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A Unicef worker
A Unicef worker measures the arm of a malnourished child in Madaya, Syria. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
A Unicef worker measures the arm of a malnourished child in Madaya, Syria. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

How Assad regime controls UN aid intended for Syria's children

This article is more than 7 years old

Guardian investigation identifies dozens of deals that raise new questions about the UN’s role in Syria, and its impartiality

After five years of conflict in Syria, the figures speak for themselves. More than 400,000 people are estimated to have been killed – and another 11 million displaced from their homes. There is no end in sight.

But if there is no dispute about the victims of this complicated war, there is increasing argument about how best to help them. Inevitably, the focus has turned to the United Nations relief mission, which is only allowed to operate in Syria with the blessing of President Bashar al-Assad.

Damascus also restricts who the UN can work with; it keeps a list of “approved” international and Syrian organisations, and the UN cannot stray outside it.

And therein lies the dilemma for the UN, which has been investing vast amounts of money into programmes designed to save lives. By poring over thousands of pages of documents, and speaking to UN insiders and aid workers, the Guardian has identified dozens of deals that will raise new questions about the UN’s role in Syria, and its impartiality.

A soon-to-be-published study by the academic Dr Reinoud Leenders, who shared some of his findings with the Guardian, will add to the concerns. Figures show that $900m (£688m) of the $1.1bn in the UN 2015 response plan was spent on aid funnelled through Damascus, all of which is controlled to some extent by the Syrian authorities.

Documents seen by the Guardian also make clear the UN is continuing to allow the government to dictate whether aid can be delivered to certain areas of the country. It then further restricts what can be distributed and by whom.

A man carries a wounded child in the Maadi district of eastern Aleppo after regime aircraft reportedly dropped explosive-packed barrel bombs on 27 August 2016. Photograph: Ameer Alhalbi/AFP/Getty Images

Despite heavily publicised UN convoys reaching many besieged places in recent months, the Syrian government is known to have removed items such as incubators, and refused to let subsequent convoys into some areas.

Access to an estimated 300,000 residents in east Aleppo has recently been cut off by government and allied forces, and agreement on a 48-hour truce to allow the UN to deliver humanitarian aid is being hampered by a stalemate on which road into the city will be used.

In addition, the Syrian government routinely passes legislation designed to inhibit the work of the UN and other NGOs – such as a ban on importation of any goods from Turkey, and an insistence that medicines should be procured from inside Syria.

A limited number of local NGOs and businesses are allowed to operate inside the country but many that do are operated by associates of Assad.

NGOs and UN “hubs” working from Turkey and Jordan complain they are being cut out of discussions about how best to respond to the unfolding crisis.

For instance, the 2016 Humanitarian Response Plan was drafted between the UN in Damascus and the Syrian government, without input from NGOs that deliver cross-border aid to areas of the country the UN can’t reach. The government was then given permission to remove references to sieges and violence as a reason for displacement.

UN insiders have told the Guardian the negotiation process between the UN and the Syrian government for the 2017 plan has begun, but they do not expect a significant change in the process or outcome.

In response to the Guardian, eight UN agencies explained in detail why they had to work with the Syrian government. They insisted they have rigorous compliance systems and say they only have to steer clear of people on UN sanctions lists – not those compiled by the EU and the US.

However, no such sanctions exist for Syria. And privately some UN insiders admit they are reluctant to push back too hard against Assad for fear of being kicked out of the country completely; two years ago, the international NGO Mercy Corps left Damascus after threats from the government.

But in internal correspondence seen by the Guardian it is clear some UN staff have qualms about what is going on. And last year a letter from a number of Syrian medical practitioners raised concerns about the UN’s impartiality. It was sent to the office of the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, in October 2015 and the same issues were reported to his High Level Panel on Global Health Crises. As yet, little, if anything, has been done. One insider conceded the UN faced “constraints at every turn”.

“The alternative is stark,” a spokesman for Unicef said. “Many more children dying or suffering. This is the dilemma that Unicef and humanitarian agencies face on a daily basis.

“Children in Syria are hurting because of the failure of politicians to reach a peaceful solution to the war. We cannot let them down. We must do everything to alleviate the suffering of children.”

Government departments

A number of ministries in Assad’s government have been supported by UN agencies in recent years, even though they are all affected by the EU sanctions regime. UN departments report close working relationships with the Syrian ministries of education, health and justice as part of the humanitarian response.

Defence The World Health Organisation has spent $5,134,685 on blood bags and kits since the beginning of the conflict but, unusually, Syria’s national blood bank, which is responsible for providing services for the total population, is operated by the Syrian Department of Defence, raising concerns about how the blood supplies are being distributed.

WHO had concerns about the issue in 2013 when it drafted the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Syrian government.

At the time, senior WHO insiders questioned the legality of working with the ministry of defence rather than a health administration, and admitted there were “concrete concerns” about whether the blood supplies would reach those in need, or be directed to the military first.

Documents seen by the Guardian show that blood supplies for one fiscal year were paid for by donations from America’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and Britain’s Department for International Development (DfID) – and both countries have imposed economic sanctions against the Syrian government.

Early in the conflict, medical centres calling for blood supplies found themselves and their patients under increased scrutiny by Syrian security services, and in some cases requests for supplies led to the arrest of those protesting or fighting against the government.

Blood bags and testing kits are not included on UN aid convoys from Damascus to areas outside of government control.

Agriculture The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has bought $10,875,167 worth of seeds from the general organisation for seed multiplication (GOSM) in the past three years (2013-15), and another $2,396,782 from the general organisation for fodder (GFO).

Both organisations are run by the Syrian government’s ministry of agriculture, which is on the EU sanctions list. The FAO says it has to buy this material in order to deliver humanitarian assistance, and that importing “the required quantities of seed or feed into Syria from elsewhere would not be feasible or cost-effective”.

Syrian officials inspect boxes of apples from the Red Cross at the Syrian-Israeli border. Photograph: Khaled Al-Hariri/Reuters

Fuel UN agencies have also bought at least $4m of fuel from the state-owned company, Sadcop/Mahroukat, which is also subject to sanctions. The UN argues it “needs fuel to operate its programmes in Syria”. It says Sadcop/Mahroukat is the sole provider in Syria of the gasoline coupons that are used to purchase fuel safely and securely.

Tourism Syria’s ministry of tourism seems also to have benefited from the UN’s use of the Four Seasons Hotel in Damascus, which has been the central base for the relief mission since 2013. The ministry is understood to have a 35% stake in the hotel, so will probably have been paid more than $3m in the last two years. UN agencies spent $9,296,325.59 at the hotel in 2014-15.

The UNHCR appears to have been its biggest customer. It told the Guardian it spent $6,822,445 at the hotel since the start of the conflict in March 2011. Other agencies that have used it regularly include WHO and the FAO.

The UN says it has to use the Four Seasons because it is unsafe for its staff to work elsewhere in the city. “It is the only location cleared for UN international staff resident in Damascus by UN global staff safety requirements.”

The Saudi billionaire and philanthropist who is believed to co-own the hotel has just given $20m to Save the Children. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has also promised to give away his fortune for charitable causes.

Charities and NGOs

Syria Trust for Development Due to the historically closed political system in Syria, there was no charitable or NGO sector operating in the country before 2006, when Assad’s wife, Asma al-Assad, launched the Syria Trust for Development. It remains under her jurisdiction, and she is on the EU and US sanctions lists.

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma visit an injured man from Tanunaah, Homs. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

The Guardian has discovered the UNHCR has partnered with the trust for the past four years, handing over a total of $7.7m during the period. This year, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has committed $751,129 to the trust.

Syria’s first lady is a pariah figure in the international community and nobody disputes that her husband’s government is responsible for the forced displacement, injury and vulnerability of millions of people within the country.

A spokesman for the UNHCR said: “Syria Trust has wide presence in the country and is one of the partners with the greatest access and outreach. Syria Trust works in seven governorates and runs five community centres … it provides legal assistance to internally displaced persons.”

The Al-Bustan Association The ABA is a charity owned and run by Rami Makhlouf, one of Bashar al-Assad’s closest allies, and a delivery partner of Unicef, which confirmed it had awarded “total direct cash transfers” to the organisation worth $267,933 to supply water, sanitation and hygiene, education and winter clothes.

But ABA’s marketing materials suggest deeper relationships; photos show it distributing Unicef boxes and aid, in addition to the cash transfer, and Unicef’s own PR material says ABA has engaged in research for the agency.

Not only is Makhlouf subject to sanctions from both the EU and US, but his charity is reported to be engaged in running at least three pro-regime Shabiha militias, including one which was involved in the protracted siege of the Damascus suburb of Darayya.

Over the weekend residents were evacuated from the area after reaching a deal with the Syrian government, worn down by years of siege and a furious bombing campaign since June – meted out in retaliation to the first UN aid convoy to reach the area since 2012 – that saw their last medical clinic destroyed a little over a week ago.

Aymenn al-Tamimi, of the Middle East Forum, an analyst who speaks to many pro-regime militia commanders, says: “Al-Bustan Association is one of multiple bodies that can ostensibly provide the cover of the Syrian state under which militias can operate. By affiliation, my understanding is foremost that the body in question will at least pay salaries for the militias. On account of Rami Makhlouf’s links to the regime, this gives some sense of state control over militias with the al-Bustan affiliation.”

Unicef said al-Bustan was selected as a partner “because of its history in supporting people in need before the crisis, its reach among displaced communities, its strong capacity and robust operating systems, and extensive presence in the targeted identified locations.

“We only have an partnership agreement, whereby we made a direct cash transfer for programme activities in water, sanitation and hygiene, education, and winter clothes in Latakia.”

Businesses

Syriatel One of Syria’s wealthiest businessmen, Makhlouf is also the owner of Syriatel, the country’s leading telecommunications company, which has been paid at least $700,000 by different UN agencies. That includes $464,938 from UNHCR and $96,802 from Unicef.

In addition, Unicef paid Syriatel $147,289 for a SMS health awareness campaign after there was an outbreak of polio in the country. Syriatel is on the EU and US sanctions list.

UNHCR said using Syriatel was necessary because there are only two mobile phone networks in the country and there is no realistic alternative because the Syrian government would likely veto any attempt by the UN to use satellite phones, which would also be much more expensive.

“Importation and operation of satellite telephones inside Syria require government approval, which is difficult to obtain,” a Unicef spokesman said. “[They] cannot provide the full service … to support the scale of work Unicef is undertaking to support children and families across the entire country.”

However, large NGOs working in the country cannot use Syriatel because they are prevented from doing deals with companies on the sanctions lists of donor governments. One senior NGO worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he would not be able to procure services from Syriatel because it is under economic sanctions from the EU and the US.

Another company whose owner is known to have links to Assad, and is an associate of Rami Mahklouf, was awarded a contract worth more than $15m from UNHCR, and had smaller contracts with Unicef.

Makhlouf is not the only sanctioned Syrian businessman making financial gains from the UN.

Transorient was contracted for $386,711 worth of goods, despite being owned by an individual under US and EU economic sanctions due to his close relationship with the Syrian government. Unicef said the money to Transorient was paid for warehousing in Homs and Tartous.

“Options for warehousing facilities in Syria are extremely restricted. Security, access, and heavy processes reduce the number of available and functioning spaces.”

Altoun Group The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East signed a $88,671.72 contract with Altoun Group, a company owned by Salim Altoun, who has been on an EU sanctions list since May 2012.

The EU said Altoun “provides financial support to the regime. [He is] involved in a scheme through Altoun Group to export Syrian oil with the listed company Sytrol in order to provide revenue to the regime.” UNWRA told the Guardian the money was for generators and that Altoun was not on any UN sanctions lists.

Syrian Computer Society had a contract with UNHCR in 2013, worth $30,000. The society is known to have links with Syrian Electronic Army, which has targeted opposition figures, international media companies and donor governments.

UNHCR said it had little choice but to use the society because it had been the only internet service provider available at the time.

Syrian chamber of commerce The chamber, some of whose members are known to have links to Assad, received $892,805.42 from UN agencies in 2013-14.

Other Syrian companies Analysis of the UN’s own procurement documents show its agencies have done business with at least another 258 Syrian companies, paying sums from as high as $54m and £36m, down to $30,000.

More on this story

More on this story

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  • UN under pressure to set up inquiry into Syria aid programme

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