Dr.

Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University,

Lucknow
2017

Final Draft on the topic-

Legality of Civil War in Syria
in subject-
Public International Law

Submitted to : Submitted by:

Manvendra K.Tiwari Karan Rawat
Asstt. Professor in Law Roll No. 66
Dr. RMLNLU (LKO) B.A.LL.B.(Hons.)
IV-Semester (Sec-A).
 TABLE OF CONTENT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

INTRODUCTION

1. BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SYRIAN CIVIL WAR

2. THE PROBLEM

3. FACTS: STATUS OF THE CIVIL WAR

VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHT

RESPONSES OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITIES

LEGAL ISSUES INVOLVED

VIOLATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL LAW

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS

REFERENCES
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my gratitude to all those who gave me the opportunity to
complete this project. I want to thank the faculty who gave me the permission to
commence this project. I am deeply in debt to my teacher of Public International
Law; Manvendra Kumar Tiwari at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law
University, Lucknow, whose stimulating suggestions and encouragement helped
me in the research and writing of this project. I want to thank him for his help,
support, interest, and valuable time that he gave to me.

Last but not the least; I want to thank my parents who have supported me to make
my project successful.
 INTRODUCTION

Syria is a country in the Western Asia bordering Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan and Israel. This
country was a home to diverse ethnic and religious groups including Kurds, Armenians,
Assyrians, Christians, Druze, Alawite Shias and Arab Sunnis. Latter on became the majority of
the Muslim Population. A country of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts, Syria is home to
diverse ethnic and religious groups, including Syrian Arabs, Greeks, Armenians, Assyrians,
Kurds, Circassians, Mandeans and Turks. Religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites,
Druze, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, and Yazidis. Sunni Arabs make up the largest population
group in Syria.

The modern Syria state was established after the First World War. It represented the largest Arab
state to emerge from the formerly Ottoman ruled Arab Levant. It got independence in April
1946, as a Parliamentary republic. Syria was under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011.

Brief History of the Syrian Civil War

Syria was established as a French mandate. After achieving independence situation was very
tumultuous in Syria. A large number of military coups and coup attempts shook the country in
the time period from 1949 to 1971.

The Secular Baath local regional Party came to power in 1964 after a successful coup dtat. In
1966 another coup arose and the traditional leaders loose the power. Later on in 1970 some
conflict arose and Hafez al-Assad, then the Syrian Defense Minister, seized the whole power and
declared himself President a position which he would hold till death. He died in 2000.

Afterwards Mr. Bashar al-Assad succeeded him and became the new President of the Syria. He
was appointed after a Constitutional Amendment of the Syrian Constitution by which lowered
the age requirement for President from 40 to his then age of 34. Bashar al-Assad and his wife, a
British born and educated Sunni Muslim, initially inspired hopes for democratic and state
reforms, a Damascus Spring of intense social and political debate took place from July 2000 to
August 2001. During numerous political forums and salons were emerged where groups of like
minded people met in private houses to debate on political and social issues. The movement
began and the Damascus Spring ended in 2001 with the arrest and imprisonment of 10 leading
activists who had called for democratic elections and for campaign of civil disobedience.
Opposition Renewed in October 2005 when Syrian Christian activist Michel Kilo collaborated
with other leading opposition figures to deliver the Damascus Declaration which criticized the
Syrian Government as authoritarian totalitarian and cliquish and called for democratic reforms.

Afterwards the wave of Arab unrest that began with the Tunisian revolution reached Syria on
March 15, 2011, when resident of a small southern city took to the streets to protest the torture of
students who had put up anti- government graffiti. The government responded with the heavy-
handed force, and demonstrations quickly spread across much of the country. Then in the
summer of 2011, as the crackdown dragged on, thousands of soldiers defected and began
launching attacks against the government bringing the country to what the United Nations
declared as the verge of Civil War in December 2011. After years of civil war, Syria is now a
country that lies in ruins. Thousands of people have died, millions have fled. With no end of the
war in sight, groups continue to battle for control over large parts of the country. The Syrian
government, ISIL, Kurdish factions, and several other rebel groups are still fighting for some of
the most important parts of the country.Government troops, supported by Russian war planes,
have gained some ground over the past few months, expelling ISIL from Palmyra and other
important places. At the end of 2016, the Syrian government managed to capture Aleppo, one of
the main battlegrounds in the conflict. Meanwhile Kurdish fighters have made gains in the
northern part of Syria, reducing the territory under control by ISIL. Turkish troops recently
joined the fight against ISIL, expelling the group from the city of Jarablus.

ISIL has not only been losing territory in Syria, but, as this map shows, also in Iraq, where the
Kurds and the Iraqi Security Forces are slowly making their way to ISILs last stronghold,
Mosul.

The Problem

Syrian government has remained unstable after the independence in 1946 from then many coups
were fall in the Syria. From 1963 to 2011 Syria was under Emergency Law effectively
suspending most constitutional protections for citizens and its system of government is
considered to be non-democratic. Bashar al-Assad has been president since 2000 and was
preceded his father Hafez al-Assad who was in office from 1971.

When the subject of the Syria started for asking about democratic reforms and Assad step down,
President Bashar al-Assad started atrocities on the subject. Instead of ceding power and resolving
issues he is continuing the atrocities. Consequently the people of Syria had to take weapons in
their hands which resulting into Civil War as declared by the United Nations.

Facts: Status of the Civil War

After a long time period in 2011 the Syrian public woke up and called for removal of President
Bashar al-Assad, these voices got louder day and with western support and called Civil War.
After two years approximately there is no ray of hope is looking to civilians they are living in
extreme miseries. Their condition is so much poor many people have left Syria and became
refugees; women are misdeeded by the soldiers in group infront of the families.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said the number of people seeking haven
in neighboring countries had jumped since the beginning of the year, half of the refugees are
children, most of them are under 11 years. The largest numbers of refugees were seeking shelter
in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt.

Human rights violations during the Syrian civil war have been numerous and serious, with UN
reports stating that the war has been "characterized by a complete lack of adherence to the norms
of international law" by the warring parties who have "caused civilians immeasurable suffering"
As of October 2015 an estimated 100,000 civilians have been killed, and half of the countrys
population have fled their homes.

Human rights are being violated at very high level. According to report of International Rescue
Committee on 14 January 2014 released a report stating many refugees flee Syria due to a
widespread fear of rape and torture.

A woman gave her message to the world saying This is my message to the world. Let the entire
world hear what is happening to us. And I might not be the first one nor the last who was treated
in this way.
According to the news published in ALJAZEERA, more than more than 450,000 Syrians have
been killed in the fighting, more than a million injured and over 12 million Syrians - half the
country's prewar population - have been displaced from their homes.

According to the UN, the number of Syrian refugees in 2016 was nearly 10 times higher in
2016. As of December 4,837,248 refugees left the country.

Human slaughterhouse: Mass hangings and extermination at

Saydnaya prison, Syria
Human slaughterhouse: Mass hangings and extermination at Saydnaya prison, Syria also shows
that the government is deliberately inflicting inhuman conditions on detainees at Saydnaya
Prison through repeated torture and the systematic deprivation of food, water, medicine and
medical care. The report documents how these extermination policies have killed massive
numbers of detainees. Between 2011 and 2015, every week and often twice a week, groups of up
to 50 people were taken out of their prison cells and hanged to death. In five years, as many as
13,000 people, most of them civilians believed to be opposed to the government, were hanged in
secret at Saydnaya

A previous report published in August 2016, for which Amnesty International partnered with a
team of specialists at Forensic Architecture, University of Goldsmiths to create a virtual 3D
reconstruction of Saydnaya prison, estimated that more than 17,000 people have died in prisons
across Syria as a result of the inhuman conditions and torture since the Syrian crisis began in
2011. This figure does not include the estimated 13,000 additional deaths as a result of the
extrajudicial executions exposed in this report. Mass hangings

Hangings at Saydnaya are carried out once or twice a week, usually on Monday and Wednesday,
in the middle of the night. Those whose names are called out were told they would be transferred
to civilian prisons in Syria. Instead, they are moved to a cell in the basement of the prison and
beaten severely. They are then transported to another prison building on the grounds of
Saydnaya, where they are hanged. Throughout this process, they remain blindfolded. They do
not know when or how they will die until the noose was placed around their necks.They kept
them [hanging] there for 10 to 15 minutes. Some didnt die because they are light. For the young
ones, their weight wouldnt kill them. The officers assistants would pull them down and break
their necks, said a former judge who witnessed the hangings.Detainees held in the building in
the floors above the execution room reported that they sometimes heard the sounds of these
hangings.If you put your ears on the floor, you could hear the sound of a kind of gurgling. This
would last around 10 minutes We were sleeping on top of the sound of people choking to
death. This was normal for me then, said Hamid, a former military officer arrested in 2011.As
many as 50 people can be hanged in one night. Their bodies are taken away by the truckload to
be secretly buried in mass graves. Their families are given no information about their
fate.SYRIAN REFUGEE CRISISS

Families feeling violence , about 11 million Syrian are on run , including some 4.8 million who
have been forced to sek safety in neighboring countries. Inside Syria, more than 6.8 million
people are displaced and 13.5 million are still in need of humanitarian assistance.

1 in 4 people is a Syrian refugee in Lebanon and 1 in 10 people is a Syrian refugee in Jordan1

RESPONSES OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITIES

The reaction of the international authorities to the Syrian Civil War concern the response of
international bodies, foreign governments, non-governmental organizations and the multinational
corporations headquartered out of Syria. Western governments have Bashar al-Assads response
as overly heavy-handed and violent while Middle Western governments initially expressed
support for Assad and the security measures, his regime has taken. Other countries including
China and Russia have vetoed attempts at UN sanctions of the Assad government.

UN Secretary General Baan Ki-moon has described Syrias harsh crackdown on protests and use
of deadly force against demonstrators as unacceptable. According to her spokesman she said,
The use of lethal force against peaceful demonstrators and their arbitrary arrests are
unacceptable.2

Ban urges the Syrian Authorities to refrain from violence and to abide by their international
commitments regarding human rights which guarantee the freedom of opinions and expression
including the freedom of the press and the right to peaceful assembly.
1
.http//data.unhrc.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php/dec2016
2
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/03/2011318231622114396.html, 15/03/2014, 8:36 PM
The permanent members of the UN Security Council had agreed in June last year on the need to
put in place a transitional government that would give representation to all the stockholders in
Syria.3

Nabil Elaraby, the Secretary-General of the Arab League, called for an end to the violence on 7
August 2011. He cited growing concern and strong distress over the deteriorating security
conditions in Syria due to escalating violence and military operations in Hama and Deir al-Zor
and other areas of Syria and said the government should stop all acts of violence at once. 4 In a
reference to the Syrian head of states efforts to pacify protests, he added, there is still a chance
for the reforms that were announced by President Bashar al-Assad to be accomplished.5

On 12 November 2011, the Arab League voted to suspend Syria from the organization if al-
Assads government would not stop violence against protestors by 16 November, and invited
Syrias opposition parties to join talks in the Leagues headquarters in Cairo. Syria, Lebanon,
Sudan, Mauritania and Yemen voted against the action while abstained from the vote. The
League also warned of possible sanctions against Syria.

The Arab League threatened Syria with taking their Arab peace proposal to the UNSC.
Reportedly a draft resolution by five Arab League members asking the UN Security Council to
end the violence inside the Syria will be introduced if the Syrian regime does not comply with
the Leagues peace efforts within two weeks.

The veto exercised by Russia and China on February 4, 2012, in the United Nations Security
Council on a resolution calling for the resignation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has put
paid to the prospects of an open foreign military intervention in Syria. The Arab Leagues
resolution presented to the Security Council was ostensibly to bring a peaceful end to the
violence that has gripped Syria since March last year.

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while pronouncing from the rooftops that,
Assad has to go, kept on insisting that there were no plans to pursue any kind of military
intervention.

3
A New Year without Hope, John Cherian, Frontline (Vol.-30, Issue-02, Jan26-Feb08, 2014),
http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl3002/stories/20130208300206300.htm, pg 64.
4
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_reactions_to_the_Syrian_civil_war,
5
Ibid.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, who played a big role in unleashing the dogs of war on
Libya, said the talk foreign intervention in Syria is a myth.6

The Turkish Government has already imposed unilateral sanctions on Syria, one of its biggest
trading partners. The sanctions announced in early December include a freeze on the Syrian
governments assets and the suspension of all financial dealings with Damascus.7

With regard to the resolution in the United Nations Security Council, surprisingngly, India sided
with the resolution sponsored by the Arab League. India and Syria have had a strong bilateral
relationship for the past four decades. But recent instances have shown that when it comes to
crunch situations, India sides with the west. It happened earlier in the International Atomic
Energy (IAE) on the resolutions censuring Iran. Again India abstained from voting in the
Security Council when a resolution was adopted on Libya.

LEGAL ISSUES INVOLVED

Assads familys dictatorial regime has been running the system of Syria from 1971when the
present President Bashar al-Assads father was in the office. Syrians were taking their breath
under Emergency Law of the Country since 1963. When Syrians raised voices against this Syrian
government by the order of the President began demolish them. In this way by torturing their
subjects lot of crimes like brutal gang rape even in the front of families, massacre and many
other violations. Hence President Bashar al-Assad is acting like a dictator by whose orders all
this tyranny is still raining after about three years on the subject of the Syria, Mr. President
Bashar al-Assad is liable for all these crimes if he wanted he could stop this bloodshed. The
international conventions and treaties8 to protect the human rights of the citizens of Syria ratified
by the Syrian government are given below:-

International Bill of Human Rights

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 21 Apr 1969

(Accession).
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 21 Apr 1969 (Accession).

6
Skewed Resolution, John Cherian, Frontline (Vol.-29, Issue-04, Feb25-Mar09, 2012), pg 53.
7
Looming Civil War, John Cherian, Frontline (Vol.-28, Issue-26, Dec17-30, 2011, pg 51.
88
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/research/ratification-syria.html, 12/03/2014, 3:50 PM.
Prevention of Discrimination on the Basis of Race, Religion, or Belief; and Protection of
Minorities

International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, 21

Apr 1969 (Accession).

Women's Human Rights

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 27 Apr

2003 (Accession).
United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, 13 Dec 2000
(Signature).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and
Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized
Crime Preamble, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational
Organized Crime, 13 Dec 2000 (Signature).
Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the
United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, 13 Dec 2000
(Signature).

Slavery and Slavery-Like Practices

Slavery Convention, 25 Jun 1931 (Accession).

Protocol amending the Slavery Convention, 4 Aug 1954 (Accession).
Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions
and Practices Similar to Slavery, 17 Apr 1958 (Accession).
Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the
Prostitution of Others, 12 Jun 1959 (Accession).

Rights of the Child

Convention on the Rights of the Child, 14 Aug 1993 (Signature).

Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the
Worst Forms of Child Labour, 22 May 2003 (Signature).
Freedom of Association

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 26 Jul 1960
(Ratification).
Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, 7 Jun 1957 (Ratification).

Employment and Forced Labour

Convention concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour, 26 Jul 1960 (Ratification).

Equal Remuneration Convention, 7 Jun 1957 (Ratification).
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 23 Oct 1958 (Ratification).
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 10 May 1960 (Ratification).
Employment Policy Convention, 10 May 1960 (Ratification).

War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity, Genocide, and Terrorism

Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, 25 Jun 1955
(Accession).
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, 29 Nov 2000 (Signature).

Law of Armed Conflict

Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in
Armed Forces in the Field, 12 Aug 1949(Signature), 2 Nov 1953 Ratif,/Acc.
(Ratification).
Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and
Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea, 12 Aug 1949(Signature), 2 Nov 1953
Ratif,/Acc. (Ratification).
Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, 12 Aug
1949(Signature), 2 Nov 1953 Ratif,/Acc. (Ratification).
Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, 12 Aug
1949(Signature), 2 Nov 1953 Ratif,/Acc. (Ratification).
 Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the
Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), 14 Nov 1983
Ratif,/Acc. (Ratification).

Terrorism and Human Rights

International Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft, 10 Jul

1980 Ratif./Acc. (Ratification).
International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against
International Protected Persons, 25 Apr 1988 (Accession).

U.N. Activities and Employees

Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, 29 Sep 1953
(Accession).

All the international conventions and treaties mentioned above have been signed, ratified and
accessed by the Syrian government with regard to the protection of human rights of its citizen.

VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

In the Civil War of Syria, not even human rights but many other laws as war laws and
international law have been violated by the Syrian government, it wouldnt be wrong to say that
almost all the international laws which were ratified by the Syrian government by whose
influence it was bound to move ahead have been violated. As many laws have imposition on
Syria regarding use of militias over common people but it did.

UN said that both Syrian government and the rebel forces are liable for bleeding Syria.9
Government forces and the rebels both have violated international humanitarian law in the two-
year war, said Poulo Pineiro, Chairman of the UN Independent International Commission of
Inquiry on Syria. He told the UN Security Council, The war displays all the signs of a
destructive stalemate.10

9
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/12/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html, 14/03/2014, 6:56 PM.
10
Ibid
The UN estimates Syrian Civil War displaced more 1 million people and left more than 70000
dead since war began in March 2011. Robert Mardini, head of regional operations for the
International Committee of Red Cross, said his organization has seen ongoing attacks against
civilians, healthcare workers ad aid workers by all parties to the conflict. 11 Thus it is quite clear
that at very high level International Laws are being violated in Syria.

Breaches of International Law during the Conflict in Syria

Documenting all of the violations of international law carried out during the Syrian conflict
would be an immense task, one that perhaps only the International Criminal Court (ICC) or a
specialist tribunal could attempt (see below). Therefore, this section highlights just some of the
most grievous violations of the rules of international law carried out by the parties to the conflict
in Syria.

Applicable Legal Rules : The rules of international humanitarian law apply to the conflict in
Syria because it is a non-international armed conflict: an intense conflict between a government
and a number of well-organised rebel groups. In addition to international humanitarian law,
international human rights law continues to apply in Syria4. For example, Syria is a party to the
International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (the ICCPR) and the Convention Against
Torture.

Violations of International Law by the Parties to the Conflict in Syria : 1. Protection of civilians
and distinction: the parties to the conflict must not attack civilians, and must always distinguish
between civilians and combatants and civilian objects and military targets. The parties to the
conflict must not undertake indiscriminate attacks, which by their nature strike civilians and
military objectives without distinction. This rule has been repeatedly violated by both sides to the
conflict. In particular, the use by government forces of barrel bombs in civilian areas violates the
rule of distinction. In May 2014, the UN Secretary-General reported that: Indiscriminate aerial
strikes and shelling by Government forces resulted in deaths, injuries and large-scale

11
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2013/03/15/Syrian-crimes-must-stop-ICRC-says/UPI-62101363362051/,
14/03/2014, 6:56 PM
displacement of civilians, while armed opposition groups also continued indiscriminate shelling
and the use of car bombs in populated civilian areas12.

2. Torture and inhuman treatment: the use of torture is absolutely prohibited, and cannot be
justified by a state of emergency or war13. An Independent International Commission of Inquiry
for Syria (the Commission of Inquiry), set up by the UN Human Rights Council, has found
evidence of the widespread use of torture, as well as incidents of starvation and sexual violence,
in government detention facilities7. Recently, certain rebel groups such as the Islamic State of
Iraq and al-Sham8 (ISIS) are reported to have increased their use of torture against civilians.

3. Prohibition against the use of starvation of the civilian population as a method of warfare: the
use of starvation against the civilian population is absolutely prohibited. This means that, for
example, during a siege civilians must be able to leave, and food and humanitarian supplies must
be allowed access to, the besieged area. The Commission of Inquiry has noted reports of
starvation in areas besieged by the Syrian authorities, such as Yarmouk10. Human rights groups
have accused the Syrian government of using starvation as a weapon of war.

4. Prohibition against the use of chemical and biological weapons: the use of chemical and
biological weapons in armed conflict is also strictly forbidden under international law. However,
a chemical weapons attack on 21 August 2013 reportedly killed hundreds of people. A recent UN
report on the situation in Syria also contained information about the use of toxic gas12.

5. Protection of humanitarian relief personnel and medical personnel and facilities: the parties to
the conflict must protect and respect humanitarian relief and medical personnel. Medical
facilities must be protected and must not be attacked.

6. In September 2013, a group of doctors published an open letter in The Lancet in which they
cited systematic assaults on medical professionals, facilities and patients making it nearly
impossible for civilians to receive essential medical services13. Some health facilities have
been repeatedly attacked, and over 460 healthcare workers have reportedly been killed in

12
.Report of the Secretary-General on the Implementation of Security Council Resolution 2139 (2014), 22 May
2014, UN Doc. S/2014/365, para. 3
13
. Common Article 3 to the Geneva Conventions 1949; Articles 7 and 14(2) (non-derogation) of the ICCPR; and
Article 2(2) of the Convention Against Torture 1984
Syria14. UN staff and medical professionals have also been abducted or detained by the Syrian
authorities and rebel groups14.

7. Access to Humanitarian Relief: rapid and unimpeded access to humanitarian relief for all
civilians in need, without distinction, must be ensured by the parties to the conflict. Both the
Syrian government and rebel forces frequently interrupt access to humanitarian relief,
particularly basic medical equipment16. For example, a report by the UN Secretary-General
states that: Medical supplies including life-saving medicines and vaccines, and equipment for
the wounded and the sick are commodities privileged through the Geneva Conventions. Denying
these is arbitrary and unjustified, and a clear violation of international humanitarian law. Yet,
medicines are routinely denied to those who need them, including tens of thousands of women,
children and elderly. The Security Council must take action to deal with these flagrant violations
of the basic principles of international law.

Security Council Resolution 2139, adopted on 22 February 2014, demanded unhindered

humanitarian access in Syria across conflict lines and across borders. Its preamble states that
the arbitrary denial of humanitarian access may constitute a violation of international
humanitarian law. However, the Syrian government refuses to authorise cross-border deliveries
of aid through border crossing points that it does not control18, including crossing points
identified as vital to reach over one million people in areas that are otherwise impossible to
reach19. In an open letter to the UN Secretary-General, a group of legal experts argued that if
consent for relief operations is arbitrarily withheld by the Syrian authorities, then such operations
may be carried out lawfully without consent15. However, the UN has not accepted this advice. It
has maintained that the consent of the Syrian government is necessary for humanitarian
operations, unless the UN Security Council specifically authorises such operations under Chapter
VII of the UN Charter21.In a recent report, the UN Secretary-General called on the Syrian
government to allow cross-border aid deliveries and said that by withholding its consent, the
Syrian government is failing in its responsibility to look after its own people, invoking the

14
. Report of the Secretary-General on the Implementation of Security Council Resolution 2139 (2014), 23 April
2014, para. 42. http://www.msf.org/article/five-msf-staff-held-syria-released (last accessed on 19 June 2014)
15
Open letter to the UN Secretary General, Emergency Relief Coordinator, the heads of UNICEF, WFP, UNRWA,
WHO, and UNHCR, and UN Member States, 28 April 2014. Available at:
http://www.ibanet.org/Article/Detail.aspx?ArticleUid=73b714fb-cb63-4ae7-bbaf-76947ab8cac6 (last accessed on 23
May 2014)
language of Responsibility to Protect. Recently, it has been reported that UN diplomats are
discussing a Security Council resolution that would authorise cross-border aid and threaten
sanctions if the Syrian government fails to comply16. In the meantime, however, aid
organisations that engage in unauthorised cross-border activities risk expulsion or even attack by
the Syrian government17.

Summary

The scale of the violations of international law committed in Syria is such that the Commission
of Inquiry describes evidence indicating a massive number of war crimes and crimes against
humanity suffered by the victims of this conflict. War crimes are grave breaches of international
humanitarian law, and crimes against humanity are acts such as murder, torture and sexual
violence committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack against a civilian population.
These offences could be tried by the ICC. However, because Syria is not a member of the
Courts statute, the ICC has no jurisdiction unless the situation in Syria is referred to it by the
UN Security Council. A draft Security Council resolution referring the situation in Syria to the
ICC was vetoed by Russia and China on 22 May 201418. Therefore, there is a risk that war
crimes and crimes against humanity will continue to be committed with impunity in Syria. In
light of the gravity of the situation, we turn to examine the responsibility of the international
community to respond to the crisis in Syria.

C. Responsibility of the International Community to Respond to the Situation in Syria

The R2P doctrine was developed by an International Commission on Intervention and State
Sovereignty (ICISS) following the failure of the international community to prevent
humanitarian catastrophes in Rwanda in 1994 and Srebrenica in 1995. R2P operates at two
levels. First, the State itself is primarily responsible for protecting its own people. Second, if the
State is unwilling or unable to protect its people, then the international community is responsible
for doing so.

16
.http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/24/world/middleeast/un-chief-urges-aid-deliveries-to-syria-without-its-
consent.html?_r=0 (last accessed on 20 June 2014)
17
. Ibid
18
. Provisional record of the meeting of the UN Security Council on 22 May 2014, UN Doc. S/PV.7180.
This was affirmed by the UN General Assembly in 2005 in Resolution 60/1, which stated that
that [e]ach individual State has the responsibility to protect its populations from genocide, war
crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. UN member States also declared that
we are prepared to take collective action, in a timely and decisive manner through the Security
Council should peaceful means be inadequate and national authorities are manifestly failing to
protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against
humanity. However, even draft UN Security Council resolutions condemning the violence in
Syria and calling for non-military sanctions have been vetoed to date. Four draft resolutions have
been vetoed by Russia and China, none of which sought express authorisation for military
intervention. The second draft resolution to be vetoed actually stated that nothing in this
resolution authorizes measures under Article 42 of the Charter [i.e. military intervention].

It is no coincidence that the first and only time that R2P has been invoked to justify collective
military action through the Security Council against a State was in relation to Libyas. Russia and
China consider that regime change in Libya went beyond the authorisation to protect civilians
that was given in Security Council Resolution 1973 (2011)31, and are said to be extremely wary
that R2P will be abused to effect regime change in the future.

Resolution 60/1, in which the General Assembly endorsed R2P, only refers to collective action
through the Security Council, which is the UN organ with primary responsibility for international
peace and security. However, the ICISS report contemplated that, if the Security Council fails to
act, the General Assembly might authorise military intervention or regional organisations might
intervene with the approval of the Security Council.

The General Assembly has no express powers under the UN Charter to authorise the use of
force, in contrast to the Security Councils powers under Article 42. However, in 1950 the
General Assembly adopted Resolution 377(V), referred to as Uniting for Peace. Under
Resolution 377(V), if the Security Council fails to exercise its primary responsibility for the
maintenance of international peace and security due to lack of unanimity amongst permanent
members, the General Assembly shall consider the matter immediately and may recommend
collective measures, including the use of armed force where necessary to maintain or restore
international peace and security. Uniting for Peace and R2P might provide a basis for the
General Assembly to make non-binding recommendations for the use of force in Syria, providing
greater legitimacy for intervention. However, while the General Assembly has passed resolutions
condemning the violence in Syria, and criticising the Security Councils inaction19, it has not
recommended military intervention or sanctions. This is likely to be partly due to the complexity
of the conflict (discussed below), and the difficulty of securing support for intervention from a
majority of UN members. Thus, the UN has been unable to enforce its own demands for an end
to the violence in Syria and a political resolution to the conflict. We therefore now examine the
legal scope for intervention by third States without UN Security Council authorisation.

D. The Legal Scope for Third State Military Intervention in Syria

The Debate Over the Legality of Humanitarian Military Intervention.The situation in Syria
rekindled the debate over the legality of humanitarian military intervention. That debate was
particularly intense following NATOs intervention in Kosovo in 1999, which NATO undertook
without seeking prior UN Security Council authorisation. The three main positions taken by
States and commentators in relation to NATOs intervention in Kosovo have been reiterated in
relation to Syria. They are summarised below:

1. One group built a forceful argument that humanitarian military intervention is unlawful
because it is contrary to the prohibition against the use of force under Article 2(4) of the
UN Charter36. There are only two express exceptions to the prohibition against the use of
force: the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence (Article 51, UN Charter);
and acts authorized by the Security Council under Chapter VII of the UN Charter.

It is often argued that Article 2(4) of the UN Charter was deliberately drafted to create an
absolute rule. This protects State sovereignty, and in particular, protects less powerful States
from intervention by more powerful States. Permitting exceptions to the prohibition against
the use of force may lead to abuse; such as regime change thinly veiled as humanitarian
intervention.

19
. Resolution 66/253 B (7 August 2012) UN Doc. A/RES/66/253 B, preamble
2. A second group argued that military intervention in a State to prevent or avert a humanitarian
catastrophe is permissible under international law. This position was taken by the UK
government, which argued that force can also be justified on the grounds of overwhelming
humanitarian necessity without a UNSCR. Advocates of this position often argue that the
protection of fundamental human rights is also vital to the purposes of the UN, as reflected in the
preamble to the UN Charter. They also cite potential precedents for humanitarian military
intervention such as Uganda, Liberia and now Kosovo38.

3. A third group argued that although humanitarian military intervention was not permitted
under international law as it existed in 1999, the law could or should develop a doctrine of
humanitarian military intervention. For example, Professor Vaughan Lowe argued that it is:
desirable that a right of humanitarian intervention be allowed or encouraged to develop in
customary international law. No-one, no State, should be driven by the abstract and artificial
concepts of State sovereignty to watch innocent people being massacred, refraining from
intervention because they believe themselves to have no legal right to intervene. 20

In August 2013, the USA and the UK threatened to use force against Syria. However, the threat
of force was limited to deterring and disrupting the further use of chemical weapons by the
Syrian regime40 (UK government position). There now seems to be little support for military
intervention in Syria similar to that carried out in Kosovo or Libya.

This reluctance to engage militarily in Syria is partly due to the increasing complexity of the
conflict, which would make it extremely difficult to ensure that military intervention would make
the humanitarian situation better and not worse. Unfortunately, as the Syrian conflict continues
the humanitarian situation for many worsens as both sides flout calls to end violations of
international law, and extremist groups such as ISIS increasingly use torture41 and disrupt the
distribution of aid42.

20
. Uniting for Peace has only been used as the basis for the UN General Assembly to recommend military
intervention on one occasion, in 1951 in relation to Korea (Resolution 498(V)).
Criteria for Intervention

If humanitarian military intervention can ever be justified, the criteria defining the
exceptional circumstances in which it may be invoked must be sufficiently clear and narrow to
limit the risk of abuse.

The criteria justifying intervention that are often proposed usually include the following:

a) an impending or actual humanitarian disaster, involving large-scale loss of life or ethnic

cleansing, which is generally recognised by the international community;

b) last resort there must be no practicable alternatives to avert or end the humanitarian disaster;
and

c) necessary and proportionate use of force the force used must be limited in time and scope to
that which is necessary and proportionate to the humanitarian need. A further criterion, which is
acutely highlighted in the Syrian crisis, is the need for military intervention to be an effective
means to provide humanitarian relief. In Syria, it would be very difficult to ensure that military
intervention would improve the humanitarian situation in both the short and the longer term.

More limited forms of intervention than the direct use of force in Syria may also pose problems
from the perspective of international law. For example, the arming and funding of rebel forces
may constitute the threat or use of force or an intervention into Syrian internal affairs43.
Permanent aid corridors, as proposed by the French and Turkish governments, would be likely to
necessitate military enforcement, involving the threat or use of force.Despite the ongoing debate
concerning humanitarian military intervention in international law, one thing is clear:
humanitarian assistance itself is lawful under international law. In the words of the International
Court of Justice:

There can be no doubt that the provision of strictly humanitarian aid to persons or forces in
another country, whatever their political affiliations or objectives, cannot be regarded as
unlawful intervention, or as in any other way contrary to international law.
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS

In my view lot many blood have been fall in the Syria now as UN is also warning Syria that it all
must stop now. Bloodshed is not the solution of any problem.Legal systems are made for the
betterment of the society, it wouldnt be wrong to say that Syrian government has done wrong
with its people it taking the help of emergency law they ruled over the state for about 50 years.
When the subject of Syria began to ask its freedom, a democratic state they became victim of
tyranny. Therefore President is liable for the violation of the law.In my opinion both parties
Syrian government and the opposition must talk over the issue and try to find out the middle way
to the solution and must make a democratic state according to the standards given in the
international law without any foreign intervention.And now in the last I would like to say that as
per the all authorities mentioned in this paper and all the conventions and treaties and other
forms of international law which have been ratified by the government of Syria and by whose
effect the legal system, political system, executive system, etc. was bound to run in a systematic
manner for the welfare of the common public, that was run under extreme arbitrariness and
hence now it is violating international by both parties both are indulge in the same activity which
is violative of international law. Hence it is violative in nature of international law therefore in
my opinion on legal ground it does not have any existence. Therefore legality of this civil war is
invalid.
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