors of Syria providing humanitarian assistance both via specialised UN agencies, as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross and bilaterally. The country also facilitated contacts between UN bodies in charge of humanitarian aid issues and the Syrian government. The Russian military further repeatedly secured access of UN convoys to those in need in different regions of the country.Russia has always been of the view that once stability is achieved in Syria, elections can be held, but, until such a time, the Assad regime remains the legitimate government in the country.Chizhov, in his address to the delegates in Brussels, was direct. “We agree that aid must come to everyone in need wherever they are – in Eastern Ghouta, Aleppo, in the villages of al-Fu'ah and Kefraya still besieged by terrorists, in the city of Raqqa totally destroyed by US-led coalition bombings in October 2017 and half-forgotten by the international community, or in the Rukban camp for displaced persons with no access available due to a 50-kilometre 'security zone' around Al-Tanf unilaterally established by the US.”Moscow is highly critical of the deployment of US troops in Syria, saying it amounts to illegal occupation and an attempt to partition the country. While the Al-Tanf area is relatively small – comprising a 55km radius around the US military outpost – the American troops are also present in a large portion of north-eastern Syria. The US has neither a mandate from the UN Security Council nor an invitation from Damascus to be in Syria.He said conditions in Raqqa are “unbearable” following the bombings led by the US. “Virtually no building was left intact after the air and artillery attacks by the US-led coalition. Life conditions there are indeed unbearable: whole city areas are still mined causing death every day, there is no water, no electricity. But until recently this appalling situation seemed not to deserve attention. UNSC Resolution 2401, which Russia supported, and significantly contributed to its implementation, clearly stipulates that humanitarian issues should be addressed on the whole territory of Syria. Therefore, we reiterate that these issues must not be politicised and used as instruments of pressure. Providing such assistance should not be linked to attaining certain political goals, as some Western capitals presume.”He added: “We believe the stance of those countries that maintain financial and economic sanctions suffocating the Syrian people, refuse to participate in restoring social and economic infrastructure is not only inhuman but also counterproductive. We strongly believe that establishing close cooperation between potential donors and legitimate authorities of the Syrian Arab Republic would facilitate a better humanitarian situation in Syria and prompt normalisation of the situation.”Chizhov criticised the aid agencies, saying that delivering cash on the ground leads to further arms purchases. Russia is providing food and necessities, construction equipment and materials, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment directly to the affected parties. Doctors from the country are also on the ground running clinics for free.The foreign affairs ministers of Russia, Iran and Turkey, as guarantors of the observance of the ceasefire regime in Syria, held the second meeting in Moscow on 28 April 2018. They discussed the development of the situation in and around Syria and its impact on the regional peace and security.They agreed to increase joint efforts aimed at facilitating the achievement of a lasting political settlement in Syria envisaged by the UN Security Council resolution 2254 and through full use of multi-level mechanisms of the Astana format. They also underscored the efficiency of the Astana format as the only international initiative that had helped practically improve the situation in Syria through joint efforts to combat terrorism, reduce the level of violence and create favourable conditions for the political settlement, including via facilitating broad intra-Syrian dialogue. – Additional reporting by RT STAFF REPORTER

The dark side of aid

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-05-07

Please login to leave a comment

The dark side of aid

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-05-07

Please login to leave a comment

Login