Syrians Faced with Increased Human Rights Violations after 11 Years of War

Syrians Faced with Increased Human Rights Violations after 11 Years of War
Photo by Ahmed Akacha via Pixabay

25-09-2022

Annachiara Canetta

Middle East and Human Rights Researcher

Global Human Rights Defence

On September 14th, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic published a report covering recent developments regarding human rights violations in Syria. The report observed the risk of a new escalation of large-scale fighting and described the current situation as the worst economic and humanitarian situation since the start of the conflict. [1]

Different actors are considered responsible for the violations: in government-controlled areas,  “arbitrary detention, including torture and ill-treatment in incommunicado detention” have been recorded. [2] Turkish military forces incursion in Syrian territory (Operation Peace Spring and Operation Euphrates Shield) also contributed to increased insecurity and civilian casualties. [3] Moreover, living conditions in refugee camps in the North-east of the country (controlled by the Syrian National Army) remain unbearable, with “reasonable grounds to believe that the conditions in […] camps may amount to cruel or inhuman treatment”. [4] It has also been reported that in the same area, formerly controlled by Kurdish People’s Protection Units, Kurdish civilians are being victimized, particularly activist women. [5]

As Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, chair of the UN’s Syria commission, stated during a press conference in Geneva last week: “Syria cannot afford a return to larger-scale fighting, but that is where it may be heading” [6]: a restart of widespread violence, combined with the recent cholera outbreak [7], would have disastrous consequences on the country.

Sources and Further Reading

[1] Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic. (2022,

September 14). Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian

Arab Republic (A/HRC/51/45). United Nations Human Rights Council.

https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G22/463/09/PDF/G2246309.pdf?OpenElement

[2] ibid.

[3] ibid. 

[4] ibid.

[5] ibid. 

[6] Al Jazeera. (2022, September 14). Syria could return ‘to larger-scale fighting’, UN warns.

Syria’s War News | Al Jazeera.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/14/syria-headed-to-to-larger-scale-fighting-un-warn

-in-report

[7] Husain, A. (2022, September 16). Cholera outbreak in Syria poses further risk to the

displaced population. CARE. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from

https://www.care.org/news-and-stories/press-releases/cholera-outbreak-in-syria-poses-furthr-risk-to-the-displaced-population/