Arab Spring and Humanitarian Action in Syria

Prepared by: Jeffrey Lahamedjian and

Jude Co

Dedicated to: Miss Lilia Casanova

OUTLINE
OBJECTIVES
Definition of Humanitarian Assistance
History/Origin of Humanitarian Assistance
Assads Rise To Power
Economic and Political Status of Syria under Assad
Origin of Massive Uprising
Cause and Effect of Uprising
Actions/Response of the International Community
Stats(Ally of Syria, Opponent of Syria, Figures of Relief)
Current Resolution About Assisting Syria
Conclusion and Criticism

OBJECTIVES
OBJECTIVES
To help everyone understand the importance
of Humanitarian Assistance.
To give a brief background about the
Syrian Crisis.
To be able to explain and understand the
intentions and motives of Bashar Al-Assad.

HUMANITARIAN
ASSISTANCE
Its aid and action is designed to save lives, alleviate
suffering and maintain and protect human dignity, during
and after the aftermath of emergencies

It represents a commitment to support vulnerable host

populations that have experienced a sudden emergency
requiring ongoing assistance to maintain or improve their
quality of life.

HISTORY AND ORIGIN OF

HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
1859= Battle of Solferino
1864= Geneva Convention
1901= Peace Prize for Henry Dunant, International Rescue
Committee, Catholic Relief Services were established
1939-45= ICRC was established
1950= UNHCR was formed and established
1968= Biafra conflict, MSF(Mdecins Sans Frontires)
1984=BOB GELDOF created Band and Live Aid
1992= Serbian led ethnic cleansing broke out in Bosnia and
Herzegovina
1994= 800,000 Rwandans were killed due to the 1997= Sphere
Project
2000= NATOs humanitarian bombing campaign
2003= 18 UN members killed in a explosion in IRAQ
2004= Southeast Asian Tsunami relief from 400 groups that
amounted to $6B
Were delayed due to useless donations(VIAGRA, high heels, etc)
2010= Haiti Earthquake; use of social media

ASSADS RISE TO POWER

The Assad family has held power in Syria since 1971,
first it was Hasez Al-Assad, then Bashar Al-Assad.

He was studying advance ophthalmology in London,

when his brother Bassel, older brother died in 1994 in
a car accident. And Bashar was summoned back to
Syria.
Hafez Al-Assad died on June 10,2000.Ten days after
Hafez's death, Bashar al-Assad was chosen for a
seven-year term as president of Syria.

ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL

STATUS OF SYRIA UNDER ASSAD
=The three revenue sectors that Syria relies on annually are oil production;
taxes from government services; and the government-owned industrial
companies, which are widely politicized, greatly inefficient, and bleeding red
ink.
Only three segments of the economy are somewhat profitable and, not
surprisingly, the three are monopolies: tobacco, telecommunications, and
banking.
=The tobacco monopoly is run by a member of the Assad family which has a
complete ownership of the business and is not subject to pricing control.
=The oil sector provides 25 percent of the GDP, half of the government's
revenues and about two-thirds of its export receipts.
=Cotton is the second most important cash crop (after cereals). It employs
2.7 million farmers and their dependents, or about 15 percent of the
population, and will provide the raw material for the expanding of Syrias
textile industry.

ORIGIN OF MASSIVE
UPRISING

TUNISIA
A Tunisian fruit vendor named Mohamed
Bouazizi set himself on fire after a series of
beatings and humiliations that began when a
female municipal inspector tried to confiscate
his fruit and then slapped him when he tried
to grab his apples back. Bouazizi doused
himself with paint thinner and set himself on
fire in front of the governors office. The
incident sparked protests seen on the
internet and al-Jazeera, which then grew in
size and ferocity. Bouazizi died a few weeks
after the incident, on 1/4/11. Ten days after
his death, the president of Tunisia fled the
country.

EGYPT
On January 25, 2011, tens of thousands of Egyptians
turned out on the streets of Cairo and other cities,
demanding an end to President Hosni Mubaraks 30-year
rule. Following several days of demonstrations, Mubarak
promised not to run for reelection in September, but the
protesters distrusted his pledges. Growing numbers
continued to gather in Cairos Tahrir Square, demanding
that he step down immediately. The Obama
administration found itself in a difficult position:
Mubarak was our strongest ally in the Arab world, but he
ruled repressively, and the protesters represented a
genuinely democratic movement. After 18 days of
protests, Mubarak finally agreed to leave office, and
Egypts military stepped in to lead the transition until a
new government is elected.

LIBYA
The Libyan revolution was sparked by
the Tunisian and Egyptians revolutions
that have ousted their long reigning
rulers in a very short period of time,
and with relatively less loss of life and
property.

Wide spread grievance against the

Kaddafi dictatorship existed, but the
arresting of a lawyer advocating by the
families of 1200 men massacred in the
Abu-Salim prison in Tripoli was the spark,
or the trigger point of the revolution.

SYRIA
The Uprising started in the Deraa, South of Syria
where a group of teenagers were conducting a
peaceful demonstrations for democratic reform in
the government. But the response of the ASSAD
regime is force where the government fired at the
civilian and resulted to 7,500 fatalities and
thousands more wounded and detained(UN
statistics); activists have put the death toll at over
8,000. Precise figures are impossible to obtain due
to the restrictions the Syrian government has
placed on foreign journalists reporting from the
country.

Cause OF UPRISING
Corruption
Unemployment
Ageing Dictatorship
Social Media
Intervention/Appeal from Arab
Spring

EFFECT

1)Political Instability
2) Investors lack of confidence
3) Transition Period
4) Image

RESPONSE OF INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

When the civil war erupted, Western
powers headed by the United States,
together with the Arab league have
condemed action or response by the ASSAD
regime towards its civilians.. But Middle
Eastern government expressed and showed
support for the ASSAD regime. After which
it resulted to a supposed to be
sanctioned by the UN Security Council but
the major ally of the regime which is Russia
and China have vetoed the Security
Councils attempts.

Current Resolution( Geneva)

Russia said on Wednesday it would veto a U.N. resolution on humanitarian aid
access in Syria in its current form, denouncing the draft as an effort to lay a
foundation for military strikes against President Bashar al-Assad's government.
Moscow had already dismissed the Western-Arab draft debated in the Security
Council on Tuesday as a non-starter, but a senior diplomat's unequivocal
condemnation indicated Russia would seek major changes before dropping its
opposition."Its whole purpose and aim is to create grounds for future military
action against the Syrian government if some demands it includes are not
met," Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said in Geneva, according to
state-run news agency RIA."It is unacceptable to us in the form in which it is
now being prepared, and we, of course, will not let it through.
Since the civil war began in Syria in 2011, Russia and China have vetoed
three Western-backed Security Council resolutions condemning Assad's
government and threatening it with sanctions. Moscow has adamantly opposed
any Western military intervention.
At the United Nations on Tuesday, French Ambassador Gerard Araud told
reporters that Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the council Moscow
was prepared to work on some kind of resolution on aid access, but not the
present draft.

Criticisms
As the civil war continues to destroy Syria not just
economically but politically, the western powers are indeed
is playing a major role in funding Syrian Rebels. The
criticism of President Obamas decision has been all too
predictable, and all of the pundits, bloggers, professionals,
analysts, think thank fellows, and ornery Congressmen have
thrown around phrases like slippery slope, too little too
late, and a host of other catchy little tag lines meant to
induce emotional reaction in lieu of critical thought.

Conclusions
As the international communities continue to
monitor in this situation, We think that the OIC
and the ARAB League should be involved in this
situation. Why...?? It is because the credibility
and the image of this Arab countries are on the
line, and also, Obama should make sure that his
decision should be effective and should planned
well before announcing it because it can cause
trouble in the diplomatic talks.

:
http://www.indexmundi.com/energy.aspx?country=sy&product=oil&graph=produ
ction
http://www.irinnews.org/report/97335/sanctions-hit-humanitarian-aid-to-syria
http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/08/28/216385513/who-are-syrias-frien
ds-and-why-are-they-supporting-assad
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12482315
http://friendsofsyria.co/enemies-of-syria/who-is-behind-the-protest-movement
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2013/08/201383111193558894.ht
ml
http://www.globalfirepower.com/