Protecting Refugees After Repatriation: The Ongoing Role of International Human Rights Bodies
There are currently tens of thousands of people living in life-threatening conditions in detention camps in Syria. In March 2023, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres praised Iraq for repatriating...
Individualised Risk Assessments and the Principle of Non-Refoulement: Why States Cannot Rush to Return Refugees and Asylum Seekers Back to Syria
The principle of non-refoulement – a principle of international law in the Refugee Convention, the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, and several other treaties – prohibits States from...
Human Rights Under the New Syrian Government: Progress or Peril?
The rise of a new government in Syria following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December 2024 has brought promises of reform, yet the reality for human rights...
Unraveling Rights: The Struggle for Freedom of Movement Among Syrian Refugees in Türkiye
Over the past decade, Türkiye has tightened some of its policies concerning Syrian refugees. Among the most significant policies is the restriction on freedom of movement, which reflects Türkiye’s legal...
Shamima Begum – A Disappointing Precedent for the Protection of Victims of Trafficking
As the face of the UK’s counter-terrorism response, the Shamima Begum case continues to shine a spotlight on the critical intersection of counter-terrorism measures and the problem of human trafficking....
Syrians Hopeful for a New Era as the Much-Awaited Constitutional Committee is formed
In September, 2019, the United Nations Secretary General announced the formation of the long awaited Syrian Constitutional Committee, which was subsequently convened on 30th October, 2019. The Committee is constituted...
Statelessness and the Syrian Conflict
Being stateless ultimately means having no nationality and having no nationality usually means having no documents to prove your identity. People can become stateless for many reasons, two of which...
Geneva (III), Politicking and Possibility for Syria’s Invisible 43%
2015 faded into the new year with a glimmer of hope for the people of Syria. A hope propelled by renewed international engagement, as expressed within the Vienna Statements of...
The Mass Flight of Syrian Refugees: What are the Legal Obligations of States?
More than four million refugees have fled Syria since 2011. Most of them have sought refuge in neighbouring countries but many now live in poverty and destitution. Civil society organisations...
High Time for Europe to Offer Temporary Protection to Refugees from Syria?
Approximately 3 million people have fled Syria due to the armed conflict. About 96% of the refugees remain in Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt. By July 2014, the number...
Providing Syrian Survivors of Torture Access to Rehabilitation Services
Mental health and other rehabilitation services can be key to restoring basic functioning and facilitate resilience and positive coping strategies for refugee survivors of torture. In the summer of 2012,...
Repression of Nonviolent Activism in Syria
These days, nonviolent activists in Syria find themselves targeted on one side by the Syrian regime, and on the other, by extremist Islamic fronts. Their opposition to narrow interpretations of...
