Alkarama Foundation

Alkarama was informed that over the last month many peaceful demonstrators, human rights defenders, political activists and bloggers were arrested or threatened all over Syria. They allegedly called for or participated peaceful demonstrations with the aim of improving the human rights situation and fight against corruption in Syria in the context of a wave of peaceful popular protests in the Arab region calling for democratic change. Peaceful sit-ins took place in Bab Tuma square on 2 February 2011, for example, or near the Libyan Embassy in Damascus on 22 February 2011. They had been organised to call for the respect of the rights of the Libyan and Egyptian people. During these sit-ins, the Syrian authorities used excessive force to disperse protesters before arresting many of them.

The chairperson of the Commission of Inquiry on Syria presented its second report to the UN Human Rights Council on 12 March 2012. In this report, which is conceived as an update to its 23 November 2011 report, the Commission documented further gross and widespread human rights violations committed in the context of increasing armed violence and ongoing repression of the Syrian opposition movement.