Syria Watch

Evaluating Assad’s Claims of Regime-Backed Accountability Measures

February 3, 2015

Assad in Damascus, January 2015

Assad in Damascus, January 2015. (Media and Communications Office, Presidency of Syria)

 

In an interview with Foreign Affairs magazine coinciding with the Moscow discussions that took place in late January 2015, Bashar al-Assad discussed several points relating to the transitional justice and accountability process in Syria.  Assad spoke conceptually about Syria’s commitment to upholding human rights but provided only vague and evasive answers when pressed on the widespread human rights abuses perpetrated by government forces.  For  documenters, observers, and victims of the Syrian conflict, the interview highlighted the continued disconnect between Assad’s narrative of the Syrian conflict and the reality of the facts on the ground.

Questioned about whether the government has held regime officials accountable for human rights abuses, Assad noted only that some lower-level officials “were detained because they breached the law in that regard, and that happens of course in such circumstances.”   However, at no time during the nearly four-year long conflict has the Syrian government released any details on how it punished such officials, for what crimes they were punished, or its process of determining culpability for those who have engaged in human rights violations.

Accountability measures themselves seek to empower victims to hold their abusers responsible in a public manner  for widespread human rights violations; Assad’s claims, even if true, contravene the entire notion of accountability because observers are unable to categorically confirm or deny his characterization of such government-backed initiatives.  Moreover, the remarks provide yet another example of Assad positioning himself as a staunch defender of human rights despite the existence of extensive evidence to the contrary.  The international community’s failure to challenge Assad’s hypocrisy on accountability measures onlyemboldens the regime to continue its expansive violations of human rights going forward.

In the same interview, Assad refutes the notion that widely documented human rights abuses, such as those repeatedly detailed in a series of reports issued by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, even took place because these “mere allegations” have not been verified by independent fact finding commissions or in a domestic court of law.  If Assad was interested in truth and accountability mechanisms, he would make the appropriate provisions, such as public investigations and prosecutions of regime officials who have committed human rights violations; yet, precisely because domestic and international inquiry into these matters has revealed a pattern of abuse on a nearly unprecedented scale,  Assad appears unlikely to ever do so on his own accord.

Accountability for past abuses entails a commitment to transparently punish violators of human rights in manner that seeks to act as a deterrence against similar acts occurring again in the future.  Assad’s passing references to already-established accountability mechanisms for government officials, as well as his categorical dismissal of documentations that detail the nature and scope of his regime’s crimes, do nothing to advance the transitional justice process in Syria or make violators answer for their actions.

The Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC) maintains that accountability cannot only be for a few, low-level government officials who may not have been punished at all, but rather for those responsible for abuses at the highest levels among all parties to the conflict.Currently, the individuals and systems that allow, and in many cases order, pervasive human rights violations operate without restriction or fear of punishment.

Therefore, institutional reform that leads to the establishment of real accountability measures, including legal frameworks for prosecuting violators of human rights and oversight commissions to monitor situations in which abuse occurs, comprises a key component of the transitional justice process in Syria.  Ideally enacted by domestic civil society but initiated by the international community should the Assad regime remain unwilling to act, such processes should begin as soon as possible.

An upcoming SJAC report will detail Syrian perspectives about the transitional justice process and accountability measures for all parties to the conflict.  For more information or to provide feedback, please email the SJAC at info@syriaaccoutnability.org.

Former Syrian Rebel Charged with War Crimes in Sweden  

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor

STOCKHOLM, Sweden – A former Syrian rebel fighter who sought asylum in Sweden has been charged with war crimes for abusing a member of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces who had been captured during the conflict. Swedish prosecutors said Monday that this was the first time they have filed such charges in connection with the Syrian Civil War which has raged on since the Syrian government forces opened fire on peaceful protesters in 2011. Prosecutors say the 28-year-old man, who has not yet been identified, joined the Free Syrian Army in 2012, allegedly kicked and beat the prisoner, whose hands and feet were tied, and struck him with pliers and a baton a video of the abuse was posted on Facebook.

Fighters loyal to the the Free Syrian Army fighting in Kobani last year (Photo courtesy of The Local, Sweden)

Swedish prosecutors did not say how police came to find the video and did not comment on whether it had circulated on social media. The circumstances surrounding the attack led Swedish prosecutors to classify it as a crime committed as part of an ongoing armed conflict.

The suspect was indicted on Monday morning at Södertörn district court on charges of committing a war crime and serious assault.” As far as I know this is the first time we have charged someone in Sweden for a crime committed in Syria’s civil war,” prosecutor Hanna Lemoine said. ”The police got access to a film that shows the man participating in the serious assault. He is currently being held in custody and we have pressed charges.” Prosecutors intend to submit the Facebook video as evidence. The brutal beating of the Syrian solder was allegedly carried out by the suspect as well as a number of other people. The identity of the victim shown in the video is not known.  Prosecutor Hanna Lemoine said the suspect, who received asylum in Sweden in 2013, claims he was acting under coercion. Defense lawyer Magnus Stromberg confirmed his client denies any criminal responsibility but declined any further comment.

Prosecutors say that the reason the man is now facing charges for war crimes in Sweden for crimes allegedly committed in Syria is because he had applied for and received asylum and permanent residency in Sweden after the alleged war crimes were committed.

The civil war in Syria has created over one million internally displaced peoples and refugees. As many as 30,000 refugees have sought asylum in Sweden, often spending thousands of dollars to make the journey from the Middle East to Europe. Today Sweden is the biggest host country outside of the Middle East for Syrian refugees. The Swedish Migration Board maintains arrival centers across the Scandinavian Country.

For more information please see:

ABC News – Syrian Ex-Rebel Charged With War Crimes in Sweden – 2 February 2015

Haaretz – Middle East Updates / U.S., Allies Stage 27 Airstrikes on ISIS Forces in Iraq, Syria – 2 February 2015

The Local. Sweden – Facebook ‘Torture’ Video Leads To Sweden Arrest – 2 February 2015

The Republic, Columbus Ohio – Syrian Ex-Rebel Charged With War Crimes in Sweden for Abuse of Prisoner – 2 February 2015

Refugees.EU – Sweden: Stories from Stockholm

Kurdish Forces Close To Regaining Kobani

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor

DAMASCUS, Syria – Kurdish fighters, supported by U.S.-led air strikes targeting areas controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), are reportedly close to regaining full control of the embattled Syrian town of Kobani situated near the Turkish border. Kobani has largely been under the control of ISIS fighters, from Islamic State fighters. Kurdish officials as well as Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a human rights group based in the United Kingdom, reported the advance of Kurdish fighters on Monday.

 

Smoke rises from the Syrian city of Kobani, following an airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition, seen from a hilltop outside Suruc, on the Turkey-Syria border. Syrian activists and Kurdish officials say the extremist Islamic State group has been nearly pushed out of the Syrian border town of Kobani. (Photo courtesy of Boston Herald)

Kobani was seen as a key strategic city for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The group saw the town’s location in relation to the Turkish border as part of a critical brought for the flow of weapons and fighters from Turkey, including several fighters from Europe, into the Islamic State controlled regions of the country. After declaring victory in reclaiming the city Kurdish fighters raised a Kurdish flag on a hill that once flew the Islamic State group’s black banner. For the Kurdish fighters The victory represents a key conquest both for the embattled Kurds as well as  the U.S.-led coalition, whose American coordinator had predicted that the Islamic State group would “impale itself” on Kobani.

Kobani, also called Ayn al-Arab, has become a symbol in the battle against ISIS and other insurgent’s movements in the region who have captured large expanses of both Syria and Iraq. ISIS first launched a campaign to capture the town and incorporate it within its self-proclaimed caliphate in July of Last year. “Our forces are making progress but until now the YPG has not declared that is has taken all of Kobani back. We think tomorrow Kobani will be free,” Kobani official Idris Nassan told reports from Reuters by telephone. Nassan said that as a result of the assault of ISIS half of the town has been completely destroyed and the rest of the town has suffered damage, leaving many people homeless. He also said the town now lacked water, electricity, hospitals and food needed to support the struggling population.

Syrian Kurdish YPG forces who have been attempting to win-back land from ISIS and protect the regions Kurdish population has often been supported by Iraqi Kurdish forces known as Peshmerga. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Kurdish forces in the town are still battling Islamic State on the eastern outskirts of the town. Since September of last year ISIS has captured some 300 Kurdish villages forcing tens of thousands of Kurds from Syria and Iraq to flee the Kurdistan region.

For more information, please see:

Boston Herald – Islamic State Group Nearly Pushed Out Of Syria’s Kobani – 26 January 2015

CNN International – Opposition Group: Kurdish Fighters Advance in Kobani, Syria – 26 January 2015

The Jerusalem Post – Kurds Drive ISIS Out Of Kobani after 4-Month Struggle – 26 January 2015

Reuters – Kurds Close to Driving Islamic State Out Of Syria’s Kobani: Monitor – 26 January 2015

Syria Deeply: The Executive Summary, 1/23

Syria Deeply

Syria: The Executive Summary, 1/23

To give you an overview of the latest news, we’ve organized the latest Syrian developments in a curated summary.

U.N.-Approved Cross-Border Aid Reaches 600,000 Syrians in Six Months

In the latest monthly report to the U.N. Security Council, U.N. Secretary General Ban ki-Moon said 54 cross-border aid shipments to Syria helped 600,000 Syrians in six months, Reuters reports.

“Food assistance had reached 596,000 people, non-food items had been delivered to 522,000, water and sanitation supplies had reached more than 280,000 and medical supplies some 262,000,” according to the report.

Despite the improved access, Ban warned that the situation inside Syria is continuing to “deteriorate rapidly.

“Widespread fighting across the country, administrative hurdles and lack of agreement from the parties continued to constrain humanitarian access across the country, affecting the humanitarian capacity to deliver at planned scaled,” Ban said.

12.2 million Syrians are in need of assistance, 7.6 million have been displaced, and an additional 3.8 million people have fled, according to the U.N. figures.

“It is completely unacceptable that the people of Syria continue to face grave abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law by the parties to the conflict and that they are denied access to the basic requirements for their survival,” Ban’s report said.

The report follows the renewal of a resolution allowing cross-border aid delivery in Syria for another 12 months. In July 2014 the Security Council authorized U.N. agencies to cross conflict lines using border crossings from Turkey, Iraq and Jordan. It was an unprecedented decision to authorize delivery of aid into the country without the consent of the Syrian government.

United States Gives $6 Million to Syria’s Opposition Government

The United States has given $6 million to Syria’s opposition government, the first direct U.S. financial support for the group, AFP reports.

“The money is for development and relief projects in “areas liberated by the moderate Syrian opposition,” the rebel group said in a statement.

Interim government chief Ahmed Tohme said $1.6 million would be used to used to strengthen local government in rebel-controlled areas and for emergency responses, and $4.4 million would be “devoted to reconstruction and the purchase of heavy equipment include generators, water pumps and tankers.

“Mamdouh Soud, operations manager for the programme dispersing the funds, said they would be spent mostly in northern Aleppo province and northwestern Idlib province for now.

“In the next two months, we hope to expand into northern Latakia and northern Hama provinces,” he told AFP.

Moderate rebel groups inside Syria are facing the prospect of complete annihilation as a result of internal challenges, a lack of resources and support, and the reality of a three-front fight against the regime, ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra.

The opposition Syrian National Coalition and the interim government have been criticized forbeing out of touch with Syrians on the ground and with the militant groups fighting the Assad regime.

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