Oral Statement on Syrian Arab Republic

38th Session of the UN Human Rights Council

Agenda Item 4:ID with the Commission of Inquiry on Syrian Arab Republic (oral update)

Organisation:CSW (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)

Speaker:Claire Denman

Thank you Mr President.

CSW welcomes the work of the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic and calls for continued support of its mandate.

Under the Syrian government’s new Law Number 10 of 2018, citizens now have just weeks to register and prove they own their homes before the government is able to sell them off at auction. According to the government, the purpose of this law is to regularise land titles and prepare for redevelopment.

However, CSW is concerned that the new law will disadvantage the five million Syrians who have fled the country and the six million who are displaced internally.

With the majority of internally displaced and overseas refugees unable or unwilling to return to prove ownership of properties, this law could serve as an instrument of demographic change and social engineering considering the tight timeframe.

We remain concerned by reports that the Syrian government continues to unlawfully detain tens of thousands of Syrian civilians, who are subject to harsh conditions inside detention centres, including suffering torture, sexual abuse, rape and summary execution.

CSW calls on the international community to urge the Syrian government to end the use of all forms of torture inside prisons and detention centres and to immediately release political prisoners.

CSW also calls on the international community to press the Syrian government to abolish the new property law, and encourages all Parties to engage in serious talks to achieve a lasting solution to the conflict.

We further urge all relevant international parties to ensure that freedom of religion or belief and the protection of religious and ethnic minorities is prioritised during peace negotiations. Any new constitution must reflect Syria’s heritage of religious and ethnic pluralism, and civil society must be empowered to promote the concept of a national identity.

Thank you.