Untold stories (Marie Colvin Journalists’ Network)
Death notices and black market oxygen tanks: COVID-19 in Damascus
10 September 2020
The drama queen of quarantine
23 June 2020
“Earlier this year I moved on from covering Syria after eight years of reporting on the conflict and am haunted by those stories I never told. Journalists know that not all reporting can make it onto the printed page but those untold stories can feel like an unpaid debt.
Underlying this guilt is the overwhelming sense of failure that even those that made it onto the printed page have done little to change the course of the conflict or even alleviate the suffering.”
Despite spiraling coronavirus crisis, Syria’s ‘government is not concerned at all’ (PBS)
“After years of war and economic deprivation, Syria is poorly equipped to handle COVID-19. But the coronavirus is spreading fast, both in government-controlled Damascus and in the rebel-held northwest region of the country, where it is targeting the most vulnerable. And the regime of Bashar al-Assad shows no willingness to mitigate the health and humanitarian disaster.”
The limits of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and what Syrians can learn (Atlantic Council)
“As the first international tribunal set up to adjudicate international crimes committed in the Middle East, the STL will undoubtedly serve as a reference point for any future international judicial mechanism. However, for many Syrians who have witnessed some of the most egregious human rights violations, the STL’s findings—limited to a single individual—are not a welcome outcome. The STL’s shortcomings provide multiple lessons for future accountability in Syria.”
Syria: A spotlight on a bureaucracy of mass killings (Justice Info)
“A Syrian government employee has testified anonymously, last week in the Al-Khatib trial in Koblenz (Germany), where two former secret service officers stand accused of crimes against humanity. He described vast mass graves, and documents listing tens of thousands of corpses.”
Syria: Bombshell report reveals ‘no clean hands’ as horrific rights violations continue (UN News)
“Despite a reduction in large scale hostilities since a ceasefire in March, the UN Syrian Commission of Inquiry reported on Monday that armed actors continue to subject civilians to horrific and increasingly targeted abuse.
The Commission’s 25-page report documented continuing violations by nearly every fighting force controlling territory across the country.
It also highlighted an increase in patterns of targeted abuse, such as assassinations, sexual and gender-based violence, and looting or appropriation of private property.”
