UN fails Syria as geopolitics come in way

The UN failure to act quickly to save Syrian lives in the face of a humanitarian catastrophe is utterly shameful and should be a stain on its conscience. The admitted failure of the international community to save lives in northwest Syria in the immediate aftermath of the devastating earthquakes on February 7, 2023 is already old news. What is appalling is the response to the catastrophe. Either internally or externally, there was no proper response to it at all. Moreover, the focus was more on Turkey due to various reasons known to everyone worldwide.

One might put forth several responses to the question regarding failure, yet no single reason comes to the fore that does not involve politics in case of Syria. The question of why, thus, remains contested and related to politicisation of the response. The Syrian government did not request timely international assistance, but successfully initiated the prevailing narrative that inadequate response was due to international sanctions, despite humanitarian aid being exempt. The Syrian parliament waited 4 days to declare a disaster, shortly after the UN Treasury announced earthquake aid transactions were fully exempt from sanctions for 180 days.

Although the United nations Secretary-General could activate the UN Central Emergency Response Fund and the UN Disaster Assessment Coordination Mechanism, in opposition-controlled areas of northwest Syria, the UN and other international actors left people trapped under the rubble to be rescued by The White Helmets and anguished families. The UN already has an agreed humanitarian response to northwest Syria, dependent on the Humanitarian Hub in Türkiye, which was also severely damaged by the earthquakes. UN spokespeople indicated that supply lines were destroyed, affecting cross-border response. However, roads were rapidly repaired, enabling Turkish authorities to return the bodies of Syrian people killed in Türkiye, but not to provide support for rescue, recovery, or burial.

The UN chose to coordinate through the Damascus government, politicising the response and advocating crossline rather than cross-border aid delivery, despite an open letter from 35 international experts arguing that the UN has no legal barrier to delivering cross-border aid. Politicised delays and disagreements are substantially increasing mortality in northwest Syria. Empty expressions of solidarity and inaccessibility narratives must not replace urgent cross-border response to this compounded humanitarian disaster, as there is little reason to believe the poor governmental and international responses would improve without sanctions. Responders must work with rather than ignore existing governance bodies in northwest Syria, support grassroots organisations, work closely with Syrian experts, and consider gender issues. International opinion states that support must account for the complexities of protracted multiparty conflict, COVID-19, cholera, and the realities of 7•5 million Syrians residing outside government control, with no access to government services, and routinely labelled as enemy combatants or terrorists. The international response thus far has been shameful. Ongoing consequences of the earthquakes must not be ignored the way that acute consequences were.

Compared to Syria, Turkiye acted fast after the disaster struck. There was anger among the people there over the government inability to take the predictions seriously and prepare the nation for quick recovery. Yet, the government allowed all help to flow in quickly and responded. Syria, on the other hand, has been damned by the world. So it has been for long due to the geo-politics and power play by several countries. Either shame has become extinct completely or compassion has dried up too soon in the world. Please, let the world open its eyes to the sufferings of the Syrians at least now! They, too, have a right to life like everyone else even if they are unwanted by the world and even if they are living in refuge.