“The Alawite Minority Continues to Hold an Elevated Political Status Disproportionate to Its Numbers, Particularly in Leadership Positions in the Military and Security Services”
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Paris – Statement by the Syrian Network for Human Rights:
The US Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor’s recently issued 2020 annual report on International Religious Freedom in Syria notes that sectarian violence has continued across the country, exacerbated by the Syrian regime’s actions, with the destruction of infrastructure and the targeting of individuals carried out on a sectarian basis by the Syrian regime and other parties to the conflict.
services, with all of the top 40 posts in the armed forces being held by Alawites.
The report relies on several sources, most notably, in order of the number of quotes included:
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI): 12 quotes
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR): Seven quotes
The report also cites other sources such as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Carnegie Middle East Center, and Middle East Institute.
services, with all of the top 40 posts in the armed forces being held by Alawites.
services, with all of the top 40 posts in the armed forces being held by Alawites.
The report states that sectarian violence has continued due to tensions among religious groups which are exacerbated by government actions, the deterioration of the Syrian economy, and the broader ongoing conflict in the country, explaining that the Syrian regime’s government, with the support of its Russian and Iranian allies, has continued to commit human rights abuses and violations against its opponents, the majority of whom are Sunni Muslims, as well as perpetrating widespread destruction of places of worship, hospitals, homes, and other civilian infrastructure components.
services, with all of the top 40 posts in the armed forces being held by Alawites.
The report reveals that more than half of the country’s prewar population has now been displaced, either as internally displaced persons (IDPs) or as refugees, adding that the Syrian regime has continued to use Law No. 10, which allows the creation of redevelopment zones across the country designated for reconstruction, with these contracts rewarded to those loyal to the government, and has created obstacles for refugees and IDPs who wished to reclaim their property or return to their homes.
services, with all of the top 40 posts in the armed forces being held by Alawites.
The report further notes that while the majority of the Syrian population is Sunni Muslim, the Alawi minority continues to hold an elevated political status disproportionate to its numbers, particularly in leadership positions in the military and security services, with all of the top 40 posts in the armed forces being held by Alawites.