• Syria: Strong Coalition Message Against Targeting Civilians
    Dec 21, 2012
    Press release

    The Syrian National Coalition (SNC) sent a clear signal that targeting civilians violates the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said today. The coalition’s statement on December 19, 2012, condemned attacks on civilians, regardless of their nationality. 

  • Living Up to the Nobel: EU Must Act on Syria
    Dec 10, 2012
    Commentary
    Catherine Ashton's mandate is to provide leadership on foreign policy and human rights. She has failed, however, to ensure a collective EU voice for bringing the crimes in Syria before the International Criminal Court (ICC). On 10 December, as the EU receives the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, EU foreign ministers meeting back in Brussels should decide to move beyond vague references to “accountability” for crimes in Syria and make clear that they support a UN Security Council referral of the situation to the ICC.
  • South Africa can contribute to ending bloodshed in Syria
    Nov 27, 2012
    Commentary

    To limit the violations by both sides and ensure justice for victims, South Africa and other key members of the international community should support the referral of Syria to the International Criminal Court.

  • Syria: A Priority for New Opposition Group
    Nov 13, 2012
    Press release
    Syria’s newly created opposition front should send a clear message to opposition fighters that they must adhere to the laws of war and human rights law, and that violators will be held accountable. Countries financing or supplying arms to opposition groups should send a strong signal to the opposition that they expect it to comply strictly with international human rights and humanitarian law.
  • Election 2012: Rights and Responsibility
    Nov 5, 2012
    Commentary
    The candidates may disagree on some human rights issues, but the next president will face challenges that transcend partisan lines.
  • Syria: End Opposition Use of Torture, Executions
    Sep 16, 2012
    Press release
    Armed opposition groups have subjected detainees to ill-treatment and torture and committed extrajudicial or summary executions in Aleppo, Latakia, and Idlib, Human Rights Watch said today following a visit to Aleppo governorate. Torture and extrajudicial or summary executions of detainees in the context of an armed conflict are war crimes, and may constitute crimes against humanity if they are widespread and systematic.
  • Death and Daily Bread
    Sep 10, 2012
    Commentary
    In war-torn Aleppo and the surrounding countryside, bakeries are the only places where one can see crowds of people. Most of the time, residents stay inside, hiding from the artillery and aerial attacks that, over the last month, have become a daily routine. But acute shortages of bread in opposition-controlled areas force them out of their houses at the crack of dawn or late at night – whenever a bakery finally gets supplies and opens.
  • Syria: Government Attacking Bread Lines
    Aug 30, 2012
    Press release
    Syrian government forces have dropped bombs and fired artillery at or near at least 10 bakeries in Aleppo province over the past three weeks, killing and maiming scores of civilians who were waiting for bread.
  • Syria: Fighter Jet Bombing Kills Over 40 Civilians
    Aug 15, 2012
    Press release
    A Syrian government fighter jet bombed a residential neighborhood, killing more than 40 civilians and wounding at least 100 others in the town of Azaz, including many women and children.
  • Syria: Fighter Planes Strike Aleppo Hospital
    Aug 14, 2012
    Press release
    Syrian government fighter planes fired rockets that struck the main emergency hospital in an opposition-controlled area of Aleppo on August 14, 2012, wounding two civilians and causing significant damage, Human Rights Watch said today after visiting the damaged hospital.