Syria & Golan Heights
Syria & Golan Heights
Since 2011, Syria has been on the United Nations Security Council’s agenda, when President Assad’s aggressive actions against pro-democracy protesters during the Arab Spring became more frequent and increasingly violent, leading to civil war and terrorist violence within the country.
Insecurity is the primary concern for women, yet in spite of their limited operating environment, women activists have organized nonviolent protests, distributed and monitored humanitarian aid, documented human rights violations, created safe spaces for women and children, and worked at the local level to set up ceasefires, prisoner releases, and elections.
Based on the work of NGOWG members and their partners, the NGOWG advocates for ensuring women’s needs— such as secure access to sanitation facilities and hygiene, and health assistance— are adequately addressed, and that Syrian women are equally and meaningfully participating in the UN-facilitated political process and in the design and implementation of ceasefire monitoring mechanisms.
Golan Heights
Golan Heights, a disputed plateau in south-western Syria, is home to an equal number of Syrians and Jewish settlers, and since 1973, United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) peacekeepers have observed a contested territorial line between Israel and Golan Heights.
In the current Syrian conflict, Golan Heights has become a key strategic geopolitical position, causing an escalation in violence and increased violations of the ceasefire territorial agreements. Recent advances and attacks by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have concerned residents of Golan Heights— particularly given ISIL’s systematic denial of women’s rights and perpetuation of violations against women.
Based on the work of NGOWG members and their partners, the NGOWG advocates for addressing the increasing gender imbalance in UNDOF by deploying a higher percentage of women, and inclusion of gender-specific language in the UNDOF mandate.
Current and Past Recommendations to the UN Security Council (Monthly Action Points)
Syria (December 2019)
The urgent political and humanitarian crisis in northeast Syria has put an estimated 450,000 people at risk if all sides do not exercise maximum restraint and ensure safe, unhindered humanitarian access in line with international humanitarian law. The Council must urge all parties to cease attacks from further escalating the humanitarian crisis and ensure that civilians are not subject to retribution or detention by the Syrian authorities, or other parties who regain their positions. The Council must call for rights-based, survivor-centered humanitarian action that is gender-responsive and provides immediate and non-discriminatory aid response as well as quality health services, including sexual and reproductive health services, to all affected communities. This means providing specialized staff trained in administering first-line support, clinical management of sexual assault and rape, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), identification of SGBV cases, and referrals in a manner that guarantees the safety, confidentiality, and privacy of survivors. Women’s meaningful participation should be supported in future meetings of the Constitutional Committee. Further, gender equality must be firmly enshrined in the new Constitution in order to ensure that women’s rights are guaranteed in Syria’s future. The meaningful dialogue and inclusion of Syrian women human rights defenders should be prioritized in the Office of the Special Envoy, as well as all other multilateral processes. As a means of ensuring accountability, reporting must include analysis and information on efforts to support women’s meaningful participation (S/RES/2449 (2018), OP 12). Furthermore, the Council must urge inquiry into more than 100,000 people forcibly disappeared, detained, abducted or gone missing throughout the past eight years in Syria, according to the Independent International Commission of Inquiry (IICI) on the Syrian Arab Republic and groups on the ground. Addressing detention and forced disappearances of Syrians is a critical confidence-building measure between the parties to the conflict and the Syrian people.
Relevant Resources
