The Syrian government has been tightening its grip on international aid projects to assert control over allocation of resources, British think tank Chatham House has revealed.
Throughout the conflict in Syria, the government has severely restricted how and where aid is delivered, impeding the delivery of humanitarian assistance to millions of Syrians, a new report from the group said.
The government has prevented humanitarian organisations from conducting needs assessments, monitoring and evaluation, and undermined their independence.
On one occasion it intervened in staff hiring, the research said.
“As fighting in Syria winds down, international humanitarian organisations were hopeful that interference would decrease," said Haid Haid, the report's author and research fellow for Chatham House's Mena Programme.
"Instead of easing restrictions, the government is now attempting to formalise its influence over humanitarian operations.”
The report found that the Syrian government occasionally edited the UN-drafted annual humanitarian response plan to influence UN funds and operations within the country.
But there are ways organisations and UN agencies can reduce government interference, Mr Haid said.
“Approximately 11.7 million people are in need across Syria, 7.2 million of which live in government-held areas,” he said.
“As the majority of Syrian territory is now under government control, it is crucial that international humanitarian organisations develop a new approach to delivering aid.”
After five years of conflict, much of aid delivery in Syria “remains guesswork”, Mr Haid said.
Many international NGOs are asked to give money to local organisations, but it can pose a problem because the foreign companies cannot assess the demands of the locals and cannot monitor distribution of aid.
Chatham House urges charities working in Syria to limit bureaucratic permission required for aid operations and the number of stakeholders involved.
They should insist on opening more field offices to increase their presence and have a zero-tolerance policy for external interference with recruitment.
The think tank also called on aid organisations to conduct due diligence when choosing local partners and avoid working with those who are sanctioned by the EU or US.
Publicising information will also help organisations to know where their aid ends up.
“The majority of humanitarian funding for Syria is provided by the US and EU," Mr Haid said.
"These donors have a responsibility to ensure that humanitarian principles are not compromised and to avoid inadvertently undermining their own sanctions."
