Populations continue to face mass atrocity crimes committed by state security forces and affiliated militias in Syria's ongoing civil war. Various armed opposition groups and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant are also committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.
BACKGROUND: Despite more than five years of conflict, violence has increased in Syria since mid-April, when the government launched an offensive to retake Aleppo. This followed a fragile cessation of hostilities, brokered by the United States and Russia, which came into effect on 27 February. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that more than 1,000 civilians were killed during the first two months of the cessation. On 13 July the UN warned that escalating violence in and around Aleppo is putting hundreds of thousands of people at risk of injury and death.
Between 22 April and 7 June the SOHR documented 544 civilian deaths as a result of government attacks in Aleppo, including the bombing of hospitals, schools and displacement camps. On 23 June the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs told the UN Security Council (UNSC), "There is something fundamentally wrong in a world where attacks on hospitals and schools [...] have become so commonplace that they cease to incite any reaction."
The February cessation enabled a UN-backed humanitarian task force to deliver desperately-needed aid to besieged areas throughout the country, but as the cessation neared collapse the Syrian government returned to blocking access. The government has previously obstructed the delivery of cross-border humanitarian aid, contravening multiple UNSC resolutions. Over 13.5 million Syrians remain in need of protection and humanitarian assistance, with 5 million people in inaccessible areas, some 590,000 of whom are living under siege. The UN Secretary-General has accused all sides in Syria of using starvation as a weapon of war.
On 17 May the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) - including the UN, European Union (EU), League of Arab States and other countries - called upon the World Food Program (WFP) to carry out air drops to besieged areas if the government continued to deny humanitarian access. On 10 June a WFP convoy was able to enter Darayya to deliver food for the first time since 2012. The government then approved WFP's access to all 19 besieged locations. On 15 June more than 60 Syrian civil society organizations accused the UN of breaching its neutrality by allowing the government to control the flow of aid to besieged communities.
A third round of indirect talks between Syrian government and opposition factions, mediated by UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura, was suspended on 18 April amidst the collapsing cessation of hostilities. Briefing the UNSC on 29 June, de Mistura emphasized that a political transition remains "a priority" but the next round of talks will not begin until August.
Since the conflict began in 2011, all sides have committed mass atrocities and over 280,000 people have been killed. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that as of 23 June there were over 4.8 million Syrian refugees and at least 6.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) - the largest number of people displaced by any conflict in the world.
The UN Human Rights Council-mandated Commission of Inquiry (CoI) has asserted that government forces have committed crimes against humanity as a matter of state policy. The government has conducted airstrikes in residential areas, contravening UNSC Resolution 2139, which demanded all parties cease attacks on civilians and the use of indiscriminate weapons. The Syrian Network for Human Rights reported that 17,318 indiscriminate barrel bombs were dropped in Syria during 2015, killing 2,032 people.
Government-allied militias have committed large-scale massacres and perpetrated war crimes and gross violations of international humanitarian law (IHL). The CoI has reported that pro-government forces have conducted widespread attacks on the population, committing crimes against humanity, including "extermination, murder, rape or other forms of sexual violence, torture, imprisonment, enforced disappearance and other inhuman acts."
Several armed opposition groups have also committed war crimes, violated IHL and targeted religious minorities for attack. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) poses a direct threat to civilians as its fighters have carried out crimes against humanity, including mass killings and sexual enslavement, in areas under their control. According to the SOHR, between June 2014 and March 2016 ISIL executed 4,064 people, including 2,200 civilians. ISIL bombings killed nearly 150 people in the government-controlled cities of Jableh and Tartous on 23 May, with ISIL targeting the minority Alawite community.
An international coalition, led by the United States, is currently conducting airstrikes against ISIL in Syria. The SOHR reported that at least 4,195 ISIL fighters and 391 civilians were killed during coalition airstrikes between September 2014 and April 2016.
Russia commenced airstrikes in Syria on 30 September 2015, claiming it would help defeat ISIL. However, most airstrikes have targeted other opposition forces. The SOHR reported on 29 May that Russian airstrikes had killed 2,270 ISIL fighters and 2,099 civilians, including over 500 children.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar are providing arms to some rebel groups. Meanwhile, Iran continues to provide crucial economic, military and political support to the Syrian government. Hezbollah has directly engaged in fighting against Syrian rebels on both sides of the Syria-Lebanon border.
ANALYSIS: A sustained cessation of hostilities is vital for the protection of civilians and reviving the stalled peace talks. With all sides in Syria committed to an outright military victory, the lives of countless civilians are imperiled by the ongoing civil war.
The government, with support from its allies, continues to utilize its military resources to retain power at all costs and perpetrate crimes against humanity and war crimes against armed rebels and populations presumed to be supporting them. Russian airstrikes have enabled the government to regain significant territory previously lost to opposition forces.
The fracturing and radicalization of the opposition compounds the difficulty of achieving a negotiated political settlement. ISIL, which is not part of the peace talks, and several other armed groups continue to pose a direct threat to civilians, especially those from minority religious communities.
External political influence upon the Syrian government, via the UN and regional actors, remains weak. Despite adopting several resolutions concerning humanitarian access and chemical weapons, the UNSC has been unable to enforce their full compliance, with significant divisions over Syria evident amongst the permanent members.
The government of Syria has not only manifestly failed to uphold its Responsibility to Protect, it bears primary responsibility for the ongoing commission of mass atrocity crimes.
INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE: Following the outbreak of violence during March 2011, the international community responded by censuring the Syria government for its widespread violations of human rights. Despite this, the UNSC has failed to adequately respond to the conflict. The CoI, UN Secretary-General and High Commissioner for Human Rights have all called for the situation in Syria to be referred to the ICC. [For responses prior to November 2015 see GCR2P's Timeline of International Response to the Situation in Syria.]
Since 14 November the ISSG has met five times, agreeing on the need to convene Syrian government and opposition representatives in formal negotiations under UN auspices. On 18 December the UNSC unanimously adopted Resolution 2254, endorsing an ISSG Road Map for a peace process, including a nationwide ceasefire and accelerating the delivery of humanitarian aid. On 26 February the UNSC unanimously adopted Resolution 2268, endorsing the 22 February cessation of hostilities agreement and calling upon all sides to allow unrestricted humanitarian access to civilians.
The UN Human Rights Council has adopted 17 resolutions condemning atrocities in Syria. The latest, adopted on 1 July, stressed that the primary responsibility to protect the Syrian population lies with the Syrian authorities.
On 12 May the UNSC issued a Press Statement expressing outrage at recent attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, stressing that these may amount to war crimes. The Council also reaffirmed the "primary responsibility of the Syrian government to protect the population in Syria."
NECESSARY ACTION: Syrian government forces and armed opposition groups must facilitate immediate and unimpeded humanitarian access to civilians trapped or displaced by fighting, in keeping with UNSC Resolutions 2139, 2165 and 2258. The international community must intensify efforts towards finding a potential political solution to the conflict while increasing assistance to populations affected by the civil war.
The UNSC needs to take proximate steps to end atrocities in Syria, including imposing an arms embargo and referring the situation to the ICC. The UNSC must take expeditious action to end the use of indiscriminate and illegal weapons and hold all perpetrators accountable.
Russia, Iran and Hezbollah must cease enabling the crimes of the Syrian government. Countries opposed to the rule of President Bashar al-Assad must withhold all support from armed groups who commit war crimes or target minority communities. All foreign states participating in airstrikes in Syria must ensure all necessary precautions are taken to avoid civilian casualties and uphold IHL.
Russia and the United States need to press their respective Syrian allies to reestablish the cessation of hostilities and engage in meaningful negotiations over how to fundamentally resolve Syria's conflict.
Last Updated: 15 July 2016