Crisis Management Beyond the Humanitarian-Development Nexus by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science
ISBN: 9781351006804
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2018-09-27T04:00:00+00:00

Humanitarian relief and local actors

As discussed above, most cross-border operations for Syria have been conducted through remote management arrangements between international organizations based in neighboring countries and local actors inside Syria. In this respect, I will explore relationships between international organizations and local partners and issues of capacity-building.

Local actors differ widely in terms of types, backgrounds, agendas, activities, financial resources, and other aspects. In government-controlled areas, local NGOs, which are registered with the Syrian government, are the only ones allowed to operate. These were usually established prior to the crisis, and are strongly controlled by the government. Thus, most of them are not regarded as NGOs rooted in civil society because civil society itself did not exist either in Syria prior to the crisis nor in government-controlled areas up to the present date (author’s interview with staff of a Syrian NGO based in Gaziantep, March 10, 2016). It has been reported that in government-controlled areas, so-called popular committees have been formed for the assessment of local needs, the coordination of aid, and its distribution. These committees, however, are under the regime’s tight control (Meininghaus 2016, 1467).7

In opposition-held areas, different types of local actors have emerged since the eruption of the armed conflict, including local councils, local NGOs, community-based organizations, women and youth initiatives (Swisspeace, Conflict Dynamics International and FarikBeirut.net 2016, 7–12). The emergence of local councils was a reactive response in order to fill the power vacuum and lack of social services that resulted from the closure or withdrawal of government administrative institutions. They try to meet demands of the local population by maintaining security and social order, providing basic needs, such as food, drinking water, medical care, and electricity. Both local councils and NGOs function as channels for humanitarian aid flows (Meininghaus 2016, 1467). In other words, they are indispensable partners for international actors to implement various types of projects, both emergency relief as well as mid- and long-term assistance.

Most local actors, however, suffer from certain disadvantages caused by their insufficient capacity and relatively short experience because they are still newcomers and operate in extremely difficult and insecure environments. According to Rana Khalaf, local councils are not yet well established, and are ‘at different stages of development, depending on their security situation, access to routes to border areas, length of time since their establishment and existence of other competing structures or spoilers’ (Khalaf 2015, 46). In addition, local actors are still weak in terms of legitimacy, efficiency, and capacity (Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue 2014, 9–11, 25–26).

Nonetheless, they have strong advantages because they are firmly rooted in their own local societies. Therefore, they are able to obtain first-hand information about their communities, and are well aware of the requirements of affected populations. They have also accumulated knowledge on how to conduct their operations in war-torn circumstances. Thus, in order to engage in both emergency relief and mid- and long-term recovery and future development, it is essential for international organizations to establish reliable and robust relationships with local partners.

In this context,

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