Rucha+Bhide

Rucha Bhide Belarus

The government of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has committed numerous crimes against against humanity, including, but not limited to, Internet censorship, illegal detainment of protestors, torture of prisoners, and rape of women and children. The regime portrays those who oppose their government as terrorists, with this terror supposedly aimed at the Alawites and Christians.Over the past couple years, Belarus has maintained the belief that peace could be achieved in Syria through negotiations only. They believe that new conflict, like the recent U.S. threat to launch missile attacks on the Syrian government and military targets, only creates more violence and animosity and that the United States' sanctions are against the spirit of constructive interaction the United Nations is supposed to promote. Eventually though, in September 2012, Belarus stopped trying to sell weapons to Syria after the U.S. began to impose sanctions on the Eastern European country.

Syria, as a country, gained its independence from France in 1946. It contained many religious and cultural groups including the Sunni, Arabs, Kurbs, Alawites, and Christians, and was politically in a state of turbulence because of the numerous military coups from 1949 to 1971. In 1971, Hafez al-Assad took power and began an authoritarian rule of a supposedly democratic nation. After Hafez al-Assad died in 2000, a couple years after the Hama Massacre, his son, Bashar al-Assad, who was part of the Alawite religious sect,took over. The Syrian government has committed numerous crimes against humanity, offenses that are too horrible to be ignored by the rest of the world. Syria's military has been given a free license to do whatever they please - shooting at innocent civilians, raping women, suppressing protests by 'any means necessary'. The United States imposed sanctions on Bashar al-Assad in May 2011, which was followed by many European Union sanctions as well. The Arab League, for the first time in history, suspended Syria's membership, imposed economic sanctions, and sent official observers to monitor the government's actions. It also made an agreement with the Syrian government to remove security forces from the city that target civilians, but Syria has yet to uphold their side of the bargain. Many Western countries have also called for Bashar al-Assad to be tried on the International Criminal Court (ICC) for human rights violations. Despite the numerous sanctions and threats against the country, though, the Syrian government has showed no sign of giving up, as of June 2013. The Responsibility to Protect clause (R2P), created by the United Nations, states that governments should protect their populations from genocide. When governments can't or don't meet their R2P obligations, other countries can use military force to protect that country's populations, but no where in the R2P bill does it say that the responsibility to protect is a legal and binding obligation signed by the states. Thus, though the rest of the world can put pressure on and threaten the Syrian government, there's almost nothing that can be come until the U.N. finds another way to get rid of corrupt Syrian officials. And though the U.N. can refer Syrian leaders to the ICC, only the U.N. Security Council has the authority to act on those recommendations. So far, Bashar al-Assad is still continuing to wreak havoc on his country with no signs of giving up. People are still being killed, and international governments have done nothing to stop it. To stop Bashar al-Assad from continuing to commit crimes before the U.N. Security Council can indict him to the International Criminal Court, a bill should be passed, requiring all people referred to the ICC to be held in international prison or house arrest. That way, these accused criminals can't cause any more problems while waiting for their trial. In addition, the U.N. should also pass a bill stating that governments who fail to meet the Right To Protect guidelines will be overthrown by international governments and be replaced by a new, democratic one. These new government officials should be elected by the people (who should be allowed to vote freely and privately) and should be monitored intermittently, to make sure they don't make the same mistakes they predecessors did. Both bills passed should be voted on by each country part of the United Nations. It may not be entirely feasible to pass a law holding an accused criminal in jail until his or her ICC trial. Some countries may argue that these accused criminals may not be guilty and it's unfair to take them into custody for so long if they end up being innocent. In addition, if the bill stating that new leaders should be instituted into previously war-torn nations, these new leaders may resent the intermittent check-ups. It's also not guarenteed that the new leader won't be corrupt or greedy for power even if he's elected - Hitler is a prime example of this. Globally, if the Syrian crisis is resolved, the world stands a better chance at achieving international peace. There will be less tension in the Middle East, leading to less U.S. involvement and violent uprisings. Additionally, if the Syrian conflict is resolved, neighboring countries won't be at risk of getting hurt or getting involved anymore.