• Human Rights in Syria

    Syria responded to months of peaceful protests with brutal force involving indiscriminate air and artillery assaults on residential areas and apparent targeting of civilians, and torture, which constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity, pushing the political confrontation into an internal armed conflict. The opposition is increasingly conducting offensive operations. Some opposition forces have carried out serious abuses like kidnapping, torture, and what appear to be extrajudicial executions. The spread and intensification of fighting have led to a dire humanitarian situation with hundreds of thousands internally displaced or seeking refuge in neighboring countries.

  • Iraq/Jordan/Turkey: Syrians Blocked from Fleeing War
    Iraqi, Jordanian, and Turkish border guards are pushing back tens of thousands of people trying to flee Syria. Iraq, Jordan, and Turkey have either closed numerous border crossings entirely or allowed only limited numbers of Syrians to cross, leaving tens of thousands stranded in dangerous conditions in Syria’s conflict-ridden border regions. Only Lebanon has an open border policy for Syrians fleeing the conflict.
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Reports

  • Safe No More
    Students and Schools under Attack in Syria
  • Death from the Skies
    Deliberate and Indiscriminate Air Strikes on Civilians
  • Torture Archipelago
    Arbitrary Arrests, Torture, and Enforced Disappearances in Syria’s Underground Prisons since March 2011
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Syria

  • Iraq/Jordan/Turkey: Syrians Blocked from Fleeing War
    Jul 1, 2013
    Iraqi, Jordanian, and Turkish border guards are pushing back tens of thousands of people trying to flee Syria. Iraq, Jordan, and Turkey have either closed numerous border crossings entirely or allowed only limited numbers of Syrians to cross, leaving tens of thousands stranded in dangerous conditions in Syria’s conflict-ridden border regions. Only Lebanon has an open border policy for Syrians fleeing the conflict.
  • Syria: Counterterrorism Court Used to Stifle Dissent
    Jun 25, 2013
    The Syrian government is using its sweeping Counterterrorism Law and its recently established special court against human rights defenders and other peaceful activists.
  • Syria: Detention and Abuse of Female Activists
    Jun 24, 2013
    Syrian military and pro-government forces known as shabiha have arbitrarily detained female opposition activists as well as female relatives and neighbors of pro-opposition activists and fighters, and in a number of cases, subjected them to torture and sexual abuse, Human Rights Watch said today.
  • Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 20 June
    Jun 20, 2013
  • Welcome to Russia’s Syria doublespeak
    Jun 19, 2013
    While world leaders managed to produce a joint communique on Syria at the end of the G8 summit, the closing media remarks made it clear that Vladimir Putin hasn’t actually moved an inch on the issue. The Russian president once again lashed out at the European Union and the United States for considering arms shipments to the Syrian opposition, suggesting it will further destabilize Syria. At the same time, he made it clear that Russia will continue supplying a range of weapons to the Syrian government, arguing that this will help stabilize the region while preventing a foreign intervention.
  • Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 17 June
    Jun 17, 2013
  • Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 14 June
    Jun 14, 2013
  • Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 13 June
    Jun 13, 2013
  • Syria: Agencies Should Send Aid Where Most Needed
    Jun 11, 2013
    Insufficient levels of humanitarian assistance are reaching opposition-controlled areas in northern Syria, despite their proximity to the Turkish border and dire medical, food, and other humanitarian needs. Human Rights Watch visited Raqqa governorate in April 2013, and Aleppo, Idlib, and Latakia governorates between December 2012 and April 2013.
  • Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 10 June
    Jun 10, 2013
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