Syrians Deserve Protection, Too: Daily Brief

Today, March 15, marks the 11th anniversary of the start of the Syrian revolution. It was on this day in 2011 that Syrian government forces opened fire on peaceful pro-democracy protesters in the southern town of Daraa. The violent crackdown sparked nationwide protests and growing demands for the resignation of Syria’s president President Bashar al-Assad. As the unrest spread, the government crackdown intensified, eventually descending into civil war. It's a war that has been largely forgotten, although it bears similar hallmarks to the horrors inflicted on Ukraine in Russia's renewed invasion. Videos uploaded onto social media of possibly unlawful attacks on hospitals and residential areas are a haunting reminder of the Russian-Syrian alliance’s brutal aerial offensive campaign in Aleppo and Idlib since 2015. Yet, while the US and Europe responded with unprecedented urgency to the crisis in Ukraine, waiving visa regulations for people fleeing the conflict and welcoming Ukrainian refugees with compassion and open arms, people fleeing other wars and crises like the one in Syria have been facing unlawful and violent pushbacks at borders. Nevertheless, Syrian activists and refugees have often been among the first to demonstrate solidarity with other people facing crisis, offering to volunteer in Ukraine, too. So, even though the world largely abandoned Syrians to face down attacks from multiple abusive armed actors, this day should be a reminder that Syrians’ experience of violent rights violations is the same as Ukrainians’, and they deserve the same continued protections and support too. 

While comprehensive justice for countless abuses committed in Syria during the crisis remains elusive, with many avenues for prosecuting war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria blocked, the principle of universal jurisdiction has opened a pathway for survivors to pursue a small measure of justice through European courts. Universal jurisdiction allows for the investigation and prosecution of serious crimes regardless of where the crimes were committed or the nationality of victims and perpetrators. It is one of the few accountability options available for victims of atrocities committed in Syria. Trials in Koblenz, Germany, for instance, brought a former Assad regime officer to justice earlier this year. A second German trial for crimes against humanity currently taking place in Frankfurt shows that justice efforts are gaining momentum. France and Sweden, are also using these laws to investigate allegations of serious crimes in Syria. An audio archive of interviews with Syrian survivors, journalists, activists, lawyers, and others, which Human Rights Watch released today, puts particular focus on the Koblenz trial, and highlights the desire of survivors and victims for justice and the need for the international community to take every step to dismantle the culture of impunity and bolster ongoing efforts to hold those responsible to account – be it in Syria or Ukraine.

Several leading foreign tech companies have withdrawn from Russia or suspended operations in the weeks since Russia’s full-scale invasion in Ukraine. At a time when Russian authorities are viciously cracking down on independent war reporting and any form of public criticism, including online, of Russia’s military offensive on Ukraine, such a move risks exacerbating the growing isolation of Russian citizens, many of whom rely on the internet for independent information on current affairs and communication with the outside world. Russian civil society has been pushing back on its government’s efforts to censor and isolate the internet for years. The world, foreign technology companies included, needs to respond in ways that don't unintentionally play into the hands of the Kremlin and its efforts to keep the truth from Russian citizens.  

The Strasbourg-based Council of Europe's (CoE) Parliamentary Assembly is expected to request that Russia withdraw from the council or risk being expelled. “In the common European home, there is no place for an aggressor”, the 47-member body which was created in 1949 and is Europe’s leading human rights body, argues in an opinion agreed on last night. Something similar happened only once before, in 1969, when  the Greek military dictatorship withdrew from the council, knowing it faced being expelled. Greece was readmitted in 1974. A two-thirds majority is needed for the opinion to pass. A final decision will be made on Thursday by the committee of ministers — the main decision-making body which represents all 47 CoE members. Russia had joined the council in 1996 after introducing a death penalty moratorium — a prerequisite for membership. Some say kicking out Russia from the council would deliver a powerful message — and could act as a trigger for other bodies to follow suit. However, if Russia leaves or gets kicked out of the CoE, one unfortunate impact would be that its citizens would lose access to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. 

The Malian army and armed Islamist groups have killed at least 107 civilians in central and southwestern Mali since December last year, new Human Rights Watch research finds. Many of the victims were summarily executed. They included traders, village chiefs, religious leaders, and children. Since Mali’s current armed conflict began a decade ago, armed Islamist groups, separatist rebels, ethnic militias, and government security forces have killed hundreds of civilians. Most of the killings occurred in central Mali, which since 2015 has been the country’s epicenter of violence, abuse, and displacement. Armed Islamist groups have also killed hundreds of Malian security force members. In response to the growing presence of armed Islamist groups largely linked to Al-Qaeda, Malian security forces have committed numerous abuses during counterterrorism operations. While several members of armed Islamist groups have been tried for criminal offenses, almost no one from government or pro-government forces have been investigated, let alone held to account. The violence has displaced over 320,000 people.  

Lawmakers in Indiana, USA, have voted to advance a bill that would prohibit transgender girls from playing sports with other girls. This discriminatory and harmful bill marks transgender children as different from a young age and deprives them of the physical and social benefits that athletics in schools are meant to provide. The result can be devastating, particularly for children who might already struggle with exclusion and isolation in school. Already, bullying and harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) young people in Indiana is a real problem – and Indiana hasn’t taken meaningful steps to address it. Meanwhile, dozens of states in the US are advancing restrictions on transgender children in schools – limiting which bathrooms they can use, what sports they can play, and whether they can learn about themselves in class. These attacks take an enormous toll on the mental health of LGBT youth, even when they don’t become law. Other states have adopted laws to address the mistreatment that LGBT students face. Certainly, supporting young people by taking meaningful steps to address bullying, discrimination, and mental health challenges for LGBT students shouldn’t be controversial.