October 16, 2007

No Room to Breathe

State Repression of Human Rights Activism in Syria

I. Summary
II. Recommendations
To the Syrian Government
To the European Union and its Member States
To the International Community
To the United Nations
III. Background: The Emergence of a Human Rights Community in Syria
IV. Syria's Legal Framework
The Emergency Law...
The Law on Associations
Registration..
Control of operations
Relations with outside world and funding..
Stalled attempts to reform the law...
Other Restrictive Laws
V. Realities of Human Rights Groups in Syria
Denial of Legal Status
Involvement of security authorities in registration..
Denial of application without justification..
Impact of lack of legal status
Prohibition of Meetings
Arrests and Trials
Travel Bans
Other Forms of Harassment
VI. Syria's International Legal Obligations
VII. Response of the International Community
VIII. Acknowledgements