Imagining the Possibilities of Human Rights in Syria
The human rights situation in Syria has often been termed as “poor”. The emergency rule had remained in effect from 1963 until April 2011, a time during which security forces were given powers of detention and arrest. The governance of Syria is under a one-party state and the elections are not free. Human rights activists and other governmental critics are harassed and imprisoned by the authorities. There is a strict control of freedom of association, expression, and assembly. Additionally, there is discrimination against ethnic minorities and women. The Human Rights Watch asserted that President Bashar-Al-Alsaad was not successful in improving human rights record in Syria in the initial ten years of his reign. The human rights situation in Syria had become one of the worst globally by the eleventh year (Human Rights Council’s Resolution on Syria, 26-27).
The political rights in Syria have for several years been rated by the “watchdog organization”, Freedom House as “7”, which signifies “least free” state. According to a report presented by the United States State Department in the year 2008 on human rights, the respect for human rights by the Syrian government had worsened. Individual were arrested and detained by members of the security forces without any just cause or reason. Significant restrictions on freedom of press, speech, association and assembly were significantly imposed by the regime. Within the same year, the Arab Press Freedom Watch reported that in the Arab World, Syria had one of the worst records on freedom of expression and was the second worst globally, behind North Korea (Human Rights Council’s Resolution on Syria, 26-27).
The Human Rights Watch has greatly contributed in efforts to address the violation of human rights in Syria. It has asserted that central to any transition plan in the country should be accountability for serious abuses as well as human rights regulation. Some of the priorities that need to be taken into consideration are putting an end to gross violations of human rights, releasing of the political prisoners, and unrestrained access for monitors of human rights to detention facilities, unrestricted humanitarian help, and a viable plan to rein in security services in Syria.
According to the director at Human Rights Watch, Sarah Leah Whitson, Syria can not experience any meaningful transition while security services are above the law and can violate the basic rights of citizens at will. It is thus essential for the Action Group to make sure that there is proper monitoring of abuse by the UN mission and accountability processes are supported during and following the transition (Waltz, 799).
There have also been governmental responses to human rights violation in Syria. The first Arab state to recall its ambassador in Syria was Qatar on 21st July, 2011. Kuwait, Saudi Arabia. And Bahrain followed suit on 8th August the same year. In an effort to end the conflict, the Qatar leader made a suggestion for Arab troops to be sent to Syria. This suggestion was however, condemned by Syria on the grounds that it was likely to jeopardize the relations between Syria and Arab. Other government outside the Arab region also reacted.
On 29th April 2011, the United States imposed sanctions on a total of three officials of the Syrian government who were responsible for violating human rights. Sanctions were also imposed on Iranian Islamic Revolution Guard Corps who played a major role in provision of material support to the government of Syria hence allowing it to suppress civilians. Several governments criticized Russia for supporting Assad’s government. Throughout the conflict, Russia has been a consistent exporter of arms to Syria, and worked to make sure that the Assad’s reign was under maximum protection and that opposition violence was recognized internationally.
Additional efforts have been directed toward promoting the use of technology. According to President Obama, violation of human rights in Syria poses a threat to the foreign policy of the U.S. According to a statement issued by the President, the Syrian government is endeavoring to its technology at a rapid pace. Technology plays an important role since it enables the citizens to freely communicate among each other as well as with the outside world. Also, technology plays a vital role in preserving global telecommunication supply chains for essential services and products to allow information to flow freely. The technological measures are mainly designed to ensure that entities located in Syria are prevented from committing or facilitation of abuses against or violations against human rights (Farer, 359-362).
The most viable action is for accountability to be upheld. It is essential for the people who contributed in the attack of civilians and violating their rights to be held accountable. For the mentioned accountability to take effect, I suggest for the Syrian situation to be referred to the International Criminal Court. This is mainly because the evidence clearly points to the commission responsible for crimes against humanity. A major propriety for all governments including the Syria government should be to put an end to conflicts. Killing of suspected government informers and perceived collaboration, and increasing the use of improvised explosive devices hence killing and injuring civilians are some of the violations perpetrated by opposition forces.
It is essential for a transitional governing body that would exercise full executive powers to be established. Members of this transitioning body should be drawn from the existing government, the opposition group, and other group. Additionally, all parties need to re-commit to a sustained stoppage of armed violence and fully join forces with the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria as well as implementation of appropriate action plan. The primary goals of the plan should be to put an end to violence, allow access to humanitarian agencies to assist the affected, begin an inclusive political dialogue, release the detainees, and allow unrestrained access to the nation for international media (Waltz, 782-784).
For any action plan to be deemed viable it has to sufficiently address the root cause or reason behind a conflict. In this case, the action plan has to address the grievances of human rights. The eventual result of the plan should be that of paving way for a democratic form of government as well as an inclusive State that filly respects the rule of law and human rights. Transparency is another aspect that is worth noting. It is essential for Syria’s Security Council to not only support, but also strengthen its mandate of allowing for effective reporting and monitoring of the situation of human rights in Syria. In this way, it would be possible to establish the deficiencies or weak points and address them effectively.
Works Cited
Farer, Tom. UN-Just War Against Terrorism and the Struggle to Appropriate Human
Rights. Human Rights Quarterly, 2008 30:2, 356-403
“Human Rights Council’s Resolution on Syria” (2011), International Debates, 9(6), 26-
27
Waltz, Susan. Universal Human Rights: The Contribution of Muslim States. Human
Rights Quarterly, 2004, 26:4, 799-844
Is this your assignment or some part of it?
We can do it for you! Click to Order!
