Research details

In 2022, the Observatory of Political and Economic Networks (OPEN) partnered with the Syrian Legal Development Program (SLDP) and analysed the top 100 Syrian suppliers to the United Nations (UN) during 2019–2020 as reported in the UN’s procurement database. The analysis used information from various sources like OPEN’s database, online business directories, news sites, and social media to identify ownership, business networks, and any potential connections to human rights abuses. We then classified suppliers into human-rights-centric risk levels following the methodology developed by Human Rights Watch and the SLDP. The report also relied on interviews with targeted stakeholders from across the spectrum of former UN staffers and experts on UN Syria operations. The aim was to understand the procurement processes, guidelines, and challenges, to identify issues that might lead to contracts being awarded to entities linked to human rights abuses. This report complements the earlier report

To view the policy brief, click here

To view the full report, click here

You can view the top 100 suppliers alongside their risk levels and backgrounds using this interactive dashboard: click here