Peace in Syria
Global civil society unites to call for peace in Syria
The war in Syria has already been raging for almost six years and in this time nearly 500,000 people have been killed and 11 million have been forced to leave their homes. Recently, a series of air strikes against the region of Aleppo has put the lives of nearly 250,000 civilians at risk. As a result of this situation, 223 civil society organizations came together to call on the United Nations to take immediate action and convene an Emergency Special Session of the UN General Assembly to demand an end to the violations of International Humanitarian Law in the region and immediate and unhindered humanitarian access. This Special Session has not yet been organized.
According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, “indiscriminate air strikes across the eastern part of the city by government forces and their allies are responsible for the overwhelming majority of civilian casualties”. Russia has been using its veto power in the Security Council to block any effort to stop these atrocities.
Conectas and another 222 organizations signed an open letter sent to Member States claiming that the UN “has failed to fulfill its task under the UN Charter and has failed to uphold its responsibility to protect the Syrian people”, and they suggested that “Member States should also explore possible avenues to bring perpetrators of serious crimes under international law on all sides to justice.”
The coalition formed by organizations from 45 countries from all the five continents concluded that inaction should not be an option at this time.
- Click here to read the letter in full.
