Attachments
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The humanitarian aid landscape in Syria, particularly in Northwest Syria (NWS), has been plagued by significant structural problems that have become more apparent in the wake of the recent earthquakes. The first part of the Post-Earthquake Perspective series explored how failures of the international system’s earthquake response highlighted the ways in which the NWS humanitarian landscape is constrained in the delivery of principled humanitarian assistance in NWS. This has only been exacerbated since the earthquakes, as the Government of Syria (GoS) has expanded its influence over cross-border aid access through a shift to a consent-based agreement that now underpins the United Nations cross-border mechanism (UNXBM). At the same time, needs have only worsened in the protracted crisis of NWS following the earthquakes, with Syrian non-governmental organizations (SNGOs) now facing heightened security and access risks owing to the uncertainty around the continuity of the UN presence.
Relative to the profound challenges faced by actors implementing a principled humanitarian response through impartial aid delivery in Syria, evaluations of the application of humanitarian principles are rarely included in analyses of the NWS context. This report includes three areas of inquiry which have been formed based on concerns voiced by stakeholders in the Syrian context since the earthquakes. Section I addresses calls for a ‘principled humanitarian response’ in NWS; it examines how efforts to uphold internationally accepted humanitarian principles have fared during negotiations on the legal authorization for UN cross-border aid access into NWS, as well as their application in the formation of resilient aid strategies during a protracted crisis. Section II evaluates calls for an increased focus on early recovery in NWS, outlining the existing approach to early recovery programming and how it has been implemented thus far in the specific NWS context as well as the ways in which early recovery can be supported to provide corresponding for the benefit of communities in the region. To do so, it finds that it is necessary to transition from viewing the Syrian crisis as an emergency to treating it as a chronic state of crisis that requires reorienting humanitarian principles to minimize aid dependency and strengthen community resilience over the long-term. It analyses the required support services for implementing early recovery activities in tandem with immediate life-saving interventions for a more efficient use of donor resources over the long term. Finally, Section III evaluates calls from both SNGOs and donors to support implementing partners in navigating their operational challenges in a highly volatile and politicized response environment. It examines the current risks faced by NGOs implementing the humanitarian response in NWS amid increasing cross-border vulnerability to the GoS, and outlines the vital components of UN support for the resilience of an NGO-led response, such as providing UN cover for NGOs negotiating community access and mitigating legal risks associated with local authority engagement. In sum, the report aims to add to existing discussions surrounding possible paths forward for the humanitarian response in NWS, particularly in tackling increasing politicization and worsening needs amid an ongoing, protracted crisis.