New Radio Clip Promoting International Aid Access in Syria

I recently wrote about the importance of ensuring greater grassroots buy-in for increased humanitarian access into Syria. This is vitally important now that there is a UN Security Council resolution mandating the UN to enter Syria without the government’s permission. Security for aid workers is always an issue but better security can be partly generated through local engagement, understanding, acceptance & coordination between internationals and Syrians on the ground.

It would be a massive backwards step if any opposition forces, imitating Syrian government forces, started imposing bureaucratic restrictions or making aid delivery more insecure than it already is. Indeed, if civilians themselves are experiencing the benefits of increased aid access, and those positives are being amplified by Syrian civil society groups, it will be difficult, especially for armed group representatives, to stand in the way of this.

It’s good to see groups like the Syrian Legal Development Programme (SLDP) taking up this issue and producing a new radio clip on the importance of Syrians helping to facilitate international aid operations.

The new clip above is part of a package of clips aimed at reinforcing some of the main principles of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). The other clips focus on the prevention of child soldiers, the prevention of the use of indiscriminate weapons, the danger of mines, the prevention of perfidy, and the protection of property.

Distribution of these important messages are currently via local Syrian radio stations covering Aleppo, Idlib, Hama's suburbs, and Al-Hasaka.

The SLDP are currently creating a number of educational programmes focused mainly on international law and human rights which they hope will help the Syrian people set the foundations for a more stable future in Syria. Here is something I wrote about them in 2013 called 'Lessons in the Laws of War' . I hope we see more initiatives like this from inside Syria which are actively promoting the importance of IHL & human rights. The humanitarian crisis is still catastrophic so any initiative aimed at facilitating greater and more secure international aid access into and around Syria is greatly welcomed. As is said in the radio clip: "We are all one body; if one limb aches, the whole body aches."

Kristyan Benedict is on Twitter as @KreaseChan