Syrian Genocide Causes

Syria’s civil war is the worst humanitarian crisis of modern time. The “Syrian Civil war Began in March of 2011, between rebel brigades and government force; economy and infrastructure is destroyed” (Library, 2016). “Divisions between secular and religious fighters, and between ethnic groups, continue to complicate the politics of the conflict” (Corps, 2016). Additionally, the Syrian civil war has taken a significant

For many ongoing years now, Syria has been in a war with thousands of fleeing refugees, terrorists that could be attacking at any minute, and the constant involvement of other countries that has done more harm than their planned good. I believe that the foreign involvement of countries such as the US and Russia have fueled more of the ongoing violence in Syria.

“Government officials have justified their lethargic response to the Syrian refugee crisis by citing security concerns. This excuse isn’t new. America’s security fears during World War II led to the rejection of Jews fleeing the Holocaust—and to the remorse that prompted the creation of the refugee process. Rather than repeat the mistake we promised never to forget, we must learn to address our fears without forgetting our humanity—and this begins by welcoming refugees who want nothing but to build a life of opportunity and peace.” They both are between the government and the people. The Syrian government is fighting with the rebels who don’t like the way the president is leading. In the holocaust it was Hitler vs. the Jews, and everyone protecting the Jews. “‘Nothing has been done to save these people, and we hope for stronger action by the international community,’ Mr. Pinheiro said, highlighting the obligation for countries under the 1948 genocide convention to take action to prevent it.” This quote means that, like in the Holocaust, nothing can be done to protect the people getting hurt. They both involve other countries. In the Syrian genocide other countries are helping fight the war. There are many allies in this war. In the holocaust, other countries were fighting in World War ll. These points relate to each other because the two wars happened almost the same ways. They are both moving in the same direction.

The editors of Britannica Encyclopedia bring up how the Syrian War started due to “protestors demanding an end to authoritarian practices in the Assad Regime that have been in place since 1971 under Hafiz al-Assad, Bashar al-Assad’s father” (“Syrian Civil War,” par. 1). With this want of an end of an era rebel militia groups sprung up over a very short period demanding change in the Syrian government. Militias started small by attacking government meetings and targeting specific Syrian government officials. In a little under a year Syrian militias began a full-fledged war between themselves and the Syrian government. Almost immediately after the Syrian War was declared a war the United Nations jumped in to aid the innocent civilians who were being hurt from the weapons of warfare. Since Syria was already a poor area the war only made it worse and left many homeless and exposed to the fighting in the streets. With over 25,000 dead and 2.5 million in need of food, water and medical supplies the Syrian War crisis has received responses from all over the world… but it’s not enough to bring a sense of safety to the innocent people of Syria (Hilleary pars.

In Barbara Harffs “No Lessons Learned from the Holocaust?” she explains the factors that serve as warnings for genocide/politicide and gives a detailed definition of what genocide is. She gives two definitions. The first is from The U.N. that defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy in whole or part, a national ethnical, racial, or religious group” (58). Harff also explains the six factors in the genocide structural model. Also explains why these factors are warnings signs of future genocide. I will describe them in the following paragraphs and explain how they relate to the genocide in Syria.

Over the past four years, the situation within the Syria has become more and more dangerous. As many as 6.7 million people, have been displaced from their homes within the country alone. Another 4 million have fled the country entirely, in order to get away from the incessant fighting. An estimated 200,000 people have been killed over the course of the war, but the country is so

Because the Syrian civil war is one of the worst crisis’ in history with more than 22 thousand people killed and 11 million forced to flee.[i]

Genocide is defined as "Article II: In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group”(Stanton). In the past few years there have been mass killings in the Darfur region of South Sudan along with many rapes and rehoming of African people. The have been militia

The Rwandan Genocide was the attempted extermination of Tutsis by the neighboring Hutu population. In a mere span of 100 days dating from April 7th to mid July 1994 approximately 1,000,000 Rwandans were murdered. That is in simpler terms, 7 people every minute. 20 years later, we are experiencing a sort of echo with the Syria crisis and frighteningly enough so is the disheartening inaction of world powers, the difference being the presence of United Nations action. UN refugee chief Antonio Guterres was quoted as saying, “We have not seen a refugee outflow escalate at such a frightening rate since the Rwandan Genocide almost 20 years ago”. An opposing 3 million refugees displaced from their homes and 93,000 casualties in Syria since March 2011.

So what does this mean? This means that the UN has recognized what Syria has been doing to its citizens, but as of yet, they have been unable to reach consensus on what their punishment should be. But as they take more and more time to find a suitable punishment, the genocide continues.

I see genocides happening in countries that are all that developed or their government is not all that well structured or may have a corrupt leader. This makes me predict that Syria may be the next to suffer from a genocide with a civil war still going on and many fleeing, more than 5.6 million Syrians , according to the UN HIgh Commissioner for Refugees. The country to get out of the chaos. When the civil war began in 2011, there were four main groups throughout the country the Kurdish forces, ISIS and other opposition like Jaish al Fateh, a alliance between the Nusra Front and Ahrar-al-Sham. This caused major separation in Syria people choosing who to fight for, many protest against the government's complete corruption. The government has

There are a lot of things fueling violence in Syria, but there are 3 major parts. One of them is Sectarian conflict. Another is divided opposition. And the final one is foreign inference. Because of these 3 things there is too much violence in Syria, and too many people are dying.

Instead of brutally exterminating nearly three million people, West Pakistan should have sought non-violent negotiations to defuse the tense situation in East Pakistan. Also, outside powers such as the US could have discontinued their support of West Pakistan and condemned the horrific events in East Pakistan to discourage the perpetrators of the genocide. In the future, international cooperation and diplomacy must be implemented to prevent the extreme suffering of millions of people and halt the causes of genocide before murder and military intervention are necessary. Currently, one particular conflict strongly resembles the East Pakistan genocide, namely the war in Syria. The civil war in Syria has caused 60,000 deaths, mostly rebel soldiers and Sunni civilians, as the oppressive government of Bashar al-Assad continues to halt uprisings and murder citizens (Genocide Watch). In order to stop further suffering, determined international negotiations and increased understanding between religious groups will be necessary. Situations such as the events in Syria often begin with events in which a group of people are viewed as inferior and unworthy of living. In the East Pakistan genocide, these events were evident through the statements of the main perpetrators such as Yahya Khan, as they portrayed the Bengalis as lesser beings and unworthy of living. In order to prevent senseless suffering and the countless loss of lives in the future, and also to ensure a successful and harmonious society, individuals must accept the differences of others, and regard all people as equally deserving of a fulfilling

The Syrian refugee crisis is an outcome of the civil war that has suffered this country over four years. Therefore, a solution to this conflict is urgently needed to stop the humanitarian tragedy and the flood of refugees. In Syria’s civil war, the critical mass participation of local and international actors, with different priorities, perceptions and interests, has dramatically reduced the likelihood of a negotiated or military solution. In this context, the United Nation Security Council is the most suitable and pragmatic space to lead and seek for a multilateral solution, instead of continuing with these failed unilateral or bilateral military interventions that have taken place in Syria. The UN Security Council should promote a converging and problem-solving approach between Russia, the United States and other regional powers involved in Syria’s crisis, like Saudi Arabia and Iran; and then try to negotiate with the Government, rebels and paramilitary groups, as well as define an international strategy to defeat Jihadists.

Syrian civil war started in 2011 was the outcome of the opposition against the President Bashar al-Assad regime. The uprising emerged as a response to the Arab spring movement that lead to regime change in Tunisia and subsequently turned into mass unrest rooted into the discontent with long-term dictatorship and poor economic situation in the country (Manfreda, n.d.). The number of Syrian citizens killed in the civil war reached 140000 since March 2011 (SBS 2014). The European Commission (2014, 2) reports approximately 9.3 million civilians “in need for humanitarian assistance”. The scale of armed rebellion between government and opposition that lead to an increasing number of casualties among civilians did not remain unnoticed by the