In 2011, hundreds of thousands of Syrians rose up to put an end to the crimes of the Syrian regime and to achieve democratic change after five decades of repression. The Syrian authorities responded with violence, scaling up its widespread practices of extra-judical killing, torture, arbitrary detention and forcibly disappearing opponents.
The logic of escalation and violence followed by the regime spiraled into an all-out conflict marked by the most severe human rights violations, including war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Tens of thousands of Syrians have been arbitrarily detained and tortured by government security forces and armed groups. Thousands more have been forcibly disappeared by the Syrian authorities and other parties to the conflict, including ISIS, and their fate remains unknown.
The Syrian regime forces have regained control of large parts of the Syrian territory following Russia’s military intervention in 2015. Although the intensity of fighting has diminished, serious human rights violations go on. Only a few of those arbitrarily detained have been released, tens of thousands of disappeared remain unaccounted for, and torture continues to be widespread in detention facilities.
In this context, many former detainees and families of the forcibly disappeared have been organising and advocating for their cause across every possible international platform. Impunity Watch supports their efforts.
Housing, land and property rights (HLP)
Although violations of HLP rights affect millions of Syrians and have become a major obstacle to peace, this issue lacks attention and support. Over the past years of conflict, HLP violations have been committed by the Syrian authorities and other different parties of the conflict.
These violations affect millions of refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), as well as political detainees and missing persons and their family members, leading to changes in the demographic composition of areas in the country.
In addition, particular groups suffer from historic HLP violations resulting in women, Palestinian refugees and Syrian Kurds being disproportionately affected.
