The Frontline Club

From the Second World War to the War on Terror, via Kenya and Northern Ireland award-winning investigative journalist Ian Cobain‘s new book Cruel Britannia explores Britain’s role in the development and use of torture. Drawing on previously unseen official documents, and the accounts of witnesses, victims and experts Cobain reveals some stark truths.With the High Court judgement that a group of Kenyans can claim damages from British government for abuses suffered during the Mau Mau rebellion, and on-going enquiries into the abuse of terror suspects, we will be joined by Cobain and a panel of experts to discuss Britain’s record on involvement in the use of torture. We will be asking whether it is to time to challenge the official line that the UK does not ‘participate in, solicit, encourage or condone’ torture.Chaired by Humphrey Hawksley, leading BBC foreign correspondent, author and commentator on world affairs.With:Ian Cobain, an investigative journalist with the Guardian and author of Cruel Britannia: A Secret History of Torture. His inquiries into the UK’s involvement with torture since 9/11 have won the Martha Gellhorn Prize and the Paul Foot Award for investigative journalism, and has been shortlisted for the Orwell Prize. He has also won several Amnesty International Media awards and a Liberty award.Clive Baldwin, the Senior Legal Advisor for the Legal and Policy office at Human Rights Watch, where he has been working on issues of international law since 2007. His areas of focus include the Middle East, north and west Africa and discrimination law.Rt Hon David Davis MP, Member of Parliament for Haltemprice and Howden since 1997 and former Shadow Home Secretary. As a Minister in the last Conservative government he served in the Cabinet Office and the Foreign Office. In the latter, he was responsible for Security Policy and European Policy, overseeing the majority of the country’s international negotiations.Dr Ruth Blakeley, a senior lecturer in International Relations at the University of Kent. Her research focuses on state violence and terrorism, particularly by liberal democratic states. Her current project, funded by the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council, focuses on analysing the global system of rendition and secret detention. She is the author of State Terrorism and Neoliberalism, and she has published widely on state violence and torture.

From the Second World War to the War on Terror, via Kenya and Northern Ireland award-winning investigative journalist Ian Cobain‘s new book Cruel Britannia explores Britain’s role in the development and use of torture. Drawing on previously unseen official documents, and the accounts of witnesses, victims and experts Cobain reveals some stark truths.With the High Court judgement that a group of Kenyans can claim damages from British government for abuses suffered during the Mau Mau rebellion, and on-going enquiries into the abuse of terror suspects, we will be joined by Cobain and a panel of experts to discuss Britain’s record on involvement in the use of torture. We will be asking whether it is to time to challenge the official line that the UK does not ‘participate in, solicit, encourage or condone’ torture.Chaired by Humphrey Hawksley, leading BBC foreign correspondent, author and commentator on world affairs.With:Ian Cobain, an investigative journalist with the Guardian and author of Cruel Britannia: A Secret History of Torture. His inquiries into the UK’s involvement with torture since 9/11 have won the Martha Gellhorn Prize and the Paul Foot Award for investigative journalism, and has been shortlisted for the Orwell Prize. He has also won several Amnesty International Media awards and a Liberty award.Clive Baldwin, the Senior Legal Advisor for the Legal and Policy office at Human Rights Watch, where he has been working on issues of international law since 2007. His areas of focus include the Middle East, north and west Africa and discrimination law.Rt Hon David Davis MP, Member of Parliament for Haltemprice and Howden since 1997 and former Shadow Home Secretary. As a Minister in the last Conservative government he served in the Cabinet Office and the Foreign Office. In the latter, he was responsible for Security Policy and European Policy, overseeing the majority of the country’s international negotiations.Dr Ruth Blakeley, a senior lecturer in International Relations at the University of Kent. Her research focuses on state violence and terrorism, particularly by liberal democratic states. Her current project, funded by the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council, focuses on analysing the global system of rendition and secret detention. She is the author of State Terrorism and Neoliberalism, and she has published widely on state violence and torture.

From Iraq to Afghanistan, Libya to Syria local fixers are increasingly being relied upon by journalists to help them get the story and do their jobs. For foreign journalists they provide essential local knowledge and the ability to communicate, but by doing so they often put themselves and their families in danger. The uprisings in the Arab world, particularly in Libya, have put fresh scrutiny on the relationship between fixers and foreign journalists. We will be asking whether journalists are taking proper responsibility for their fixers. Increasingly being used as an editorial resource to offer a local perspective, we will be examining the problems that arise from this and the role of fixers in the future of foreign reporting. Chaired by Charles Glass, a broadcaster, journalist and writer, who began his journalistic career in 1973 at the ABC News Beirut bureau and was chief Middle East correspondent from 1983 to 1993. Since then, he has been a freelance writer, regularly covering the Middle East, the Balkans, Southeast Asia and the Mediterranean region. He has also published books, short stories, essays and articles in the United States and Europe. With: Ilene Prusher, independent journalist based in Jerusalem and author of Baghdad Fixer. Prusher has covered some 30 countries in the course of her career as a foreign correspondent. She was a staff writer for The Christian Science Monitor from 2000 to 2010, serving as the bureau chief in Tokyo, Istanbul, and Jerusalem and covering the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Patrick Cockburn, senior Middle East correspondent since 1979 for the Financial Times and, presently, The Independent. He is an experienced commentator on Iraq and has written several books on the country including The Occupation: War and Resistance in Iraqand Muqtada: Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia Revival, and the Struggle for Iraq. Suliman Ali Zway, a Libya based freelance journalist for The New York Times and many other international broadcasters. He started his journalistic career as a fixer during the Libyan revolution. Suliman Ali Zway and his counterpart Osama Alfitory were known by international journalists as the “A Team” and went on to be awarded the Martin Adler Prize, which recognizes the dedication and bravery of local freelancers who have played a significant role in the reporting of a major news story.

The last time the BBC set up an internal inquiry of the scale of the Pollard Inquiry it resulted in a shake up that saw the resignation of the Director General and the Chairman. Nearly ten years on from the Hutton Inquiry pressure is again mounting at the BBC and there are calls for those at the top to “fall on their swords”. Join us as we ask whether the criticism levelled at the BBC and its management is fair and how damaging it could be. Does the failure to adequately justify and explain the reasons for dropping the Newsnight investigation into Jimmy Savile’s past point to a larger problem with decision-making at the BBC? Chaired by Steve Hewlett, a writer, broadcaster and media consultant. With: Sian Kevill, runs independent production company, Make World Media. Previously she was editor of the BBC’s Newsnight programme where she won two BAFTA and two RTS awards, she also worked on BBC World News where she had overall editorial responsibility. Stewart Purvis, professor of television journalism at City University London. He is a former Editor-in-Chief and CEO of ITN, and Ofcom’s partner for content and standards. David Elstein, chairman of the board of openDemocracy Ltd and of the Broadcasting Policy Group. Previously he launched Channel 5, worked for Sky as head of programming and began his career at the BBC as a producer and director. Jean Seaton, Professor of media history at the University of Westminster.

The last time the BBC set up an internal inquiry of the scale of the Pollard Inquiry it resulted in a shake up that saw the resignation of the Director General and the Chairman. Nearly ten years on from the Hutton Inquiry pressure is again mounting at the BBC and there are calls for those at the top to “fall on their swords”.Join us as we ask whether the criticism levelled at the BBC and its management is fair and how damaging it could be. Does the failure to adequately justify and explain the reasons for dropping the Newsnight investigation into Jimmy Savile’s past point to a larger problem with decision-making at the BBC?Chaired by Steve Hewlett, a writer, broadcaster and media consultant.With:Sian Kevill, runs independent production company, Make World Media. Previously she was editor of the BBC’s Newsnight programme where she won two BAFTA and two RTS awards, she also worked on BBC World News where she had overall editorial responsibility.Stewart Purvis, professor of television journalism at City University London. He is a former Editor-in-Chief and CEO of ITN, and Ofcom’s partner for content and standards.David Elstein, chairman of the board of openDemocracy Ltd and of the Broadcasting Policy Group. Previously he launched Channel 5, worked for Sky as head of programming and began his career at the BBC as a producer and director.Jean Seaton, Professor of media history at the University of Westminster.firstwednesdaysavilebbc

Join us for the launch of Why Poverty? A ground-breaking series of international documentaries looking at contemporary poverty screening on the BBC in November. The global cross-media event produced in partnership with The Open University will see the same eight films screened in 180 countries by more than 70 broadcasters to explore why, in the 21st Century, a billion people still live in poverty. From a behind-the-scenes look at Bob Geldof and Bono’s 30 year campaign and the moving story of illiterate women becoming solar engineers, to films exploring the impact of multinationals in Zambia and the privatisation of education in China, the series will give expression to a diverse range of voices from around the world and kick-start a new debate about contemporary poverty. BBC Four will be the home of Why Poverty?, screening seven documentaries over two weeks, while the series will launch on BBC One with Four Born Every Second (w/t) – a lyrical and sobering look at childbirth and infant mortality around the world. Nick Fraser, editor of BBC Storyville and Mette Hoffman Meyer, executive producer of Why Poverty? will present this initiative to create a global debate. As part of the evening we will be showing SOLAR MAMAS – the remarkable story of a Jordanian mother who travels to India to train as a solar engineer and bring light and electricity back to her village.

Join us for the launch of Why Poverty? A ground-breaking series of international documentaries looking at contemporary poverty screening on the BBC in November. The global cross-media event produced in partnership with The Open University will see the same eight films screened in 180 countries by more than 70 broadcasters to explore why, in the 21st Century, a billion people still live in poverty.From a behind-the-scenes look at Bob Geldof and Bono’s 30 year campaign and the moving story of illiterate women becoming solar engineers, to films exploring the impact of multinationals in Zambia and the privatisation of education in China, the series will give expression to a diverse range of voices from around the world and kick-start a new debate about contemporary poverty.BBC Four will be the home of Why Poverty?, screening seven documentaries over two weeks, while the series will launch on BBC One with Four Born Every Second (w/t) – a lyrical and sobering look at childbirth and infant mortality around the world.Nick Fraser, editor of BBC Storyville and Mette Hoffman Meyer, executive producer of Why Poverty? will present this initiative to create a global debate. As part of the evening we will be showing SOLAR MAMAS – the remarkable story of a Jordanian mother who travels to India to train as a solar engineer and bring light and electricity back to her village.

Join us for the launch of Why Poverty? A ground-breaking series of international documentaries looking at contemporary poverty screening on the BBC in November. The global cross-media event produced in partnership with The Open University will see the same eight films screened in 180 countries by more than 70 broadcasters to explore why, in the 21st Century, a billion people still live in poverty.From a behind-the-scenes look at Bob Geldof and Bono’s 30 year campaign and the moving story of illiterate women becoming solar engineers, to films exploring the impact of multinationals in Zambia and the privatisation of education in China, the series will give expression to a diverse range of voices from around the world and kick-start a new debate about contemporary poverty.BBC Four will be the home of Why Poverty?, screening seven documentaries over two weeks, while the series will launch on BBC One with Four Born Every Second (w/t) – a lyrical and sobering look at childbirth and infant mortality around the world.Nick Fraser, editor of BBC Storyville and Mette Hoffman Meyer, executive producer of Why Poverty? will present this initiative to create a global debate. As part of the evening we will be showing SOLAR MAMAS – the remarkable story of a Jordanian mother who travels to India to train as a solar engineer and bring light and electricity back to her village.

The Frontline Club Awards are presented annually in recognition of the most outstanding journalism seen over a one year period. They aim to reward independence of spirit, courage and the highest standards in journalism. The shortlist for the Awards can be viewed here. For the first time the Frontline Club Awards have been expanded into four categories: Print Broadcast Photojournalism Tribute The Frontline Club Awards will be presented by Jon Snow at the Frontline Club at a fundraising event. The Awards are sponsored by Vodafone with prizes provided by Canon and proceeds from ticket sales will go to the Frontline Club Charitable Trust to help sustain its activities. A Prize Draw will also take place in aid of the Fixers' Fund, including prizes from Monocle, ITN,Photofusion, QI, Vodafone and KK Outlet, prints donated by the photographers of VII, £500 credit on imaging services at Metro Imaging and £500 of credit to spend at onefinestay. Book a dining or non-dining ticket via the Charity Giving website here. Your donation will go directly to the Frontline Club Charitable Trust to support its work. Dress code: Lounge suits and cocktail dresses.

In Iran it is reported that the government are building a national intranet that adheres to Islamic values and is isolated from the World Wide Web, in the UK the government is proposing a communications bill that will see an increase in monitoring of emails and social media by the police and intelligence agencies'. Authoritarian states have long seen the freedom of the internet as a threat and have tried to restrict it, but recent develops suggest a move towards increased tracking and control of what the public do and see online across the world. With companies' interests lying in the commercial gains of data and governments' in the ability to monitor populations, join us as we ask to whose hands internet governance should be entrusted. Chaired by Kirsty Hughes, the Chief Executive of Index on Censorship - an international freedom of expression non-governmental organisation. Previously she has worked at Chatham House, IPPR, the European Commission and most recently she was head of Global Public Policy and Advocacy at Oxfam and Senior Associate Fellow at the Centre for International Studies, University of Oxford. Twitter: @IndexCensorship With: Birgitta Jónsdóttir MP, a member of the Icelandic Parliament for The Movement and chairperson of the International Modern Media Institution. She has worked as a volunteer for various organisations including WikiLeaks, Saving Iceland and Friends of Tibet in Iceland. Prior to becoming an MP she has been an activist, writer, first icelandic woman to work as web developer and publisher. Twitter:@birgittaj Jacob Appelbaum, an accomplished photographer, software hacker and world traveler. He works as a developer for The Tor Project and trains interested parties globally on how to effectively use and contribute to the Tor network. He is a founding member of the hacklab Noisebridge in San Francisco where he indulges his interests in magnetics, cryptography and consensus based governance. He was a driving force in the team behind the creation of the Cold Boot Attacks; winning both the Pwnie for Most Innovative Research award and the Usenix Security best student paper award in 2008. Additionally, he was part of the MD5 Collisions Inc. team that created a rogue CA certificate by using a cluster of 200 PlayStations funded by the Swiss taxpayers. The "MD5 considered harmful today" research was awarded the best paper award at CRYPTO 2009. Twitter: @ioerror Karl Kathuria, an independent media technology consultant, specialising in Internet distribution and streaming media. Prior to this, he spent over 10 years at the BBC, managing the distribution of World Service Internet content to a global audience. In this role, he faced the challenge of delivering news content into countries where censorship is prevalent. As a result of these efforts, he was invited to the Munk School of Global Affairs in Toronto to work with the Citizen Lab team in 2011 on an independent research project. During this period, he studied the effects of the BBC's content distribution strategies in China and Iran, and made recommendations for the propagation of circumvention software into these markets. His current projects include working with Psiphon Inc., the Canadian provider of network software aimed at preserving security, privacy, and access to content that may otherwise be blocked. Dr Ian Brown, associate Director at the Cyber Security Centre and Senior Research Fellow at Oxford Internet Institute (OII). His work focuses on public policy issues around information and the Internet, particularly privacy, copyright and e-democracy. He also works in the more technical fields of information security, networking and healthcare informatics. He has consulted for the US Department of Homeland Security, JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, Allianz, McAfee, BT, the BBC, the European Commission, the Cabinet Office, Ofcom, the National Audit Office and the Information Commissioner's Office.

In Iran it is reported that the government are building a national intranet that adheres to Islamic values and is isolated from the World Wide Web, in the UK the government is proposing a communications bill that will see an increase in monitoring of emails and social media by the police and intelligence agencies'.Authoritarian states have long seen the freedom of the internet as a threat and have tried to restrict it, but recent develops suggest a move towards increased tracking and control of what the public do and see online across the world.With companies' interests lying in the commercial gains of data and governments' in the ability to monitor populations, join us as we ask to whose hands internet governance should be entrusted.Chaired by Kirsty Hughes, the Chief Executive of Index on Censorship - an international freedom of expression non-governmental organisation. Previously she has worked at Chatham House, IPPR, the European Commission and most recently she was head of Global Public Policy and Advocacy at Oxfam and Senior Associate Fellow at the Centre for International Studies, University of Oxford. Twitter: @IndexCensorshipWith:Birgitta Jónsdóttir MP, a member of the Icelandic Parliament for The Movement and chairperson of the International Modern Media Institution. She has worked as a volunteer for various organisations including WikiLeaks, Saving Iceland and Friends of Tibet in Iceland. Prior to becoming an MP she has been an activist, writer, first icelandic woman to work as web developer and publisher. Twitter: @birgittajJacob Appelbaum, an accomplished photographer, software hacker and world traveler. He works as a developer for The Tor Project and trains interested parties globally on how to effectively use and contribute to the Tor network. He is a founding member of the hacklab Noisebridge in San Francisco where he indulges his interests in magnetics, cryptography and consensus based governance. He was a driving force in the team behind the creation of the Cold Boot Attacks; winning both the Pwnie for Most Innovative Research award and the Usenix Security best student paper award in 2008. Additionally, he was part of the MD5 Collisions Inc. team that created a rogue CA certificate by using a cluster of 200 PlayStations funded by the Swiss taxpayers. The "MD5 considered harmful today" research was awarded the best paper award at CRYPTO 2009. Twitter: @ioerrorKarl Kathuria, an independent media technology consultant, specialising in Internet distribution and streaming media. Prior to this, he spent over 10 years at the BBC, managing the distribution of World Service Internet content to a global audience. In this role, he faced the challenge of delivering news content into countries where censorship is prevalent. As a result of these efforts, he was invited to the Munk School of Global Affairs in Toronto to work with the Citizen Lab team in 2011 on an independent research project. During this period, he studied the effects of the BBC's content distribution strategies in China and Iran, and made recommendations for the propagation of circumvention software into these markets. His current projects include working with Psiphon Inc., the Canadian provider of network software aimed at preserving security, privacy, and access to content that may otherwise be blocked.Dr Ian Brown, associate Director at the Cyber Security Centre and Senior Research Fellow at Oxford Internet Institute (OII). His work focuses on public policy issues around information and the Internet, particularly privacy, copyright and e-democracy. He also works in the more technical fields of information security, networking and healthcare informatics. He has consulted for the US Department of Homeland Security, JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, Allianz, McAfee, BT, the BBC, the European Commission, the Cabinet Office, Ofcom, the National Audit Office and the Information Commissioner's Office.

The Marikana miners' strike in South Africa which resulted in the shooting dead of 34 workers by police is becoming a pivotal moment in South Africa's post-apartheid history. We will be joined by a panel of experts to discuss the root causes in society and politics in South Africa that lead to the Marikana massacre. As doubt is cast over governing authorities in the country, ANC leadership elections will take place in December which Jacob Zuma must win to guarantee a second term at presidential elections to be held in 2014. We will be examining how the Marikana massacre reflects on politics in the country and how it may effect Jacob Zuma's chances of re - election. Eighteen years after attaining democracy, South Africa is rife with corruption and unemployment is at crippling levels. With more and more miners joining the strike action we will be looking at the root causes of these social problems. Chaired by Richard Dowden, director of the Royal African Society. He was Africa editor of The Independent from 1986 to 1994 before being appointed Diplomatic Editor, and then joining The Economist as their Africa Editor. He is author ofAfrica: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles. With: Terry Bell, a journalist, commentator and author based in Cape Town, South Africa, he specialises in political and economic analysis and labour matters. Audrey Brown, a producer and presenter on BBC Focus on Africa and Network Africa. Andrew Feinstein a former ANC Member of Parliament in South Africa, a writer, campaigner and broadcaster. He is the author of The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade and the political memoir After the Party: A Personal and Political Journey Inside the ANC. Jonny Steinberg, a South African writer and scholar. He is the author of several books including Midlands and The Number, which won South Africa's premier nonfiction award, the Sunday Times Alan Paton Prize. He is currently a lecturer in African Studies at Oxford. Natznet Tesfay, head of Africa Forecasting at Exclusive Analysis Ltd. Prior to joining Exclusive Analysis she worked in the field of urban development, consulting for municipal governments in the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.

The Marikana miners' strike in South Africa which resulted in the shooting dead of 34 workers by police is becoming a pivotal moment in South Africa's post-apartheid history. We will be joined by a panel of experts to discuss the root causes in society and politics in South Africa that lead to the Marikana massacre.As doubt is cast over governing authorities in the country, ANC leadership elections will take place in December which Jacob Zuma must win to guarantee a second term at presidential elections to be held in 2014. We will be examining how the Marikana massacre reflects on politics in the country and how it may effect Jacob Zuma's chances of re - election.Eighteen years after attaining democracy, South Africa is rife with corruption and unemployment is at crippling levels. With more and more miners joining the strike action we will be looking at the root causes of these social problems.Chaired by Richard Dowden, director of the Royal African Society. He was Africa editor of The Independent from 1986 to 1994 before being appointed Diplomatic Editor, and then joining The Economist as their Africa Editor. He is author of Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles.With:Terry Bell, a journalist, commentator and author based in Cape Town, South Africa, he specialises in political and economic analysis and labour matters.Audrey Brown, a producer and presenter on BBC Focus on Africa and Network Africa.Andrew Feinstein a former ANC Member of Parliament in South Africa, a writer, campaigner and broadcaster. He is the author of The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade and the political memoir After the Party: A Personal and Political Journey Inside the ANC.Jonny Steinberg, a South African writer and scholar. He is the author of several books including Midlands and The Number, which won South Africa's premier nonfiction award, the Sunday Times Alan Paton Prize. He is currently a lecturer in African Studies at Oxford.Natznet Tesfay, head of Africa Forecasting at Exclusive Analysis Ltd. Prior to joining Exclusive Analysis she worked in the field of urban development, consulting for municipal governments in the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.

The Marikana miners' strike in South Africa which resulted in the shooting dead of 34 workers by police is becoming a pivotal moment in South Africa's post-apartheid history. We will be joined by a panel of experts to discuss the root causes in society and politics in South Africa that lead to the Marikana massacre.As doubt is cast over governing authorities in the country, ANC leadership elections will take place in December which Jacob Zuma must win to guarantee a second term at presidential elections to be held in 2014. We will be examining how the Marikana massacre reflects on politics in the country and how it may effect Jacob Zuma's chances of re - election.Eighteen years after attaining democracy, South Africa is rife with corruption and unemployment is at crippling levels. With more and more miners joining the strike action we will be looking at the root causes of these social problems.Chaired by Richard Dowden, director of the Royal African Society. He was Africa editor of The Independent from 1986 to 1994 before being appointed Diplomatic Editor, and then joining The Economist as their Africa Editor. He is author of Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles.With:Terry Bell, a journalist, commentator and author based in Cape Town, South Africa, he specialises in political and economic analysis and labour matters.Audrey Brown, a producer and presenter on BBC Focus on Africa and Network Africa.Andrew Feinstein a former ANC Member of Parliament in South Africa, a writer, campaigner and broadcaster. He is the author of The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade and the political memoir After the Party: A Personal and Political Journey Inside the ANC.Jonny Steinberg, a South African writer and scholar. He is the author of several books including Midlands and The Number, which won South Africa's premier nonfiction award, the Sunday Times Alan Paton Prize. He is currently a lecturer in African Studies at Oxford.Natznet Tesfay, head of Africa Forecasting at Exclusive Analysis Ltd. Prior to joining Exclusive Analysis she worked in the field of urban development, consulting for municipal governments in the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.

The humanitarian situation in Syria has dramatically worsened over the past weeks and the plight of the Syrian people has drawn international attention and concern as well as condemnation of the Syrian regime. Access to the country for humanitarian organisations has been restricted by violence and insecurity that has killed five Syrian Arab Red Crescent volunteers and staff members in the past 12 months. There is clearly an obligation for humanitarian agencies and journalists to share their perspectives on the humanitarian situation on the ground to ensure it is understood as clearly as is possible and decisive action can be taken. This must, however, be weighed by many actors against their own concerns of security, access and safety. Join us to discuss the humanitarian efforts being made in Syria and the many challenges that are faced. How do journalists and humanitarian agencies share information in such a complex conflict situation? We will analyse the balance between openness and the ability to continue to provide vital assistance on the ground in a conflict such as that in Syria. Chaired by Lindsey Hilsum, Channel 4 News' International Editor and author of Sandstorm, Libya in the Time of Revolution, With: Hicham Hassan, the International Committee of the Red Cross spokesperson for the Middle East. Lyse Doucet, BBC Chief International Correspondent. Ben Parker, the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Syria. Fadi Haddad, director of the Mosaic Initiative for Syria, a non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation working directly with human rights defenders and NGOs inside Syria and neighbouring countries.