This weekend I watched the film “Ayouni”, a deeply moving documentary following the search for two men among the over 100,000 forcibly disappeared in Syria. For people who, like me, have only observed ten years of pain in Syria from the outside, “Ayouni” gives a gut-wrenching insight into the fear experienced by thousands of Syrians who have been tortured and imprisoned, as well as the agony felt by their loved ones. It left me distressed and angry, but also inspired by the fortitude and determination of those seeking justice and the truth.
The Syrian people deserve no less determination, no less striving for justice and no less cause for hope from their international friends.
In the past two weeks much has been written and said to mark the uprising since March 2011. That is when people took to the streets of Daraa, peacefully calling for the release of school children detained for scribbling political graffiti on a wall. The arbitrary arrest and torture of those children was the first inkling of the regime’s brutality and its willingness to turn on its own people and do whatever it takes to stay in power.
Since then, abduction and illegal detention have been among the root causes, triggers and persistent features of the conflict. Tens of thousands of men, women, boys and girls remain forcibly disappeared, ten years after the first mass arrests. Hundreds of thousands live in anguish, not knowing the fate of their loved ones. Syrians still suffer from torture, oppression and corruption at the hands of the regime. A recent UN report on the missing (OHCHR IICI Syria Detention-report) demonstrates the sheer scale of the abuse.
The regime has desecrated international norms and rules, which put human dignity and justice first; there can be no reward for impunity. The UK and our partners in the international community continue to call for the release of those who have been illegally detained, for access to and information on the location and fate of those who are currently missing and for justice and assistance for the families of the victims. There can be no just and peaceful solution in Syria without progress on this issue until it is tackled in the context of a Syrian-led, UN-backed political process. There is no viable path to sustainable peace until the regime engages in good faith in a process to cement a nationwide ceasefire; unhindered aid access; conditions which allow the voluntary, safe and dignified return of refugees; and free and fair elections once a new constitution is in place, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254
Ten years of violence and the regime’s cronyism and corruption have the left the economy on its knees and millions without their own home. Compared to last year, 4.5 million more Syrians are struggling without enough food. Even Assad himself knows that rather than “Western sanctions” it is his own behavior – together with the effects of the crisis in Lebanon – that have accelerated the collapse of the economy.
The UK stands by the more than 13 million vulnerable Syrians, mostly women and children, in need of life-saving assistance. As one of the largest donors to the Syrian crisis, the UK has spent over £3.5 billion to date, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis.
But no amount of international aid will help if it cannot reach the people who need it. All members of the UN Security Council must pass the crucial resolution this summer needed to make sure aid can be safely and reliably provided at scale across Syria’s borders; anything less would be another disgrace to those who block it. We also call on those who control territory in Syria to enable unfettered access for aid within Syria wherever it is needed.
There is a moving line in “Ayouni” where one of those left behind says she “takes the risk of hoping”. That must be harder every day, but the courage of those who have fought for justice and dignity is the flame of Syria’s future that keeps flickering. I was awed to meet virtually some of the Syrian and international humanitarian and human rights organizations that the UK proudly supports. These courageous people dedicate their lives to documenting the missing and detained, assisting families of victims, and pursuing truth, justice and accountability for the abuse that all who are involved endure.
The international community and friends of Syria must draw on the same courage, to dare to stand by our convictions, not let impunity prevail, do all we can to help Syrians control their futures and keep supporting those who can give Syria a peaceful, prosperous and just new politics.
