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Middle East and North AfricaSyria
Over 9,000 people are reported to have been killed since pro-reform protestors took to the streets of Syria in February 2011. Many were shot by security forces while participating in peaceful protests or attending the funerals of others killed. This number continues to rise.
Thousands of Syrians have been detained or arrested by the country's authorities, many held incommunicado at unknown locations where torture and other ill-treatment are rife. There are allegations of extrajudicial executions and other unlawful killings, arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances.
- Read about Syria in our 2011 Annual Report
- Other countries demanding change in the Middle East and North Africa
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Stop the bloodshed We're calling on Russia to use its considerable influence and make it clear to the Syrian authorities that they must end the violence immediately. Act now |
New evidence of systematic torture
People caught up in the massive wave of arrests following the
uprising have been thrust into a nightmarish world of systemic
torture. Last month our researchers were in Jordan hearing from Syrians who had fled the violence. Many said that they had been tortured or otherwise ill-treated in detention.
The testimonies we have heard give disturbing insights into a system of detention and interrogation which appears intended primarily to degrade, humiliate and terrify its victims into silence.
Read: 'I wanted to die': Syria's torture survivors speak out
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Reporting from the front line Just back from Syria our researcher Donatella Rovera provides a first hand update on the situation in the country. Read the blog now |
Peace plan
Despite the Syrian government's acceptance on 27 March 2012 of the six-point plan by Kofi Annan (Joint Special Envoy for the United Nations and the Arab League on Syria), we have continued to receive reports of arrests and continuing detention of individuals in conditions amounting to enforced disappearance. We have also received the names of 393 individuals killed since 27 March 2012.
On 14 April the UN Security Council voted in a resolution endorsing the six-point plan and approving the immediate deployment of 30 unarmed observers to Syria. This is a positive step but it does not go far enough. The Syrian government has shown it cannot be trusted to respect its commitments so a credible, vigorous monitoring operation will be essential if all parties are to be kept to their obligations.
Furthermore, any mission deployed to Syria must include human rights monitors. The Syrian government continues to block the entry of human rights investigators to the country, including those from the independent international Commission of Inquiry on Syria.
Syria, one year on
A year on from the start of mass protests in Syria, nearly 9000 people have been killed, with the number rising daily. In this video some protestors explain why they took to the streets to call for change in Syria.
Please note that this video contains graphic images; you may find some of the content disturbing.
Armed groups
While the overwhelming majority of alleged human rights violations have been committed by Syria's state security forces, there have been some reports of abuses committed by members of armed opposition groups, including kidnappings and killings. We are investigating these reports which, if true, are deeply disturbing. We condemn, without reservation, serious abuses by armed groups, including attacks that target civilians, indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, torture and other ill-treatment.
In order to properly assess the human rights situation in the country, we are calling on the Syrian authorities to grant access to independent international human rights monitors, including UN human rights mechanisms and Non-Governmental Organisations such as Amnesty International.
For more information on our current work on Syria, read this blog post.
Latest news
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Syrians share their experiences
As
the brutal crackdown continues in Syria, few lives in the country
remain unaffected by the violence. Since the conflict began we've
collected testimonies from a number of men and women who tell of the
horror they have faced, and the upheaval caused by the government's
attempts to silence those calling for human rights in the country.
- One family's escape from Syria After the Syrian army launched a security operation against the village of Tasil many were forced to flee. A family told us of their escape to Jordan. Read their story
- Student tells of torture A 25-year-old university student tells us about the beatings and torture he and other detainees suffered while being held in a sports stadium. Read his story (pdf)
- Former soldier speaks out A 21-year-old former soldier, now seeking refuge in Lebanon, describes the moment he chose to leave the army and join the protestors. Read his story
Hospital patients tortured
As part of its efforts to crush opposition, the Syrian government has turned hospitals into instruments of torture repression. We found that wounded patients had been tortured in at least four government-run hospitals. Often their suffering was at the hands of medical staff. Find out more and read our report, Climate of Fear
More information
Good News
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Kamal al-Labwani, a medical doctor, who was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment in
May 2007, has now been released. His family are extremely happy and have thanked everyone who campaigned for his rights. Background to the unrest
Under the state of emergency that had been in place since 1963 only the ruling Ba'ath party was allowed to rule Syria. Security forces enjoy sweeping powers of arrest, and government critics are routinely sentenced to lengthy prison terms following grossly unfair trials.
In
this climate, a series of small peaceful gatherings, organised mainly on
Facebook and Twitter, were held from 2 February 2011. The
protests were forcibly dispersed and demonstrators arrested.
On
18 March the protests began to spread after the authorities
used excessive force to suppress a demonstration calling for the release of
children detained for writing 'the people want the downfall of the
regime' on a wall as graffiti. Within a week, security forces had
killed at least 55 protesters in the city.
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A Year of Rebellion charts the incredible change that swept across the Middle East and North Africa in 2011. Read a Q&A on the issues | Find out more and read the report |
The Arab League and International response
The international response has been slow and inadequate. In October Russia and China blocked what was already a seriously watered-down resolution at the UN Security Council. South Africa, India, Brazil and Lebanon abstained.
In November 2011, the League of Arab States announced a deal with the Syrian authorities to end the violence. But the Syrian government failed to implement its commitments and the League suspended their membership, announcing economic sanctions on the country.
In December the first formal mission of observers was allowed in to Syria since the crackdown began. Representative of the Arab League entered the country on 26 December, tasked with monitoring Syria's implementation of the peace plan. Despite their presence in the country, human rights abuses reportedly continued.
In February 2012, China and Russia vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution expressing 'grave concern' at the situation in Syria and calling for all violence to cease. Russia also continues to supply arms to the Syrian authorities, which may be used to commit crimes against humanity and gross human rights violations. They must suspend arms transfers to Syria immediately and use their influence to urge the Syrian government to:
- Immediately end excessive use of force against residential areas and allow peaceful dissent
- Immediately give humanitarian agencies and human rights organisations full and unhindered access.
Take action: Call on Russia to use its influence to end the bloodshed in Syria
Read more:
- Brutal assault on Homs must end Statement - February 2012
- Arab League should clarify situation in Syria Statement - January 2012
- No more impunity for crimes against humanity in Syria Submission to the UN Human Rights Council December 2011
- Russia and China block UN Security Council Resolution Statement - October 2011
Where next?
The crimes committed in Syria by government forces amount to crimes against humanity as they appear to be part of a widespread, as well as systematic, attack against the civilian population. As the brutal crackdown of protestors continues we are calling on the United Nations Security Council to:
- Refer the situation in Syria to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to investigate crimes under international law, including reported crimes against humanity
- Impose immediately a complete arms embargo on Syria, preventing the transfer of all weapons, munitions and military, security and policing equipment, training and personnel
- Implement an asset freeze against President Bashar al-Assad and others who may be involved in ordering or perpetrating crimes under international law.
We are calling on the Syrian authorities to:
- Immediately rein in the security forces
- End the arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention of those who peacefully express their opposition to the government by exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly
- End the systematic use of torture and other ill-treatment
- End unlawful killings of peaceful demonstrators and others
- Cease all other human rights violations.
As a first step towards these ends, the Syrian authorities should grant access to independent international human rights monitors, including UN human rights mechanisms and non-governmental organisations such as Amnesty International.
Key reports
- 'I wanted to die': Syria's torture survivors speak out 14 March 2012
- Year of Rebellion: State of human rights in the Middle East and North Africa 9 January 2011
- Health crisis: Syrian government targets the wounded and health workers 24 October 2011
- Deadly detention: Deaths in custody amid popular protest in Syria 30 August 2011
- Crackdown in Syria: Terror in Tell Kalakh 6 July 2011
- Investigation urged into Syrian mass grave reports 17 May 2011
Correction
A small number of supporters received an email we sent out on 29 February which incorrectly stated that 16,000 civilians have been killed over the past 11 months. This was a typo and was wrong. The email should have said 6,000 civilians have been killed. We are sorry for the mistake and we have reviewed our processes to ensure this doesn't happen in the future.
