"[T]o close readers of the U.N. Humanitarian Response Plan, which was published on Dec. 29, the big surprise was what the 64-page document failed to mention. The United Nations, after consulting the Syrian government, altered dozens of passages and omitted pertinent information to paint the government of Bashar al-Assad in a more favorable light.
By comparing the final document to an earlier draft ... it is evident that 10 references to 'sieged' or 'besieged' areas, such as that in Madaya - the town in southwestern Syria that saw 23 people die of starvation over several months before the arrival of a U.N. aid convoy in mid-January - were removed. Gone was any mention of the program to clear mines and unexploded ordnance, such as the 'barrel bombs' the regime drops indiscriminately on populated areas. Gone were all mentions of Syrian relief groups that shepherd the aid to civilians in rebel-held areas.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) indicated that the alterations were made at the behest of the Syrian government.
'It is standard procedure in each country for the UN to consult with the government of the country,' wrote Linda Tom, an OCHA spokeswoman, when asked about the deletion of references to 'siege' or 'besieged.' ...
The U.N. ordinarily says little about the situation in regions under siege, preferring quiet diplomacy - but that approach didn't work in 2015, as the Syrian government turned down nine out of 10 requests to send food and medicine to areas that the U.N. classified as besieged or 'hard to reach.' The international body has come under widespread criticism for staying silent for months on Madaya until the photos of children who had died of starvation began to circulate...
Five Syrian relief organizations charged that the U.N. had set an 'unacceptable precedent' in negotiating the wording of the report with the Syrian government. Removing all references to besieged areas 'downplays the severity of the violations' of international law by the Assad regime, and removing the references to mine clearing was an implicit validation of the Syrian government's position that mine removal constitutes military action, they said in a letter sent on Dec. 30..."