Syria communications: May 1, 2011 to February 28, 2017

images This page summarizes cases raised with Syria by the Special Rapporteur between May 1, 2011, (when the Special Rapporteur took up his functions) and February 28, 2017 (the date of the last public release of communications). Communications are released to the public once per year. This page also contains observations on these communications and on responses received from Syria.

Communications and observations are divided into sections based upon which observation report they originally appeared.

Each communication is referenced as urgent appeal (UA), allegation letter (AL), joint urgent appeal (JUA) and joint allegation letter (JAL) – the hyperlinks lead to these documents. This is followed by the date the communication was issued, as well as the case number and the State reply (also hyperlinked if available).

Summaries and communications are published only in the language of submission (in the case of Syria, English).

First Report (May 1, 2011 to March 15, 2012)

Joint urgent appeal, 17/6/2011. Case no. SYR 7/2011. State Reply: None to date. Alleged killings of protesters, excessive use of force and denial of life-saving medical treatment.
Joint allegation letter, 29/6/2011. Case no. SYR 6/2011. State Reply: 25/10/2011. Alleged arrest and detention of human rights activists following peaceful protests.
Joint urgent appeal, 3/8/2011. Case no. SYR 8/2011. State Reply: None to date. Alleged arrests and possible enforced disappearances in the context of the demonstrations that have been taking place in the Syrian Arab Republic since 15 March 2011.
Joint urgent appeal, 4/8/2011. Case no. SYR 9/2011. State Reply: None to date. Alleged continued use of excessive force and arbitrary detention in relation to the continued violent crackdown against demonstrations.
Joint urgent appeal, 10/8/2011. Case no. SYR 10/2011. State Reply: None to date. Alleged arrest and possible enforced disappearance.
Joint urgent appeal, 18/8/2011. Case no. SYR 12/2011. State Reply: 27/12/2011. Alleged disciplinary procedure against human rights lawyer and defender.
Joint urgent appeal, 30/8/2011. Case no. SYR 13/2011. State Reply: None to date. Allegations of arrests, physical assault, ill-treatment, charges, and incommunicado detention.
Joint urgent appeal, 3/2/2012. Case no. SYR 1/2012. State Reply: None to date. Alleged shooting and subsequent arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention of pro-democracy activist Mr. Mohamed Anwar Dabbas.

Observations
The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic for its responses. However, he deeply regrets that six communications he sent during the reported period are left unanswered. He remains gravely concerned about the significant number and the very grave nature of the allegations received during the reporting period. He urges the authorities to provide as soon as possible detailed responses to all the concerns raised in his communication.

The Special Rapporteur is extremely concerned about the physical and psychological integrity of people exercising their rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association in the Syrian Arab Republic and further calls upon the authorities to release immediately and unconditionally all persons convicted for exercising their legitimate rights.

The Special Rapporteur reminds that the right to life is a non-derogeable right in international human rights law, including in the context of assemblies. In this regard, he refers to Article 5 of the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials Adopted by the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (1990), which provides that “whenever the lawful use of force and firearms is unavoidable, law enforcement officials shall minimize damage and injury, and respect and preserve human life.” He requests the Government to keep him informed about the investigations conducted in this regard.

He urges all parties to immediately end violence and he calls on the authorities to stop using force during peaceful demonstrations. A thorough and independent investigation regarding any allegations of excessive use of force and of torture and ill treatment, including against women, during peaceful demonstrations, should be conducted; those responsible should be held accountable; and victims should be provided with full redress.

The Special Rapporteur emphasises that “States Party shall ensure in its legal system that the victim of an act of torture obtains redress and has an enforceable right to fair and adequate compensation, including the means for as full rehabilitation as possible. In the event of the death of the victim as a result of an act of torture, his dependants shall be entitled to compensation.” (Article 14 of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to which the Syrian Arab Republic is a State party).

The Special Rapporteur refers again to Human Rights Council resolution 15/21, and in particular operative paragraph 1 that “[c]alls upon States to respect and fully protect the rights of all individuals to assemble peacefully and associate freely, including in the context of elections, and including persons espousing minority or dissenting views or beliefs, human rights defenders, trade unionists and others, including migrants, seeking to exercise or to promote these rights, and to take all necessary measures to ensure that any restrictions on the free exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association are in accordance with their obligations under international human rights law”.

The Special Rapporteur deeply regrets the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic did not respond to his letter dated 1 December 2011, in which he proposed dates for a visit, after the Government extended an invitation for such a visit to take place “during the first months of [2012]”. In this connection, OP6 of resolution 15/21 states that the “Human Rights Council… [c]alls upon States to cooperate fully with and assist the Special Rapporteur in the performance of his or her tasks, to provide all necessary information requested by him or her, … and to consider favourably his or her requests for visits”.

Second Report (March 16, 2012 to February 28, 2013)

Joint urgent appeal, 27/03/2012. Case no. SYR 4/2012. State Reply: None to date. Allegations of arbitrary arrest, incommunicado detention and possible enforced disappearances.
Joint urgent appeal, 02/11/2012. Case no. SYR 9/2012. State Reply: None to date. Allegations of arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detention, killings and torture.
Joint urgent appeal, 08/11/2012. Case no. SYR 10/2012. State Reply: 24/04/2013. Alleged enforced disappearance of representatives of associations.

Observations
The Special Rapporteur deeply regrets that, in light of the gravity of the allegations received, the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic only replied to one of the communications he sent during the reporting period. He considers responses to his communications as an important part of the cooperation of Governments with his mandate, and urges the authorities to provide as soon as possible detailed responses to all the concerns raised in his communications.

The Special Rapporteur remains extremely concerned about the physical and psychological integrity of individuals exercising their rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association in the Syrian Arab Republic. He is deeply disturbed by allegations of excessive use of force during demonstrations, killings and torture, arbitrary arrest, incommunicado detention, enforced disappearances in the context of the exercise of the rights to freedom of association and of peaceful assembly. He reminds that the right to life and to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment are a non-derogable right in international human rights law, including in the context of assemblies. In this regard, he refers to Article 5 of the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials Adopted by the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (1990), which provides that “whenever the lawful use of force and firearms is unavoidable, law enforcement officials shall minimize damage and injury, and respect and preserve human life.” He also underlines that “States Party shall ensure in its legal system that the victim of an act of torture obtains redress and has an enforceable right to fair and adequate compensation, including the means for as full rehabilitation as possible. In the event of the death of the victim as a result of an act of torture, his dependants shall be entitled to compensation.” (Article 14 of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to which the Syrian Arab Republic is a State party). A thorough and independent investigation into any allegations of excessive use of force and of torture and ill treatment during peaceful demonstrations should be conducted; those responsible should be held accountable; and victims should be provided with full redress. He urges the Government to keep him informed about the investigations conducted in relation to the aforementioned cases.

The Special Rapporteur calls upon the relevant authorities to ensure that no one is criminalised for the exercise of his legitimate rights and freedoms. He urges the authorities to release immediately and unconditionally all persons convicted for exercising their legitimate rights and freedoms.

The Special Rapporteur regrets the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic did not respond to his letter dated 1 December 2011, in which he proposed dates for a visit when conditions were conducive for such a visit, after the Government extended an invitation for such a visit to take place “during the first months of [2012]”.

Third Report (March 1, 2013 to February 28, 2014)

Joint urgent appeal, 13/05/2013. Case no. SYR 2/2013. State reply: None to date. Alleged enforced disappearance, torture, incommunicado detention and denial of medical treatment of two human rights defenders.
Joint urgent appeal, 28/06/2013. Case no. SYR 3/2013. State reply: None to date. Alleged acts of reprisal, incommunicado detention and torture and ill-treatment of human rights defenders for their cooperation with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights.
Joint urgent appeal, 29/08/2013. Case no. SYR 5/2013. State reply: None to date. Alleged enforced disappearance of two political activists, and alleged arrest of one political activist.
Joint allegation letter, 24/02/2014. Case no. SYR 4/2014. State reply: None to date. Alleged attempted killing of a human rights defender and founder of a non-Governmental organization.

Observations
The Special Rapporteur regrets that, at the time of the finalization of this report, the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic has not responded to any of the four joint urgent appeals sent during the period under review. He considers the responses to his communications as an important part of the cooperation of Governments with his mandate, and urges the authorities to provide detailed responses to all the concerns raised in his communications without further delay.

The Special Rapporteur expresses grave concern about the numerous reports received of enforced disappearances, incommunicado detention, ill-treatment, torture and killings of members of associations, including human rights and political activists. He urges the authorities of the Syrian Arab Republic to conduct prompt and thorough investigations in each case, prosecute perpetrators, and provide adequate reparation to victims. He requests the Government to keep him informed on the progress made into the investigations conducted in relation to the aforementioned cases.

The Special Rapporteur calls upon the Government to put in place an enabling and safe environment allowing individuals to exercise their legitimate freedoms of peaceful assembly and association without undue hindrances. He reiterates the content of the operative paragraph 2 of the Human Rights Council Resolution 24/5 that “[r]eminds States of their obligation to respect and fully protect the rights of all individuals to assemble peacefully and associate freely, online as well as offline, including in the context of elections, and including persons espousing minority or dissenting views or beliefs, human rights defenders, trade unionists and others, including migrants, seeking to exercise or to promote these rights, and to take all necessary measures to ensure that any restrictions on the free exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association are in accordance with their obligations under international human rights law.”

The Special Rapporteur reminds the Government that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ratified by the Syrian Arab Republic on 21 April 1969, guarantees the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.