Today, at a session of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) in Geneva, the Netherlands and several like-minded partners pressed for a breakthrough in the political process and the efforts to deliver direct aid to civilians in the city of Aleppo.
More specifically, the Netherlands argued in favour of – at the very least – a temporary ceasefire, direct humanitarian aid and for the conditions to be met that will allow food drops over the besieged city. The Netherlands also took the position that as a neutral party, the UN should be given a leading role in providing humanitarian aid.
Negotiations seem to be deadlocked, and much of Syria remains in the grip of violence. There is great frustration in the international community due to the parties’ failure to agree on a ceasefire in the country by 1 August. Thus far, the ISSG has not been able to force a breakthrough in the talks between the belligerents, foreign minister Bert Koenders observed. ‘This is irresponsible,’ said the minister. ‘It’s time for the ISSG and its co-chairs, the US and Russia, to shoulder their responsibility in preventing a humanitarian disaster in Aleppo.’
The Netherlands also urged the EU, which issued a statement yesterday at the initiative of the Netherlands, to adopt a more critical stance. The UN itself is in talks with representatives of the Assad regime. This task falls to Special Envoy for Syria Staffan De Mistura, who has been engaged on this front for some time. Up to this point, however, there has been insufficient progress.
Food drops
The Netherlands is also working with the ISSG and humanitarian partners to reach Syrians in besieged areas. The Netherlands supports the UN World Food Programme (WFP) with a contribution of €3.3 million for food drops. Thanks in part to this support, the organisation has already been able to carry out 82 such drops in Deir ez-Zor, which is under siege by ISIS.
‘Dutch support for the WFP food drop programme is vital,’ Mr Koenders remarked. ‘Syrians need access to food – that’s obviously essential. The way the aid is delivered must be effective and safe. With that in mind the Netherlands and its partners have urged Russia to push for complete and unconditional humanitarian access to Aleppo and other parts of Syria.’
Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Lilianne Ploumen added, ‘As difficult as it has been for them, the people of Deir ez-Zor have been able to survive thanks to these food drops. But this isn’t the only place where this type of emergency aid is needed.’
As Mr Koenders stressed, all parties concerned need to make humanitarian aid possible. ‘We have to focus on getting aid to Aleppo,’ he said. ‘Not on the forced relocation of people, which seems to be Russia’s aim. That’s a totally backwards approach.’ The minister’s remarks refer to the present ‘humanitarian corridors’, which are supposed to allow civilians to leave the city. The UN is not involved in these corridors. Considerable doubt exists about the safety of the corridors, and few people are using them.
The Netherlands would also like to see an investigation of the suspected poison gas attack in the neighbouring Syrian city of Al-Saraqeb earlier this week. ‘A poison gas attack would be a serious violation of international humanitarian law,’ said Mr Koenders.
In 2015 the UN Security Council adopted a resolution that created a Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) to look into the possible use of chemical weapons, including chlorine gas, in Syria. The Netherlands has proposed assigning investigation of this most recent attack to the JIM as well, in the hope that the perpetrators can be identified. The Netherlands has contributed €250,000 to the body’s valuable work.
Picture by Henry Arvidsson.
