Paris – Statement by the Syrian Network for Human Rights:
On November 30, 2021, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) released its report on Common Analysis and Guidance Notes in Syria.
The report is intended as a tool for policymakers and decision-makers in the context of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). It aims to assist in the examination of applications for international protection by applicants from Syria, and to foster convergence in decision practices across EU Member States. It mainly covers the period between January 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021.
The report relies on several human rights sources, most notably, in order of the number of quotes included:
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA): 58
Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR): 36
The report also cites other sources such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic (COI), the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the Violations Documentation Center in Syria (VDC). We have reviewed the 234-page report, and here will briefly summarize the most prominent points among its contents.
The report states that the conflict has significantly affected the state’s role, reach and institutional capacity in areas under the control of the Syrian regime’s government. The report adds that foreign actors, including Iran, Russia and the Lebanese Hezbollah, and pro-Syrian regime’s government militias, exert significant influence over parts of the territory nominally under the control of the Syrian regime.