„The UN has awarded contracts worth tens of millions of dollars to people closely associated with the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, as part of an aid programme that critics fear is increasingly at the whim of the government in Damascus, a Guardian investigation has found.
Businessmen whose companies are under US and EU sanctions have been paid substantial sums by the UN mission, as have government departments and charities – including one set up by the president’s wife, Asma al-Assad, and another by his closest associate, Rami Makhlouf.
The UN says it can only work with a small number of partners approved by President Assad and that it does all it can to ensure the money is spent properly. (…) However, critics believe the UN mission is in danger of being compromised. They believe aid is being prioritised in government-held areas and argue UN money is effectively helping to prop up a regime responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of its own citizens.“
(Nick Hopkins/Emma Beals: „UN pays tens of millions to Assad regime under Syria aid programme“. Eine Zusammenfassung des Guardian-Berichts findet sich bei der Zeit: „UN zahlen offenbar indirekt Millionen an syrisches Regime“.)
Mehr zum Thema UN und Syrien finden Sie auch im Mena Watch-Beitrag: „Wie die Vereinten Nationen Assads Krieg gegen die eigene Bevölkerung unterstützen“
