Syrian Refugees Facing Wrenching Choice: Endure Israeli Bombs in Lebanon or Be Persecuted upon Return, Human Rights Expert Tells Third Committee
Offenses in Iran, Afghanistan Also Scrutinized
Amid the catastrophic conflict engulfing the Middle East, hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees in Lebanon face an agonizing choice: remain under the threat of Israeli bombardment or return to their homeland, risking persecution, a human rights expert told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today.
Highlighting the dilemma facing over 300,000 Syrian refugees was Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, who reported that they have been displaced yet again and are going back to their homeland. He stressed that before this current crisis, due to a well-founded fear of persecution, only 1.7 per cent of them expressed an intention to return to Syria in the short term.
“Fighting has intensified along multiple front lines across Syria,” he continued, adding that Israeli airstrikes targeting militias and Iranian officials increased while United States forces and Iran-backed militias are also conducting mutual attacks. Civilians are also at risk of violence and predation on Syrian territory controlled by non-State armed groups, he observed, adding that Da’esh increasingly menaces central Syria, with its attacks on track to double in 2024. Concurrently, pro-Government forces have increased land and aerial attacks in and around the Idlib pocket.
“Such risks to life, limb and liberty” are compounded by continuing unchecked destruction of refugees’ and internally displaced persons’ housing, land and property, he said. And while humanitarian needs in Syria are at their highest — with over 13 million people desperately needing food and other life-saving humanitarian assistance — only a quarter of the UN’s 2024 humanitarian response plan for Syria is funded. “Syrians cannot sustain further economic misery,” he stated, adding that those who have persevered over decade-long impunity “are losing hope”.
In the ensuing interactive dialogue, many delegates voiced concern over persistent armed conflict, deteriorating socioeconomic conditions and human rights violations in Syria.
“Thirteen years since the conflict’s start, the Syrian civilian population continues to endure unimaginable hardship and suffering,” said Australia’s delegate, condemning recent escalation and indiscriminate bombing in the north-west, Da’esh attacks in the east and attacks by Iranian-backed militias against United States and Coalition bases. “All parties need to prioritize de-escalation,” she asserted.
Her counterpart from the Netherlands recalled provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice in the case brought against Syria by her country and Canada under the Convention against Torture. However, the Commission’s latest report provides “a stark reminder” that these human rights violations continue unabated, she cautioned.
Israel’s delegate warned of Iran’s intent to spread oppression throughout the Middle East. The only reason that Hizbullah has not been sanctioned as a terrorist organization by the UN is that they also attack Israelis, he said, adding: “If you murder Israelis, you get carte blanche to also massacre Syrian civilians”.
Echoing the Commission’s findings, the United States representative said there are reasonable grounds to believe that “the Assad regime” continued arbitrary detention, torture and enforced disappearances in 2024. Its reporting also noted new cases of gender-based violence in its custody, he pointed out, condemning its systemic use of torture against detainees. Sounding the alarm that over 157,000 Syrians are still detained or missing, he called on the regime and all parties concerned to cooperate with the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in Syria and immediately release those unjustly detained.
The speaker for the Russian Federation countered that large pieces of Syria’s territory are occupied by the United States, directly undermining the country’s territorial integrity and supporting separatist groups. Moreover, “The Americans are openly robbing Syria of their natural and agricultural resources”. Standing against terrorist aggression, Syria’s Government strives for normal life in the country, he added.
Venezuela’s representative, speaking for the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations, meanwhile underscored that the presentation of resolutions on country-specific mechanisms — without the consent of affected States — violates the principles of impartiality, objectivity, transparency and non-selectivity.
Iran
The Committee then heard from Mai Sato, Special Rapporteur on human rights issues in Iran, who voiced concern over “an alarming increase in executions” in that country. As of October, the reported estimate exceeds 140 executions — half for drug offences. Others face death sentences for broadly defined security offences, such as armed rebellion or spreading corruption on earth — charges that do not meet the “most serious crimes” threshold under international law. Apart from the use of the death penalty, her examination of the right to life encompasses the lethal use of force by State agencies, deaths in custody, laws that condone or excuse killings, and failure to properly investigate potential unlawful deaths.
Also worrisome is the deteriorating treatment of women, particularly the worsening compliance with women's rights — exemplified by the State's response to the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement — she continued. Iran is one of the handful of countries yet to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, she pointed out, recognizing the need for a gendered perspective and analysis.
On the issue of transparency and access to information, she stressed that the limited access to official data and the silencing of victims make it difficult to determine the degree to which human rights protection of the Iranian people has improved or deteriorated. Another obstacle to assessing human rights conditions on the ground is that, since 2011, successive Special Rapporteurs have not been granted access to Iran, she said, encouraging Tehran to engage constructively.
“Given the reality on the ground, the human rights situation in Iran does not necessitate any monitoring mechanisms,” countered the country’s delegate, adding that “the political nature of the Special Rapporteur’s mandate and the use of pressure against Tehran” are well established. Her mandate represents a political agenda devised by certain Western countries to promote their narrow interests, he stressed, rejecting the imposition of discriminatory monitoring mechanisms created with ill intent and without the consent of the involved nations.
Ms. Sato’s report, which states that no achievement has been made in Iran in the past 40 years, misrepresents facts, he said, stressing that “an unbiased report should also recognize the positive achievements”. Additionally, he emphasized that any accurate assessment of the human rights situation in Iran would be incomplete without addressing the illegal, unilateral, coercive measures imposed on Tehran by Washington, D.C., and its allies, impacting the right to life, education and health.
Afghanistan
The positive developments claimed by the Taliban in the areas of security, anti-corruption and anti-narcotics “are seriously undermined by their rejection of, or withdrawal from, the State’s human rights obligations and cooperation with my mandate,” said Richard Bennett, Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, presenting his report (document A/79/330). In the three years since the Taliban seized power in the country, the human rights situation has degraded in all areas, he said, citing the “deeply concerning” treatment of ethnic and religious minorities, namely the Hazara community, and the “gender persecution” of women and girls — which some Afghans have dubbed “gender apartheid”.
The new Vice and Virtue law institutionalizes an expanding list of restrictions, literally silencing women and girls who are “seen as a threat against the Taliban’s vision and strategy,” he continued. He noted a marked “aggressive” change in the tone of the de-facto leaders who once promised that schools for girls would reopen, following a review period, but now claim that this and other human rights issues are “a domestic matter”. He also detailed threats, torture and extrajudicial killings of former Government personnel and protesters, calling on Member States to address the situation with an “all tools approach”. Such measures include making the normalization of relations with the State contingent upon improving the human rights situation; ensuring justice for victims; codifying gender apartheid as a crime against humanity; and bolstering funding for Afghan women, girls and human rights defenders.
Afghanistan’s delegate said that the Taliban’s policies do not reflect Islamic principles or his country’s historical values, spotlighting the Afghan people’s exodus to flee the “climate or terror”. The international community cannot remain passive,” he said, stressing that “Afghanistan’s future hangs in the balance and time is of the essence”.
Business Enterprises
Also addressing the Committee was Fernanda Hopenhaym, Chair of the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, who presented her report (document A/79/178). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI+) persons are subject to disproportionate violence and stigmatization in the workplace, and their human rights are “severely hampered” where discriminatory laws and policies, structural inequality and harmful societal norms persist, she said, adding that the group also faces barriers to remedy, such as fear of retaliation and harmful stereotypes. Businesses “play a critical role in advancing protections for the rights of LGBTI+ persons,” she said, recommending that they update all anti-discrimination policy and gender-responsive due diligence to include those persons’ perspectives. For their part, Member States should similarly update anti-discrimination legislation and establish accessible grievance mechanisms for abuses.
Persons with Disabilities
The Committee also considered the rights of persons with disabilities.
Presenting her report (document A/79/179), Heba Hargass, Special Rapporteur on the rights of those persons, warned that these individuals continue to be “severely left behind” by the slow progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Six years from the 2030 deadline, only five of the targets for persons with disabilities are “on track” and only nine of 37 national review mechanisms addressing the SDGs consulted persons with disabilities. “This is far from sufficient,” she said, calling for meaningful inclusion of the group. States can facilitate their inclusion and participation through establishing accessible consultation platforms, providing funding to their organizations and integrating them into national and subnational monitoring bodies for the SDGs, she stated.
Similarly, Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame, Chair of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities — the treaty body responsible for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities — said that State parties must do “much more” to achieve Convention standards, spotlighting a lack of meaningful inclusion and participation. Accordingly, the Committee will prepare a general comment on the right of those persons to participate in political and public life. She also detailed the Committee’s work during the reporting period.
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