Concern is mounting within the UN that its response to the Syria crisis has exposed similar systemic failings to those it had vowed to eradicate after its widely condemned handling of the final stages of Sri Lanka’s civil war.
Almost seven years after that conflict ended, and with the scale of human suffering in Syria eclipsing all other recent wars, the UN is struggling to end chronic starvation sieges across the country or deliver meaningful aid to areas most in need.
The UN’s role in Syria has come into sharp focus since early January after the extent of one such siege in the town of Madaya was revealed. As many as 70 people are thought to have starved to death in the town between Damascus and the Lebanese border, and thousands more were left malnourished. Food to sustain its remaining residents for one month was finally delivered several weeks later after an international outcry that shifted focus from the 6.5 million refugees who have fled Syria to the plight of the millions more who have stayed behind.
Correspondence has since emerged revealing the UN had known about Madaya’s desperation since the siege was imposed by the Syrian regime last July but had been hesitant to highlight the crisis because of a fraught relationship with officials in Damascus.
The handling of the Madaya siege has led some senior members of the organisation to urge an overhaul of its approach to other sieges across the country. They particularly call for a relaunch of its relationship with the Syrian government, which often dictates terms of access and issues visas to UN officials, as well as safeguarding local employees.
Four senior UN members and two aid workers with extensive experience in the Middle East have told the Guardian that access to officials had been prioritised over access to areas in need, meaning aid goals had often not been met.
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