{"id":1418,"date":"2025-10-08T17:25:59","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T15:25:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zagros-centre.org\/en\/?p=1418"},"modified":"2025-11-17T03:41:51","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T02:41:51","slug":"report-of-the-side-event-human-rights-in-syria-focus-on-minorities-and-accountability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zagros-centre.org\/en\/?p=1418","title":{"rendered":"Report of the Side Event: Human Rights in Syria \u2013 Focus on Minorities and Accountability"},"content":{"rendered":"

Report of the Side Event
\nHuman Rights in Syria: Focus on Minorities and Accountability<\/p>\n

Palais des Nations, Geneva \u2013 Room XI
\nFriday, 26 September 2025 | 12:00\u201313:00<\/p>\n

Introduction
\nOn 26 September 2025, during the 60th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Centre Zagros pour les Droits de l\u2019Homme (Zagros Human Rights Center), in collaboration with Maloca International and Solidarity International for Peace, held a moving side event entitled \u201cHuman Rights in Syria: Focus on Minorities and Accountability.\u201d
\nThe event gathered activists, researchers, and community representatives who have lived or documented the human cost of the Syrian conflict. Together, they sought to shed light on the suffering of minorities \u2014 Alawite, Kurdish, Christian, and Druze \u2014 and to remind the international community that behind every statistic lies a life, a family, a story.
\nThe discussion was both emotional and urgent. As one participant noted, \u201cthe war may have changed its form, but the suffering of the people has not stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n

Opening Remarks \u2013 Mr. Ali Saker (Syrian Human Rights Activist)
\nMr. Ali Saker opened the session with a heartfelt account of what life has become for many Alawites in Syria\u2019s coastal regions. He described the sense of betrayal felt by communities who, after decades of conflict, had hoped for peace but found themselves trapped in a new wave of revenge and violence.
\nDrawing from recent investigations by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the UN Commission of Inquiry, Mr. Saker spoke of mass executions, destruction of homes and hospitals, and the silencing of local voices. Between March and July 2025, more than 1,400 civilians lost their lives in what he described as \u201ca campaign of collective punishment disguised as liberation.\u201d
\nHe warned that the absence of justice was allowing old wounds to deepen and hatred to fester. His message was clear:
\n\u201cThe Syrian coast stands as a warning: without justice, the cycle of violence will never end.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speech \u2013 Ms. Roudy Ali (Kurdish Journalist and Women\u2019s Rights Advocate)
\nMs. Roudy Ali\u2019s intervention was one of the most emotional moments of the event. Her speech was dedicated to the Kurdish women who vanished without a trace, and to the girls who were never allowed to return to school.
\nShe presented evidence of arbitrary detention, property confiscation, and sexual violence perpetrated against Kurdish families, particularly in Turkish-controlled areas. Drawing from reports by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Syrian Network for Human Rights, she exposed how militias had turned occupation into a form of organized looting.
\nShe also spoke about the collapse of women\u2019s rights \u2014 the closure of feminist organizations, the imposition of dress codes, and the alarming rate of child marriage (46% among Syrian refugee girls).
\nHer voice broke when she quoted a mother from Afrin: \u201cThey took my daughter because she refused to cover her face. I don\u2019t know where she is now.\u201d
\nMs. Ali called for a global response that restores dignity and hope:
\n\u2022 Independent investigations into gender-based crimes,
\n\u2022 Inclusion of Kurdish and women\u2019s representatives in peace and justice processes,
\n\u2022 Immediate humanitarian access for medical and psychological support,
\n\u2022 And education programs promoting equality and coexistence.
\n\u201cWithout justice, there will be no peace. Without peace, there will be no future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Testimony \u2013 Mr. Tareq Alaows (Syrian Human Rights and)
\nMr. Tareq Alaows shared a deeply distressing testimony via video, focusing on the persecution of Druze and Jewish minorities since the fall of the Assad regime. His words painted a picture of systematic brutality and human despair.
\nHe spoke of massacres that began in March 2025 \u2014 46 civilians executed, 36 villages destroyed, and over 191,000 people displaced. Beyond the numbers were the names: Shahira Trudy, who died for lack of cancer medicine, and Husama Alhmed, who died when insulin ran out. \u201cThey were not killed by bombs,\u201d he said, \u201cbut by the silence of the world.\u201d
\nCiting reports from MSC International and the UN Human Rights Experts, he denounced a campaign of humiliation and terror \u2014 mock executions, sexual violence, and sectarian insults \u2014 carried out by forces linked to the interim authorities.
\nMr. Alaows urged for an immediate and principled response:
\n\u2022 To open humanitarian corridors independent from political control,<\/p>\n

\u2022 To launch international investigations under international law,
\n\u2022 And to support local community structures that protect civilians.
\n\u201cThe survival and dignity of Syria\u2019s minorities depend on immediate, coordinated global action,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n

Statement \u2013 Mr. Metin Rhawi (Christian Minority Human Rights Activist and Head of Foreign Affairs, European Syriac Union (ESU))
\nRepresenting Syria\u2019s Christian community, Mr. Metin Rhawi offered a historical and deeply reflective perspective. He spoke of a century of persecution and displacement, yet also of a culture that refuses to disappear.
\nWhile acknowledging efforts by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria to promote coexistence, he described the continued targeting of Christians and their institutions. He recalled the Mar Eliyas Church massacre, where 26 worshippers were killed during prayer \u2014 an attack he described as \u201cnot only against a religion, but against the idea of Syria itself.\u201d
\nHis message centered on survival through recognition and protection. He called for:
\n\u2022 Constitutional recognition of minorities,
\n\u2022 A decentralized and democratic system,
\n\u2022 Protection of cultural and religious heritage,
\n\u2022 And international oversight during the transition process.
\n\u201cWe are not asking for privilege \u2014 we are asking for survival. Without protection, Syria will lose its soul.\u201d<\/p>\n

Common Findings
\nEach speaker, from their own community\u2019s perspective, delivered the same message:
\nthe suffering in Syria continues, and minorities remain unprotected.
\nAcross testimonies, several patterns emerged:
\n\u2022 Violence persists under new authorities, taking on sectarian and gendered forms;
\n\u2022 Civil infrastructure and medical systems have collapsed;
\n\u2022 Displacement and hunger are rising;
\n\u2022 And impunity remains the rule, not the exception.<\/p>\n

Despite this, the event revealed extraordinary resilience, solidarity, and courage among minority groups who continue to organize schools, clinics, and councils under impossible conditions.<\/p>\n

Recommendations
\nParticipants agreed on a set of urgent and coordinated actions:
\n1. Establish international investigations into crimes against minorities and women.
\n2. Guarantee humanitarian access through neutral corridors.
\n3. Support local governance and civil initiatives maintaining peace and social cohesion.
\n4. Ensure the political participation of minorities and women in all transitional mechanisms.
\n5. Promote education for coexistence, countering hate and sectarian division.<\/p>\n