Background to the topic

Syria's conflict has raged for more than ten years; many countries have sided with the Syrian regime, while others have sided with the opposition. However, no state has supported the civilians. In this deadly conflict, neither the Syrian regime nor the opposition has suffered as many loses as ordinary citizens. The UN intervened in this conflict for the first time in August 2011 after regime’s use of violence against demonstrators which was condemned by the Security Council. However, no further action was taken and thus civilians’ lives remained the same, often subjected to Assad's violence.

Research questions

This research will focus on answering the following two fundamental questions: The UN assisted people by providing food and clothing for refugees within Syria, as well as outside,  but was this assistance sufficient to help them and keep them alive? In other words, did the UN succeed or fail in its efforts to assist Syrian refugees? Furthermore, was the UN’s approach to the conflict affected by the fact that Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, supported the Syrian President Assad?

Objectives of my research

Those questions have always piqued my interest; I sought answers through a variety of academic resources to gain a better understanding of the potential actions that the UN could have taken in the case of Syria and in other similar cases. However, there is very limited discussion and a gap regarding the case of Syria; as a result, I am attempting to fill this gap through my research. I am seeking to explore what were/are the real obstacles that prohibiting the UN in adequately mediating the conflict. With the aim that my research would persuade other scholars to take an interest on this case and pay greater attention to it, as well as to other similar ones. Furthermore, my research will assist other people who are undertaking research similar to mine by providing them with material that could help them to begin their research.