As international and regional players continue to search for a formula that could facilitate a political solution in Syria, the humanitarian crisis in that country is reaching unprecedented levels.
Both the regime and some opposition groups, including Daesh, are guilty of blatant war crimes that include the use of chemical weapons, barrel bombs, targeting civilians, displacement of residents, summary executions of opponents and the destruction of heritage sites.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians are besieged in camps, suburbs of Damascus and other towns and cities with no access to food, water and medical aid. At least three million Syrians have been forced out of their country into refugee camps in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon.
Inside Syria more than six million, some say much more, have been displaced internally. The magnitude of destruction in many villages, towns and cities has exceeded 80 to 90 percent. Nothing is spared including hospitals and schools. The conflict has hit Syrian children hard and the successive and indiscriminate bombing by the regime of Douma is a case in point.
Another horrific aspect of the Syrian crisis is the plight of migrants who are trying to reach Europe. In the past few weeks the world was stunned by the death of hundreds of migrants either by drowning in the Mediterranean or in crowded trucks in Austria and elsewhere. The migrant crisis has become a major challenge for Europe whose governments remain divided on whether to receive these migrants or send them back. The Syrian crisis is now being felt in the heart of Europe. It represents a political as well as a moral challenge.
The bloody side of the Syrian crisis is not new. The regime has been accused of using chemical weapons against its own people on a number of occasions. And yet the international community has not dealt with this war crime adequately.
The UN and other organizations have failed to pick up pace and reveal the truth about the regime’s use of chemical weapons. Political wrangling, especially among powerful Security Council members, has kept the truth from emerging. Now there is evidence that Daesh and others may have also used chemical weapons in Syria. It is shocking that such atrocities continue to take place while the international community is watching.
By the same token no effort is being made, even by the regime’s closest allies, to stop it from using barrel bombs which are responsible for the death of thousands of civilians. The deliberate use of this crude weapon against civilians constitutes another likely war crime. The incarceration, torture and execution of opponents by the regime are continuing, as documented by human rights organizations, and yet the response of the international community has been bashful and tepid.
It is inconceivable that a political solution in Syria can be reached without determining the responsibility of various parties for committing crimes against humanity and war atrocities. National reconciliation in Syria, if we ever reach that stage, requires that guilty parties be brought to justice even if this process will take many years. Syria should not become a precedent where mass killers walk free and escape punishment.
The death toll in Syria since the breakout of the conflict there has surpassed 300,000, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. That figure continues to rise on a daily basis as the regime and its opponents fight for territory in heavily populated areas. Syrian refugees especially in Turkey and Lebanon are trying to buy their way into Greece. The latest figures suggest that human traffickers have created a sophisticated smuggling ring that has bases in European countries. According to Greek officials, more than 100,000 migrants have reached its shores last July. European governments believe that more than 700,000 migrants will find their way into Europe by the end of this year.
This crisis has become a moral challenge for a divided Europe. It is difficult to see how those refugees will ever be repatriated. Syria is a failed country and even if a political solution is reached, which remains an unlikely event; it will take decades to rebuild the country and create the necessary conditions for refugees to return to their homes. The political solution notwithstanding, the international community must take action to control and manage the humanitarian crisis in Syria. That should start with implementing a strict arms embargo on both the regime and opposition groups. Failing to do that, the UN should at least force the regime to stop using barrel bombs, which are exasperating the humanitarian crisis. Furthermore, a war crime commission should be formed to investigate and document hundreds of incidents where innocent civilians were purposefully targeted. Even if trying culprits would take many years to materialize, the international community should be serious about accumulating evidence and conducting interviews with victims.
