Statement on current human rights situation in Syria

            Since the Assad administration and antigovernment forces initiated fighting, more than 10,000 deaths in Syria have been reported.1 Furthermore, on May 25 this year, massacre occurred in the town of Haula, located in central Syria, in which 108 people including 49 children and 34 women were killed according to the United Nations estimates, .2 Subsequently, civilian deaths continued to increase. For example, in June, another murders occurred in Haffa,3 a town in the northeast, and Kubeiru,4 a village in central Syria. The chain of violence in Syria is such that no one can stop it, and the UN officials have recognized the Syrian situation as a civil war.5

           Human Rights Now, a Tokyo base international human rights NGO, expresses its grave concern over the situation in Syria, and it demands the following the Syrian government as well as the international community:

1. Implement an immediate ceasefire
           On March 25 this year, Special Envoy Kofi Annan proposed the six-point proposal requiring the cessation of conflict between the Syrian government and antigovernment forces, which was officially accepted by the Syrian government. . The Security Council in Resolution 2042, adopted on April15, calls upon the Syrian government to implement the six-point proposal by making it an obligation of the Syrian government under international law. However, a ceasefire has not been achieved since then.

Human Rights Now urges the Syrian government to immediately implement a ceasefire in the conflict.

2. Stop attacking civilians
             As mentioned above, the current situation in Syria has been regarded as a civil war. However, even during conflicts, indiscriminate attacks on civilians are not tolerated, and combatants and noncombatants must be strictly distinguished. This is a basic obligation under international humanitarian law which is clearly stipulated in the Geneva Conventions, to which Syria is a party. Also, international human rights law should not be violated even in wartime. Protecting citizens' life and integrity is a basic obligation under international human rights law.

              However, as in Haula, many civilians including women and children have been killed,. In a resolution adopted on June 1 this year, the UN Human Rights Council expressed its grave concern over human rights violations committed by the Syrian government.