UN Role Amidst Human Rights Crisis in Syrian Conflict

UN Role Amidst Human Rights Crisis in Syrian Conflict

Introduction

Syrian Civil War is an armed conflict from a protest movement against the government of Syria which began with anti-regime demonstrations and pro-regime peace marches. While the Syrian government was backed by Iran, Venezuela, China and Russia, the rebellion is supported by the Arab League and some Western countries, and ASL gradually supported and armed by Turkey, the Saudi Arabia and Qatar , and has the assistance of officers CIA operating from Turkey. ASL is also gradually infiltrated by jihadist movement close to Al Qaeda as well as Kurdish fighters and fighters who can oppose each other, which contributes to the distrust of some States face this informal army, disparate, the essentially religious character or ethnic.

Discussion

The conflict in Syria continues causing immeasurable human suffering and destruction. Data compiled by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) indicate that 100 000 people have been killed since March 2011, when the uprising began against President Bashar al-Assad (Koko & Essis, 2012). The United Nations played an integral role in providing emergency relief and aid to the thousands of people in the Syrian population affected by the war.

Economic and Social issues

It is estimated that 6.8 million people need urgent humanitarian assistance - including 3.1 million children. Of this total, 4.25 million are internally displaced. By 9 September, there were over 2 million Syrian refugees in neighboring countries and North Africa. About 1.2 million families had their houses damaged according to the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) (Koko & Essis, 2012). About 400 thousand of them were completely destroyed, 300,000 partially destroyed and 500,000 were damaged infrastructure.

The Agency of the United Nations Relief for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) estimates that 400,000 Palestinian refugees in Syria (80%) need urgent assistance. About 180,000 of them have fled to Damascus because of clashes and bombings around. The dense population displacement and poor hygiene increase the risk of lice, scabies, leishmaniasis, hepatitis A and other infectious diseases (Finkelstein, 2003). The World Health Organization (WHO) is monitoring the situation and providing treatment in various areas of the country. There were also an estimated 2500 cases of typhoid fever in Deir Ez-Zor and 14 thousand in Hassekeh.

About 57% of public hospitals were damaged or destroyed and 37% are closed, according to WHO. Many health professionals are fleeing the country and those who remain have a hard to reach jobs because of insecurity. Many hospitals are without essential medicines such as insulin and antibiotics. Stocks also ended the Ministry of Health for the burned and injured in the intensive care unit treatment (Finkelstein, 2003). The hospital in Aleppo, for example, reported in mid-April 3500 have met patients with war injuries without any blood bank and often performed operations without anesthesia or sutures.

Political issues

In the context of popular uprisings associated with the Arab Spring, the regime of President Bashar al-Assad is facing, since March 15, 2011, a large protest in several ...