The Syrian war has been an example of the abuse and insufficient delivery of humanitarian assistance. According to international practice, humanitarian aid should be channelled through a state government that bears a particular responsibility for its population. Yet in Syria, the bulk of relief went through Damascus while the regime caused the vast majority of civilian deaths. Should the UN have severed its cooperation with the government and neglected its humanitarian duty to help all people in need? Decision-makers face these tough policy dilemmas, and often the “neutrality trap” snaps shut.
This book discusses the political and moral considerations of how to respond to a brutal and complex crisis while adhering to international law and practice. The author, a scholar and senior diplomat involved in the UN peace talks in Geneva, draws from first-hand diplomatic, practitioner and UN sources. He sheds light on the UN's credibility crisis and the wider implications for the development of international humanitarian and human rights law. This includes covering the key questions asked by Western diplomats, NGOs and international organizations, such as: Why did the UN not confront the Syrian government more boldly? Was it not only legally correct but also morally justifiable to deliver humanitarian aid to regime areas where rockets were launched and warplanes started? Why was it so difficult to render cross-border aid possible where it was badly needed? The meticulous account of current international practice is both insightful and disturbing. It tackles the painful lessons learnt and provides recommendations for future challenges where politics fails and humanitarians fill the moral void.
Author(s): Carsten Wieland
Publisher: I.B. Tauris / Bloomsbury
Year: 2021
Cover page
Halftitle page
About the book
Title page
Copyright page
Dedication
About the Author
CONTENTS
FOREWORD
ABBREVIATIONS
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION TO A TOUGH DILEMMA
Chapter 2 EXPECTATIONS AND DISILLUSIONS BEYOND SYRIA
Chapter 3 CONTAINING THE HUMAN BEAST: FUNDAMENTALS OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW AND INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW
The Government’s Particular Responsibility
State-centred International Practice
Neutrality and Impartiality
Countries’ Controversial Consent
Chapter 4 A MOVING TARGET: THE DYNAMICS OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN AND INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW
Law or War?
An Octopus with Dwindling Force
Contested Notions of State Sovereignty
Chapter 5 THE TERRORISM TOOL: DE-HUMANIZING THE ‘OTHER’
The Sin of Rage at Ground Zero
The Myth of the Unlawful Combatant
Poisonous Rhetoric
A Self-fulfilling Prophecy
Chapter 6 DE-NEUTRALIZING AID: ALL ROADS LEAD TO DAMASCUS
The Government’s Grip on Humanitarian Work
The Plight of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent in a Totalitarian System
Western Diplomats’ Dilemma
Damascus or Cross Border: The Hard Choice
Cross-border Controversies in the Security Council
Chapter 7 IN THE PILLORY: THE UN’S SYRIA DILEMMA
Complicity with Evil?
Contracting Dangerous Bedfellows
Between All Fronts
Chapter 8 CREDIBILITY CRISIS
The UN Reacts
Donors React
Chapter 9 DIVERSIFYING AID: ROADS TO CIRCUMVENT DAMASCUS
‘Humanitarian Plus’
A Double-edged Sword
The Reconstruction Gamble
Chapter 10 IRRECONCILABLE POSITIONS: ROADS TO NOWHERE
A Fig Leaf for Political Failure
Double Deficiency
Russia’s Soft Power Failure
Contempt for Multilateralism
Chapter 11 ARGUMENTS FOR CHANGE: HOW TO AVOID THE NEUTRALITY TRAP
Chapter 12 CONCLUSION
NOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
