Responding to the humanitarian consequences of the conflict in Syria: have we failed the test?

Why is Syria a seemingly impossible environment to operate in? What approaches are working – and what innovative ways of working can be explored? Have humanitarian agencies failed the test in Syria?

These questions were explored in the event "Responding to the humanitarian consequences of the conflict in Syria: have we failed the test?" which was hosted by the Humanitarian Practice Network to launch the 59th issue of the Humanitarian Exchange on the conflict in Syria.

The challenges of operating in Syria, and providing life-saving aid to populations in need, was a key point of discussion, with panellists emphasising the lack of security, bureaucratic measures – "Kafkaesque and Orwellian in equal measure" observed panellist Ben Parker – the number of armed groups and what ICRC’s Sean Maguire described as the "fluid nature of power and authority" in the country.

Chair:
Lina Sinjab – BBC Syria Correspondent

Speakers:
Ben Parker – former Head of United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Syria and co-editor of “Humanitarian Exchange: the conflict in Syria”
Matthew Wyatt– Head, Syria Crisis Unit, UK Department for International Development (DFID)
Emanuela-Chiara Gillard – Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict, University of Oxford
Sean Maguire– UK Spokesman, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
Marwa Kuwaider – Programme Development Manager, Human Care Syria

To access the event report and watch the full recorded video, please visit: http://www.odi.org.uk/events/3815-syria-conflict-humanitarian-refugee-re...