Brush and Bow: Shrinking Spaces
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HOW to HELP SYRIA RECOVER? Policy Paper 2
HOW TO HELP SYRIA RECOVER? Policy Paper 2 Author: Collective of the “SDGs and Migration“ project This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of Diaconia of the ECCB and can under no cirmustances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union. The document is part of the „SDGs and Migration – Multipliers and Journalists Addressing Decision Makers and Citizens“ project which is realized in the framework of the Development Education and Awareness Raising (DEAR) programme. Graphic design: BOOM s.r.o. Translation: Mánes překlady a tlumočení The following organizations are involved in the “SGDs and Migration” project, managed by Diaconia of ECCB: Global Call to Action Against Poverty (Belgium), Bulgarian Platform for International Development (Bulgaria), Federazione Organismi Cristiani Servizio Internazionale Volontario (Italy), ActionAid Hellas (Greece), Ambrela (Slovakia) and Povod (Slovenia). 1 POLICY PAPER The humanitarian situation in Syria, and its regional and global dimension With the Syrian crisis about to enter its 10th year, the humanitarian situation in Syria and in the neighbouring con- tinues to be critical. Despite the fact that in some areas of Syria the situation has largely stabilized, in Northwest and Northeast Syria there is the potential for a further escalation. There are risks of new displacements and increased humanitarian needs of a population already affected by years of conflict and depletion of resources, as witnessed in recent months as a result of the Operation Peace Spring in the Northeast and the ongoing Gov- ernment of Syria (GoS) and Government of Russia (GoR) offensive in the Northwest. -
Reconstruct- Ing Syria: Risks and Side Effects Strategies, Actors and Interests
ZUSAMMENFASSUNG ADOPT A REVOLUTION RECONSTRUCT- ING SYRIA: RISKS AND SIDE EFFECTS Strategies, actors and interests 1 2 Cover photo: Jan-Niklas Kniewel RECONSTRUCTING SYRIA: RISKS AND SIDE EFFECTS ADOPT A REVOLUTION CONTENT Summary 04 Introduction 06 Dr. Joseph Daher Reconstructing Syria: How the al-Assad regime is 09 capitalizing on destruction Jihad Yazigi Reconstruction or Plunder? How Russia and Iran are 20 dividing Syrian Resources Dr. Salam Said Reconstruction as a foreign policy tool 30 Alhakam Shaar Reconstruction, but for whom? Embracing the role of Aleppo’s 34 displaced Dispossessed and deprived: 39 Three case studies of Syrians affected by the Syrian land and property rights 03 SUMMARY RECONSTRUCTING SYRIA: RISKS AND SIDE EFFECTS SUMMARY 1 The reconstruction plans of the al-Assad regime largely ignore the needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees. The regime’s reconstruction strategy does not address the most pressing needs of over 10 million Syrian IDPs and refugees. Instead it caters mostly to the economic interests of the regime itself and its allies. 2 Current Syrian legislation obstructs the return of IDPs and refugees, and legalizes the deprivation of rights of residents of informal settlements. A series of tailor-made laws have made it legal to deprive inhabitants of informal settlements of their rights. This includes the restriction of housing, land and property rights through Decree 66, Law No. 10, the restriction of basic rights under the counterterrorism law, and the legal bases for public-private co-investments. These laws also serve the interests of regime cronies and regime-loyal forces. The process of demographic engineering in former opposition-held territories, which has already begun, driven by campaigns of forced displacement and the evictions of original residents, is being cemented by these laws. -
Lebanon in the Syrian Quagmire
Lebanon in the Syrian Quagmire: Fault-Lines, Resilience and Possible Futures Ishac Diwan, Paris Sciences et Lettres Youssef Chaitani, UN ESCWA Working Paper for Discussion The purpose of this paper is to examine the weaknesses and strengths of Lebanon amidst the tensions created by the Syrian conflict that started in 2011. Lebanon’s sectarian governance system has been over 150 years in the making. But the Syrian fire next door, which has taken an increasing sectarian nature, is likely to burn for a long time. With such dire prospects, what is the fate of Lebanon’s governance system? Will it lead the country inexorably towards civil strife? The Lebanese governance system could be described as a horizontal deal among communal oligarchs, supported by vertical organizations within each community. While oligarchs have changed over time, the system itself survived devastating civil wars, endured extensive global and regional influences, and was also undeterred by the projection of power by many external forces, including the Palestinian Liberation Organization, Syria, Iran and Israel. What are the forces at work that make the Lebanese governance system both resilient and resistant to change? In the paper, we use as an analytical framework, which is introduced in section one, the model of limited orders developed by Douglas North and his associates. In section two, we argue that the Syrian civil war is likely to be long lasting. Section three examines the weaknesses and fault-lines of the Lebanese system in light of the Syrian war. Section four explores the factors that continue to contribute to the strength and resilience of Lebanon in spite of the rise in extremist Islamic militancy. -
The Spillover Effect of the Syrian War on Lebanon Has Generated the Spread of Suicide Bombings and Political Assassination in All Over the Country
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT THE SPILLOVER EFFECTS OF THE SYRIAN WAR ON LEBANON by LÉA AFEICHE LAYOUN A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts to the Department of Political Studies and Public Administration of the Faculty of Arts and Science at the American University of Beirut Beirut, Lebanon January 2019 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I owe my sincere thanks and gratitude to Dr. Ohannes Geukjian for his encouragement, his feedback, and for being available when I needed his advice. I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Tania Haddad for her unique vision and Dr. Hilal Khashan for his valuable comments, which significantly improved my thesis. Special thanks to: The American University of Beirut for providing me with an exceptional education through my undergraduate and graduate years. My dear friend, Ms. Melissa Ajamian, for providing support and academic advice, which were great models to follow. My beloved husband, Nabil Layoun, for your encouragement and unfailing support, this achievement would not have been attained without you. William and Séréna, my beautiful children, thank you for your patience. You are the reason why I aim high and keep going no matter what. I bow my head before God almighty for his blessing in guiding the achievement of my thesis. LÉA AFEICHE LAYOUN v AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Léa Afeiche Layoun for Master of Arts Major: Political Science Title: The Spillover Effects of the Syrian War in Lebanon: Political, Social and Economic Repercussions. This thesis analyses the case of Lebanon, a country that has suffered the most from the spillover effects of the Syrian War. -
De-Escalation Zones in Syria
June 2020 Syria / Iraq Office De-escalation zones in Syria Background and status quo of a paradox Gregor Jaecke, David Labude In May 2017, as part of the Astana peace talks, Russia, Iran and Turkey agreed on the establishment of four so-called de-escalation zones in Syria. These zones were designed to be areas in which all hostilities should cease and in which civilians should be protected from attacks. The deal had been preceded by a massive deployment of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime, followed by increasing international pressure on Syria and its ally Russia. Three of these safe zones no longer exist today. The last one that remains, in Idlib, is under heavy pressure after severe recent fighting. In actual fact, the protection for the Syrian population that had been promised when the zones had been created was not provided by this agreement at any time. The establishment of these zones did not contribute to the peace process in Syria and, therefore, to ending the war. It is worthwhile, however, to take a closer look at how this agreement was reached and how the four zones have developed in order to identify the failures of the various international actors. These failures could defeat hopes for finding a solution for the plight of the Syrian refugees for decades. Resolving this issue will crucially depend on whether Europe and the United States (US) will become more engaged in Syria in the future and whether they will be more successful in exerting political and economic pressure on the regime and its allies – mainly Russia. -
HTS's Offline Propaganda
HTS’s Offline Propaganda: Infrastructure, Engagement and Monopoly Haid Haid ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research is indebted to the generous support and contribution of all Syrian interviewees who shared their knowledge and experiences, especially Obaida Amer, Orwa Khalifa, Sultan, Muhammed and Mustafa. The author is also grateful to Inna Rudolf, Charlie Winter, Johanna Fürst at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) for their support in bringing this paper to fruition. Grateful acknowledgment also goes to Aymenn Al-Tamimi and Ali El Yassir who have enriched the findings of the research with their input and feedback. CONTACT DETAILS For questions, queries and additional copies of this report, please contact: ICSR King’s College London Strand London WC2R 2LS United Kingdom T. +44 20 7848 2098 E. [email protected] Twitter: @icsr_centre Like all other ICSR publications, this report can be downloaded free of charge from the ICSR website at www.icsr.info. © ICSR 2019 Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Introduction 5 Semi-formal In-house Outreach Infrastructure 7 Ebaa Newspaper 7 Maktab al-dawa wa al-irshad [Dawa and Guidance Office] 9 Semi-independent Networks and Institutions 11 Affiliate Religious Education and Dawa Centres 11 Sawaed al-khir [Goodwill Corps] 14 The Salvation Government 16 Means of Engagement 19 Restricting the Flow of Information 23 Conclusion 27 1 HTS’s Offline Propaganda: Infrastructure, Engagement and Monopoly 2 HTS’s Offline Propaganda: Infrastructure, Engagement and Monopoly Executive Summary • Propaganda has long been central to violent jihadi groups as a means to disseminate their ideology, terrify their enemies, attract recruits and collect donations. -
'I Wished I Would Die'
‘I WISHED I WOULD DIE’ SYRIAN REFUGEES ARBITRARILY DETAINED ON TERRORISM- RELATED CHARGES AND TORTURED IN LEBANON Amnesty International is a movement of 10 million people which mobilizes the humanity in everyone and campaigns for change so we can all enjoy our human rights. Our vision is of a world where those in power keep their promises, respect international law and are held to account. We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion and are funded mainly by our membership and individual donations. We believe that acting in solidarity and compassion with people everywhere can change our societies for the better. © Amnesty International 2021 Except where otherwise noted, content in this document is licensed under a Creative Commons Cover photo: Syrian men, women and children have endured arbitrary detention, torture and unfair trial (attribution, non-commercial, no derivatives, international 4.0) licence. at the hands of the Lebanese security forces. Artist: Jawad Morad https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode © Amnesty International For more information please visit the permissions page on our website: www.amnesty.org Where material is attributed to a copyright owner other than Amnesty International this material is not subject to the Creative Commons licence. First published in 2021 by Amnesty International Ltd Peter Benenson House, 1 Easton Street London WC1X 0DW, UK Index: MDE 18/3671/2021 Original language: English a mnesty.org CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 1. METHODOLOGY 8 2. BACKGROUND 10 2.1 SYRIAN REFUGEES IN LEBANON 10 2.2 THE BATTLES OF QUSAYR AND ARSAL 11 2.3 THE LEBANESE JUSTICE SYSTEM 12 3. -
Der Schmutzige Krieg Gegen Syrien
Tim Anderson Der schmutzige Krieg gegen Syrien Washington, Regime Change und Widerstand Ist die Katastrophe in Syrien das Ergebnis von unglückseligen Zufäl len? Sind Krieg und Chaos im Nahen Osten Folge mißglückter Befrie dungsversuche? Der Politikwissenschaftler Tim Anderson belegt auf der Grundlage akribischer Recherchen: der Krieg in Syrien ist Teil ei nes geostrategischen Plans der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika, um die Region nach ihren Interessen neu zu ordnen. Gesellschaftliche Aus einandersetzungen und Modernisierungsprobleme wurden zum Anlaß genommen, durch Provokateure Nationalstaaten zu destabilisieren. Pseudo-islamische Terrormilizen zerstören gezielt die Infrastruktur Sy riens. Dirigiert und finanziert werden jene Söldnertruppen von rivali sierenden Anrainerstaaten wie Saudi-Arabien oder Katar. Sie begehen kriminelle Terrorakte, um diese sodann der syrischen Regierung zuzu schreiben. Bereitwillig wirken liberale westliche Medien, Nichtregie rungsorganisationen und Politiker mit bei den ›false-flag‹-Manövern, um den syrischen Präsidenten und die syrischen Streitkräfte als Mons ter zu entmenschlichen. Doch Anderson macht Hoffnung: es hat sich eine neue ›Achse des Widerstands‹ in der Region herausgebildet, die eine selbstbestimmte Zukunft der Völker im Mittleren und Nahen Os ten ermöglichen wird. Da Anderson sich vornehmlich auf anerkannte westliche Quellen aus Presse, Denkfabriken und Wissenschaft beruft, und einen üppigen Quellenanhang an jedes Kapitel anfügt, stellt DER SCHMUTZIGE KRIEG GEGEN SYRIEN eine erstklassige -
Final Report out of Sight, out of Mind: the Aftermath of Syria's Sieges
Final Report Out of Sight, Out of Mind: The Aftermath of Syria’s Sieges Colophon ISBN: 978-94-92487-33-9 PAX serial number: PAX/2019/02 About PAX PAX works with committed citizens and partners to protect civilians against acts of war, to end armed violence, and to build just peace. PAX operates independently of political interests. www.paxforpeace.nl / P.O. Box 19318 / 3501 DH Utrecht, The Netherlands / [email protected] This report was written by Valerie Szybala and the PAX team. We deeply thank Siege Watch’s voluntary network of reporting contacts who communicated with the project team over the years, for your openness, generosity and patience. We have been inspired and humbled by your strength through adversity, and will continue to support your search for justice and peace. Siege Watch Final Report Out of Sight, Out of Mind: The Aftermath of Syria’s Sieges PAX ! Siege Watch - Final Report 3 Table of Contents Foreword 06 Executive summary 08 Introduction 11 Part 1: An Overview of Syria’s Sieges 13 1. Understanding the Sieges 14 Defining Syria’s Sieges 14 The Evolution of the Sieges 15 2. The International Response 22 UN Efforts 22 Designation and Reporting 23 Response to Forced Surrenders 25 UN Humanitarian Aid 26 Multilateral Initiatives 27 Donor Support 29 3. Violations of International Law 30 Humanitarian Access 31 Forced Population Transfers 31 Attacks 32 Detention and Disappearance 34 Post-Surrender Violations 35 Part 2: The Lasting Impacts of Sieges: Needs, Priorities, and Goals 37 4. Meeting Siege Victims’ Needs 38 General Needs 38 Post-Surrender Communities 39 Internally Displaced Persons 42 Refugees 43 5: Reconstruction 46 The Challenge 46 The Response 48 6. -
RECLAIMING HOME the Struggle for Socially Just Housing, Land and Property Rights in Syria,Iraq and Libya
RECLAIMING HOME The struggle for socially just housing, land and property rights in Syria,Iraq and Libya Edited by Hannes Baumann RECLAIMING HOME The struggle for socially just housing, land and property rights in Syria, Iraq and Libya Edited by Hannes Baumann RECLAIMING HOME The struggle for socially just housing, land and property rights in Syria, Iraq and Libya Edited by Hannes Baumann Contributors Leïla Vignal Nour Harastani and Edwar Hanna Suliman Ibrahim Javier Gonzalez Ina Rehema Jahn and Amr Shannan Sangar Youssif Salih and Kayfi Maghdid Qadr Thomas McGee Not for Sale © Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be printed, reproduced or utilized in any from by any means without prior written permission from the publishers. The views and opinions expressed in this publication are solely those of the original authors. They do not necessarily represent those of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Cartographic Design: Thiago Soveral Cover Illustration: Moshtari Hillal Graphic Design: Mehdi Jelliti Published in 2019 by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s Regional Project «For Socially Just Development in MENA» TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword Thomas Claes ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 05 Introduction Hannes Baumann ........................................................................................................................................................................................ -
Commemorating the Dead in Times of Conflict Identity Construction in the Martyrs’ Cemetery of Jabal Mohsen
Commemorating the Dead in Times of Conflict Identity construction in the Martyrs’ Cemetery of Jabal Mohsen Photo: Amanda Löwenberg Amanda Löwenberg 6556418 Utrecht University 02.08.2019 A Thesis submitted to the Board of Examiners in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts in Conflict Studies & Human Rights Jolle Demmers 02.08.2019 Internship Trajectory 15 ECTS and Thesis Writing 15 ECTS Word Count: 14 390 1 To the people of Jabal, and the people of Tripoli, who opened their hearts and their homes, who shared their time and their stories, thank you. And to Bo-Bo for being proud of me, for looking after me, for making me coffee in the morning. But above all to Mouse, for being my biggest fan, my guiding light and my mechanic in case of mental breakdown. 2 CONTENTS 1.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 4 1.1 Empirical context and research question ............................................................................. 5 1.2 Delimitation and Language ................................................................................................. 7 1.3 Theoretical framework ........................................................................................................ 8 1.4 Method and Positionality ................................................................................................... 11 2.0 History of group formation ............................................................................................... -
Reconstruction in Syria. Challenges and Policy Options for the EU And
SWP Research Paper Muriel Asseburg Reconstruction in Syria Challenges and Policy Options for the EU and its Member States Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik German Institute for International and Security Affairs SWP Research Paper 11 July 2020, Berlin Abstract ∎ Syria’s civil war has long since been decided in favour of the regime. There is no prospect of a negotiated settlement, reconciliation or lasting stabilisation. ∎ Syria faces enormous challenges, well beyond the rebuilding of infra- structure and housing. It will also need assistance to restart its economy, stabilise its currency and renew its public services, in particular educa- tion, health, electricity and water. ∎ The funds required for comprehensive reconstruction are extremely un- likely to become available, given the attitude of the Syrian leadership, the economic ramifications of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the geopolitical interests of regional and global powers. Nor are resources likely to be deployed in line with the needs of the population. ∎ The EU and its member states have made engagement in Syria’s recon- struction conditional on viable steps towards a negotiated conflict settle- ment and a political opening. They should adapt their approach to align better with the current realities and challenges on the ground. ∎ That means in particular targeting humanitarian aid more effectively, dismantling certain sectoral sanctions and supporting the rehabilitation of basic infrastructure – even in areas controlled by the Syrian govern- ment. This would represent a more effective contribution to improving living conditions and avoiding further erosion of public services. ∎ Lasting stabilisation will require fundamental reforms. In this vein, Brus- sels should spell out its “more for more” approach.