Former president Bashar al-Assad’s exodus from Syria represents a milestone opportunity for justice, accountability, and healing following more than 13 years of war and atrocities he oversaw, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) said today.
“This week is a momentous occasion for which Syrians have waited decades. Since he came to power, Bashar al-Assad directed a reign of terror on Syrian civilians that killed, tortured, persecuted, displaced, and disappeared countless victims and survivors. A defining tactic of Assad’s repression strategy was to target health care – to bomb hospitals, torture doctors, block medical aid, and deny health services. The Assad government’s widespread and systematic crimes documented by PHR and many others, demand justice and accountability. PHR is ready to support Syrians as they work to advance human rights, justice, and accountability. While this moment is also one of pain as the scale and scope of Assad’s violence comes to light, we hope to see a new dawn for the millions of Syrians who have suffered under Assad,” said Houssam al-Nahhas, MD, MPH, health and human rights researcher at PHR. Dr. al-Nahhas is a Syrian physician targeted by the government for providing health care.
“Syrians are experiencing the fallout from the Assad regime collapse, including attacks and desperate searches for loved ones. The fate of the missing and disappeared must be a top priority for Syrian and international actors. While some political prisoners are being reunited with their families’ following years of detention, early reports suggest that untold numbers of Syria’s disappeared and missing may have already been killed by the Assad government and human remains are already being found in secret prisons and mass graves around the country. It’s vital that survivors of this violence receive support and care while families of the victims are offered truth, closure, and redress,” said Dr. al-Nahhas. “We are ready to be a resource to all those who seek documentation, justice, and accountability in this new chapter for Syria.”
The swift collapse of the Syrian government ushers in a new era in the country. PHR calls for the transition and future governance to center and elevate fundamental human rights by supporting many survivors of torture and victims’ families. PHR also calls for unimpeded support to humanitarian efforts in the country, including urgent support for Syria’s health system following years of war and targeted attacks.
“This is a critical juncture to collect and analyze evidence of violations perpetrated during Syria’s war, and to advance impartial and independent accountability mechanisms,” said Dr. Al-Nahhas. “PHR stands ready to mobilize documentation and lend its unique forensic, medical, scientific, and legal capacities to these efforts.”
Since Syrian protestors took to the streets in March 2011, calling for freedom and social justice, PHR has documented the ensuing crackdown and suppression by the Syrian government. Over the past nearly 14 years of crisis in Syria, PHR has corroborated 608 attacks on health care facilities on a detailed interactive map. PHR determined that at least 548 of these attacks were perpetrated by the Syrian government and/or its Russian allies, while the remainder were perpetrated by non-state actors, international forces, or unknown actors. PHR also documented the killing of 949 health care providers with the Syrian government and its allies responsible for 88 percent of the cases.
PHR also conducted numerous research investigations into a wide range of human rights violations perpetrated during the war, from the targeting of health workers for torture to the government’s obstruction of aid to opposition areas to the impacts of the conflict on women and girls to in-depth investigations into specific attacks on hospitals. PHR concluded that the Assad government executed a strategy of targeting health care to terrorize and destroy the resilience of its perceived enemies. These violations constituted war crimes and crimes against humanity.
“When you kill a nurse or bomb a clinic, the damage extends beyond the individual life extinguished or the facility walls pummeled. You demolish the social fabric and sense of safety that comes from being able to access health care. Bashar al-Assad targeted health care in this way, to devastating effect. To both commemorate the victims of Assad’s violations and the heroism of the health workers who survived these assaults, the global community should strengthen humanitarian aid to ensure that medical workers and humanitarians can do their jobs as Syria starts the long process of healing and recovery,” said al-Nahhas.
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is a New York-based advocacy organization that uses science and medicine to prevent mass atrocities and severe human rights violations. Learn more here.