SHRC-Syrian Human Rights Committee

Please check out this website http://www.shrc.org/default.aspx. SHRC has been working for years to spread awareness about the HR conditions in Syria, filing appeals, as well as listing updates of released detainees, and much more.

About SHRC:

"The Syrian Human Rights Committee (SHRC) is an independent and neutral human rights organisation concerned fundamentally with defending general liberties and human rights of the Syrian people through several practices, which includes:

1. Exposing the violations, assaults and aggressions against human rights and fundamental liberties of the Syrian citizens and publishing such incidents to the international media, addressing authorities, and following-up on such reported incidents with all concerned entities.
2. Conducting researches and publishing books and studies related to fundamental liberties and human rights in Syria utilizing scientific research methodologies and investigative verification.
3. Issuing various reports, initiating humane campaigns and conducting seminars and interviews to highlight and bring to attention the human right issues in Syria.
4. Raising awareness and promoting the culture of human rights in the Syrian society and encouraging members of this society to continually demand for their human rights and general liberties until the materialisation of changes, which would guarantee them those rights through peaceful means.
5. SHRC adheres to the principle of cooperation with organisations, entities, centers, and non-governmental associations specializing in actively defending and advocating human rights, while preserving the independent nature of the committee’s work agenda."

Like Father Like Son

Follow the link to read about the last ten years (Bashar's reign) and the Human Rights violations that continue to occur including: Repression of political and human rights activism, restrictions on freedom of expression, torture, ill-treatment, and enforced disappearances, repression of Kurds, and legacy of enforced disappearances...

"A Wasted Decade"

"After Bashar al-Asad succeeded his father as president in July 2000, many people in Syria hoped that the human rights situation would improve. In his first inaugural speech on July 17, al-Asad spoke of the need for “creative thinking,” “the desperate need for constructive criticism,” “transparency,” and “democracy.”[1] A human rights lawyer summed up his initial feelings on the succession, reflecting the mood and aspirations of many others in the country: “Bashar’s inaugural speech provided a space for hope following the totalitarian years of President [Hafez] Asad. It was as if a nightmare was removed.”[2]

Ten years later, these initial hopes remain unfulfilled, and al-Asad’s words have not translated into any kind of government action to promote criticism, transparency, or democracy. This report reviews Syria’s human rights situation in five key areas and proposes concrete recommendations to the Syrian President that are essential to improving Syria’s human rights record."