Search Results

Sort by
News

UN Security Council: Restore Syria Cross-Border Aid

Russia Should Allow Full Year of UN-Led Aid Delivery from Turkey, Iraq

(New York) – Russia should not block the United Nations Security Council from reauthorizing and expanding cross-border humanitarian aid operations across northern Syria, Human Rights Watch said today. Millions of people in northeast and northwest…
UN humanitarian aid trucks enter northwest Syria through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey on June 1, 2021
News

EU-UN Aid Conference Should Focus on Syrians’ Rights

Set Principled Framework for Aid, Protection, Justice

(Brussels) – The European Union-United Nations sponsored aid conference for Syria on March 29-30, 2021, should prioritize a rights-respecting aid framework that advances urgent protection, humanitarian, and accountability needs, Human Rights Watch…
201906mena_syria_back
News

UN: Implement Human Rights Principles for Assistance in Syria

Existing Framework can Strengthen Rights Protections if Operationalized

(Beirut) – United Nations agencies should activate the UN’s human rights framework for Syria in their aid plans, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to the agencies that developed the principles. Major donors should support this effort at their…
201906mena_syria_back
News

UN: Deny Rights Council Seats to Major Violators

General Assembly Members Should Not Vote for China, Saudi Arabia

(New York) – United Nations member countries should not vote for China and Saudi Arabia, two of the world’s most abusive governments, for seats on the UN Human Rights Council, Human Rights Watch said today. Russia’s numerous war crimes in Syria’s…
A view of the United Nations General Assembly, at UN headquarters, October 1, 2018.
News

Russia Eviscerates Syria Cross-Border Aid Program Despite Pandemic

Countries Should Look Beyond UN Security Council to Get Aid to Syrians

The UN Security Council’s move last week to confine official, cross-border humanitarian aid to northern Syria to a single crossing on the Turkish border is the final nail in the coffin of the UN’s 6-year-old aid mechanism. It’s also another example of…
Women walk in a neighborhood heavily damaged by airstrikes in Idlib, Syria, March 12, 2020.
News

South Africa should help keep aid flowing to desperate Syrians

South Africa will soon have a chance to use its UN Security Council seat to show that when it comes to Syria, it is fulfilling Nelson Mandela’s hope that “human rights will be the light that guides our foreign policy.” Sadly, South Africa’s voting…
News

UN Security Council Should Reauthorize Cross-Border Aid to Syria

Russia Should Support Medical Aid via Syria-Iraq Border to Prevent Covid-19 Spread

The UN Security Council – including Russia – needs to act quickly to reauthorize medical aid deliveries from Iraq to Syria’s northeast to prevent further spread of Covid-19 that could devastate the region.    The council needs to move…
A medic checks the temperature of a man inside a health isolation centre which has been established on the Syrian-Turkish borders in order to place people coming from Turkey to Idlib as a preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19.
News

WHO Should Stand By Appeal for Cross-Border Aid to Syria

More Aid is Essential to Fight Covid-19 in War-Torn Areas

To help prevent a catastrophic outbreak of Covid-19 in Syria, the World Health Organization (WHO) should stand firm in urging the United Nations Security Council to ensure medical and other humanitarian aid can be delivered to Syria over an Iraq…
Medical workers oversee the disinfection of streets to prevent the spread of coronavirus in Qamishli, Syria, March 24, 2020.
News

The UN’s Timid Responses to War Crimes Against Children

State Perpetrators in Syria, Yemen Go Unnamed

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons concluded in an April 8 report that Syria’s air force had carried out three chemical weapons attacks against its own people, including children, on the orders of senior military…
Children attending class on the first day of school, which was damaged by an airstrike during fighting between Saudi-led coalition-backed government forces and Houthi forces, Taizz, Yemen, September 3, 2019.
News

Russia’s Bid to Block UN Financing for Syria Probe Defeated

General Assembly Fully Funds Investigation into Serious Crimes

In late December, United Nations member countries defeated an attempt by Russia to block funding for investigations into grave abuses in Syria, approving US$17.81 million for a team of investigators responsible for gathering evidence of…
People walk past destruction from government airstrikes in the town of Ariha, in Idlib province, Syria, January 15, 2020.
News

UN Should Assign Blame to Those Attacking Syrian Hospitals

Past Inquiries Named Responsible Parties

For years, hospitals in Syria have been getting bombed. These attacks continue even though the UN collected the locations of these protected sites and shared them with the warring parties in hope of shielding them from the crossfire.…
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a news conference in Istanbul, Turkey, February 10, 2017.
News

UN Chief Should Order Inquiry into Syria Hospital Attacks

Russia, Syria Accused of Using Shared Coordinates to Target Facilities

  Update: On August 1, the United Nations announced that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will launch an investigation into hospital attacks in Syria. Human Rights Watch says investigators should attribute responsibility…
Syrians inspect the wreckage at a site after Syrian government airstrikes targeted a civilian hospital in the town of Hass, Southern rural Idlib, Syria, September 8, 2018.
News

Letter to Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne

Re: Protecting Human Rights in Australia’s Foreign Policy

Dear Minister Payne, Congratulations on your reappointment as foreign minister. Human Rights Watch looks forward to working with you to make protection of human rights a strong pillar of Australia’s foreign policy. We attach a…
201906asia_australia_marise_payne
News

Australia: Protect Human Rights in Foreign Policy

Human Rights Council Seat Demands Greater Leadership

(Sydney) – The Australian government should make the protection of human rights a central focus of its foreign policy, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to the recently reappointed Foreign Minister Marise Payne that was released today. …
201906asia_australia_marise_payne
News

UN Security Council Finally Addresses Missing Persons in Conflict

Countries Should Account for Living and Dead in Syria, Other Wars

Today, the United Nations Security Council passed its first resolution on missing persons in armed conflicts, seizing a key opportunity to strengthen efforts toward uncovering the fates of those missing and giving closure to countless…
cover syria report
News

'You Can and Should Do More to Ensure That People With Disabilities Are Included in All Aspects of Your Work – We Can’t Wait Any Longer'

Statement by Ms. Nujeen Mustafa during the United Nations Security Council briefing on the humanitarian situation in Syria on April 24, 2019

Thank you, Mr. President. Good afternoon, Mr. President, your Excellencies, Civil Society colleagues, Ladies, and Gentlemen, My name is Nujeen Mustafa and I am 20 years old from Aleppo, Syria. I have cerebral palsy and use a…
News

Ensure Justice for Victims of Syria Chemical Weapons Attacks

States Should Vote for Funding New OPCW Team

Governments supporting an effort to identify those responsible for deadly chemical attacks in Syria need to back their commitment to justice with cash. They will get the chance this week when member states of an international treaty…
A civil defense member breathes through an oxygen mask, after what rescue workers described as a suspected chemical attack in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in rebel-held Idlib, Syria April 4, 2017.
News

On Genocide Convention Anniversary, ICC Needed More Than Ever

Human Rights Council Panel commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Genocide Convention

As we commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Genocide Convention, I wish to address the crucial role of the International Criminal Court in realizing its ideals. This year also marks the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the ICC’s…
201804ij_icc_anniversary_20
News

Victims of Syrian Chemical Attacks Await Justice

Five Years Since Sarin Killed Hundreds in Eastern Ghouta

Five years ago today, videos began appearing in the early morning hours showing large numbers of dead men, women, and children in Eastern Ghouta – victims, Syrian activists alleged, of a chemical weapons attack. Numerous sheep, dogs,…