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Document 3:13 (2022–2023) / Published Norwegian aid to the Syrian crisis 2016–2021

The investigation reveals that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not obtained adequate documentation of results from all of the grant recipients, nor has it conducted systematic assessments of the results of the aid projects.

Background

  • In the period from 2016 to 2021, just under 12 per cent of all Norwegian aid was for humanitarian purposes.
  • The primary objective of Norway's humanitarian efforts is to contribute to ensuring that people in need are given the necessary protection and assistance in line with the humanitarian imperative and the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence.

Conclusions

  • The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has actively worked toensure compliance with the humanitarian principles inSyria, however, communication relating to challengesand dilemmas has not been sufficiently clear.
  • The aid provided to the neighbouring countries of Jordanand Lebanon has to a lesser extent had a long-termapproach, and the results achieved are not adequatelydocumented.
  • The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ flexibility and greater useof multi-year agreements enable the provision of moreeffective aid.
  • The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ assessments of projectresults and risks are inadequate.
  • There is insufficient traceability in connection with theadministration of aid to the Syrian crisis.

Recommendations

The Office of the Auditor General recommends that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

  • ensures that the results of major aid programmes and projects at country level are assessed and documented in accordance with the Ministry’s own guidelines,
  • ensures that the follow-up of multilateral aid at country level provides adequate knowledge about what is being achieved,
  • makes case processing more traceable, particularly for multilateral aid, to enable all key documents linked to an agreement or grant to be easily retrieved,
  • documents assessments of challenges with the humanitarian principles in major humanitarian projects and country programmes,
  • continues to pursue the ambition of achieving better coordination between humanitarian and long-term development aid in Jordan and Lebanon.
Kategorier: Bistand/utenriks