“Mr. Fadel Abdul Ghany, Chairman and Founder of the Syrian Network for Human Rights, opened by describing the current human rights situation in Syria. He explained that while it is often difficult to differentiate returnees from Syrians who did not leave, SNHR has recorded nearly 3100 cases of returnees who have been detained since 2014; about 1800 were eventually released, while approximately 900 (nearly a third) have vanished and are unaccounted for. He noted that there is a misconception that when shelling and warfare stops in an area, then detentions stop as well—this is untrue.
He acknowledged that the burden of refugees must be more evenly shared by nations around the world, rather than simply being placed on Turkey, Lebanon, and other bordering countries. However, he also noted that if those countries unilaterally declare conditions of a ‘safe environment’ when such conditions have not been met, and subsequently return Syrians to a Syria which is unsafe, then they would be in flagrant violation of international law.
Finally, Mr. Abdul Ghany presented recent SNHR reports showing that despite the Syrian regime’s amnesty decrees, violations are still ongoing—arbitrary arrest, and death due to torture:
Therefore, he said, the Syrian regime’s amnesty decrees are irrelevant—their actions on the ground have continued to create an unsafe environment. He finally noted that Syria is the worst country in the world when it comes to forced disappearances and torture, with at least 111,907 forcibly disappeared since 2011:”
