Former UN aid chief urges investment to stabilize postwar Syria
Martin Griffiths says Syria needs sanctions relief, legal safeguards and private capital after years of failed international engagement.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
Former UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths has urged outside powers and investors to help Syria rebuild its economy after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, warning that peace remains fragile. In an Al Jazeera opinion piece published Wednesday, Griffiths said the country’s recovery depends on sanctions relief, private investment and a government able to offer reliable legal protections.
Griffiths, who served in the United Nations’ Special Envoy’s Office for Syria and later led the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said he shared responsibility for years of unsuccessful international efforts on Syria. He wrote that 15 years of war had brought severe harm to Syrians and exposed the limits of diplomacy with al-Assad’s government.
During his UN work, Griffiths said he met senior figures in the al-Assad administration, including the former president. He said humanitarian officials hold talks with people who can block or permit aid deliveries, and mediators meet parties to conflicts in attempts to stop fighting.
Griffiths described those meetings as attempts to press al-Assad on decisions affecting Syrians’ welfare. He said he regularly raised the issue of detainees with Syrian officials, including during daily talks with the government in Damascus in 2012.
According to Griffiths, one Syrian official told him privately in 2012 that the government would not release detainees or acknowledge the reality of their detention. Griffiths also said al-Assad told him in a private 2022 meeting that the prisons had already been emptied and that no detainees remained.
Griffiths said he met al-Assad three times after the earthquakes in 2023 to press for steps he considered necessary for Syrians’ rights and welfare. He wrote that those efforts failed, and that military action rather than negotiations ultimately ended the war and opened the way for a political settlement.
Economic recovery now central
Griffiths said Syria’s war has ended, but he warned that recent bombings in Damascus show there are still actors seeking to undermine the country’s future. He identified economic reconstruction as the main task facing Syria.
According to Griffiths, years of conflict, sanctions and economic breakdown left Syrians steadily poorer, with two-thirds of the population now living in extreme poverty. He said aid continues to arrive from Gulf countries and European Union member states, but argued that humanitarian assistance cannot provide a durable answer to Syria’s crises.
Griffiths said private investment is needed in areas including banking, energy, construction, food processing, agribusiness and light manufacturing. He added that money from Syrians abroad could help start the recovery, but that broader international capital and technical backing would also be required.
Two obstacles remain, Griffiths wrote: the removal of remaining sanctions and the need to reduce risk for investors. He said the United States’ recent announcement that it would remove Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism would help address the sanctions issue.
Investor confidence remains a harder problem, according to Griffiths. He cited a senior ambassador in Damascus as saying that foreign governments broadly support Syria, but that the country still lacks the predictable rules and legal protections needed for investment.
Griffiths said Syria’s government must create a safer investment environment through clear legislation rather than promises or decrees. He warned that weak follow-through, slow bureaucracy and indecision were holding back opportunities, while arguing that Syria’s stability is tied to the wider Middle East at a time of rising regional conflict.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.