As the world's highest political forces negotiate and debate the measures to be introduced in coping with Syria's political crisis...
The citizens of that country continue to suffer the worst types of human rights abuses. According to Human Rights Watch's (HRW) 2017 report on the events of 2016 in Syria, 470,000 civilians were killed and 6.1 million were internally displaced that year. Furthermore, by June 2016, there were 1 million civilians trapped in besieged areas, and these people had no access to humanitarian relief or life-saving assistance. At the same time over one million people have been detained and disappeared since 2011, many of those atrocities carried out by government forces. Apart from that, the detainees face torture and ill-treatment in the camps on a regular basis.
According to reports, humanitarian aid workers and civilians are also deliberately attacked by the warring sides in Syria (Aaronson, Michael 1).
These constitute crimes against humanity and crimes of war. An appalling report is the one produced by the Oxford Research Group which indicates that ten percent of all the recorded civilian deaths in 2013 were of children under the age of 18 and most of those deaths were caused by explosive weapons (Aaronson, Michael). The nightmare in Syria seems to be unending and continually perpetuates human rights violation.
Statement of Research Purpose
This research hypothesizes that many people in the United States have necessary information of the on goings in Syria but it is essential for them to be able to understand their conception of what constitutes human rights violations in the Syrian War. This study will, in turn, provide an understanding of the human rights issues in Syria, the role that powerful governments including the U.S and Russia are playing to propagate those violations and the roles played by the Syrian government as well as the ISIS. The presentation of humanitarian crises in Syria can be biased, contain less truth or even exaggerated to satisfy some political interests. However, this study intends to dig deeper into the issues from several perspectives to establish a common ground of understanding the human rights violations in Syria. For these reasons, the research questions will be:
- What are the exact humanitarian crises experienced by civilians, workers of humanitarian assistance and the warring parties in Syria?
- Who is responsible for the violations of human rights?
- In what ways are the human rights violations carried out?
- What are the effects of human rights violations in Syria since 2011?
Significance of Research to International Politics
This study is of significance to the field of international politics because it touches on the issues of war and the laws of war. Most of the human rights violations happen as a result of breach of the laws of war. For instance, during war, none of the warring parties is supposed to target unarmed civilians or humanitarian aid workers. These problems show how ineffective most of the international laws are and how difficult it is to implement those laws due to different jurisdictions that make up the international community.
Apart from that, this study will be an exposure to the international political players to find political means of ending the crisis in Syria. Efforts by UN to bring the two sides into an agreement and have a political transition have been unfruitful (Tahnaan, Zena 1). The hard stands by the government to have Assad remain in the presidency and the opposition to have him out for peace to prevail is so far the biggest hurdle for the international community regarding Syria (Tahnaan, Zena 1). Moreover, the Syrian war has taken a world perspective with Russia, Lebanon and Iran supporting the Syrian war while Turkey, the United Stat and several Gulf states supporting the opposition (Tahnaan, Zena 1). What is evident from the side taking approach in trying to solve the Syrian problem is that it only turns out to be a way of promoting the occurrence of human rights violation activities. It also shows that when the authority of a nation is weakened, its role in protecting the rights of citizens also becomes unreliable. The research is a basis upon which the international community can rethink its approach to the Syrian problem for the sake of ending human rights crisis in that country.
Methodology
This study will adapt the mix-method analysis that will include some qualitative and quantitative designs. Most of the research will be conducted by reading relevant pieces of literature such as human rights reports plus data on statistics of deaths, detentions, and misplacements. Scholarly studies on human rights violation in Syria since 2011 will also be examined. Apart from that, the researcher will strive to conduct interviews with experts of human rights issues. Other sources of information for the study will include reviewing films and news reports on the humanitarian situation in Syria with the intention of establishing the causes, impact, and violators of human rights in that country.
Works Cited
Aaronson, Michael. “Syria and The Crisis Of Humanitarian Intervention.” E-International Relations, 2014, http://www.e-ir.info/2014/02/11/syria-and-the-crisis-of-humanitarian-intervention/.
“Syria.” Human Rights Watch, 2017, https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/syria.
Tahhan, Zena. “Saving Syria: Is International Law The Answer?.” Aljazeera.Com, 2017, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/03/years-syria-accountability-free-zone-170312082121458.html.
