Any State that Contributes to the Reconstruction Efforts While the Current Syrian Regime Remains in Power is Considered to be Supportive of the Regime and of all the Crimes against Humanity for which it is Responsible
The Russian regime’s role in Syria has had a catastrophic impact on the Syrian people and the Syrian state since the start of the popular uprising in Syria which aimed to change the oppressive system of one-family rule. This can be shown in three main ways:
First: the Russian and Iranian regimes have stood by the Syrian regime which has been responsible for thousands of violations that constitute crimes against humanity since the first months of the popular uprising against the Assad family’s brutal dynastic rule that broke out in March 2011. This has been well-documented in the Commission of Inquiry’s reports, as well as in numerous other reports by international human rights groups and in statements by SNHR. Under international law, Russia’s and Iran’s support for the Syrian regime directly implicates them in a series of sustained and egregious violations which the regime has perpetrated and continues to perpetrate, thanks to Russian and Iranian support, with Russia using its veto powers at the Security Council to shield the Syrian regime for the first time on October 4, 2011, while the popular uprising that aimed for a democratic change was in its first months.
Second: Russian forces have directly perpetrated hundreds of violations that constitute war crimes since Russia’s military intervention began on September 30, 2015, whether by indiscriminate or deliberate bombardment. SNHR has worked diligently to build an extensive database documenting the most notable violations by Russian forces since the start of Russia’s military intervention in Syria and the violations that ensued, including killing, destruction, and displacement. In this task, we relied on continuous monitoring of incidents and on news reports, as well as cross-checking information and eyewitnesses’ accounts, and analyzing photos, videos, figures, and remnants of weapon and munitions.
The toll of most notable violations of human rights perpetrated by Russian forces in Syria between September 30, 2015, and September 30, 2018
• 6,239 civilians have been killed, including 1,804 children, 92 medical personnel, and 19 media workers.
• No fewer than 321 massacres.
• No fewer than 954 attacks on vital civilian facilities, including 176 attacks on schools, 166 attacks on medical facilities, and 55 attacks on markets.
• No fewer than 232 attacks using cluster munitions and 125 attacks using incendiary munitions in populated areas.
• Approximately 2.7 million people have been displaced as a result of attacks carried out by the Syrian-Russian-Iranian alliance.