HRW summarizes events and developments in Syria during 2021
ERBIL, KRG, Iraq (North Press) – TheNon-governmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) summarized the events and developments regarding the human rights situations that Syria had witnessed during 2021.
2021 marked a decade since the peaceful uprising in Syria turned into a brutal conflict. Since the start, parties to the conflict have flagrantly disregarded human rights and humanitarian law protections, the HRW said in a report.
The report started with a briefing about Bashar al-Assad assuming “a fourth term presidency of Syria for seven years in elections that did not occur under the auspices of the United Nations-led political process and failed to adhere to standards for free and fair elections.”
His renewed term as president came as his security services continued to subject hundreds, including returning refugees, to arbitrarily arrest and torture, while millions go hungry due to his government’s diversion of aid.
The number of people in need of humanitarian assistance increased by 21% in 2021—reaching a total of 13,4 million people, with 1,48 million in “catastrophic” need, according to the report.
The report noted, “There were concerns about the government’s ability to distribute vaccines equitably, even within areas under its control.”
HRW has determined that some attacks by the Russia-Syria alliance are “war crimes and may amount to crimes against humanity.”
In Turkish-occupied territories, Turkey and local Syrian factions are abusing civilians’ rights and restricting their freedoms with impunity.
The annual report referred to the border crossing issue, “The UN Security Council failed to renew the full cross-border aid mechanism, leaving only one border crossing open and exacerbating humanitarian crises in non-government areas.”
Despite the government’s record of human rights abuses against its own citizens, this year also saw several countries normalize with the Syrian government, including the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, and make commitments to cooperate, leading to concerns about premature return of refugees and potential facilitation of rights abuse.
Meanwhile, the report highlighted a series of violations committed by the Turkish-backed armed factions in areas they occupied in Syria’s north where many homes and private properties held by the local Kurdish population were looted and seized.
By December 2019, Turkish authorities and an armed group affiliated with the Turkish-backed anti-government group—the Syrian National Army (SNA)—arrested and illegally transferred at least 63 Syrian nationals from northeast Syria to Turkey to face trial on serious charges that could lead to life in prison.
In the first half of 2021, the SNA arbitrarily detained 162 individuals, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights.
The SNA factions continue to recruit children; a 2021 Syrians for Truth and Justice report found at least 20 cases of child recruitment.
As for displacement, the report noted, “Since 2011, 12,3 million were forced to flee since the onset of the war, according to UNOCHA, with 6,7 million currently internally displaced across the country.”
The United States and other members of the anti-ISIS coalition continue to support ISIS counter operations, through their support of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the report concluded.