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Executive Summary

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Syria became one of the most important international archaeological fields in recent decades; by the early 21st century, Syria had accepted over one hundred archaeological missions in the country. Stability in Syria was one of the reasons which attracted numbers of well-known archaeological research institutes and universities. The government’s construction of the Tabqa, Teshreen, and Hassakeh dams along the Euphrates and Khabur Rivers also facilitated conditions for archaeological work in Syria. Numerous new discoveries at a large number of excavations made Syria one of the most archaeologically investigated countries in the world. Syrian authorities in 1997 declared Syria the ‘number one’ site for archaeological excavations and discoveries in the region due to both the number of archaeological missions within the country and to the relevance of their discoveries for historical knowledge (Bounni 1997:109, Gillot 2010:5).

Syrian heritage has suffered, as the Syrian people have suffered considerable damage during the conflict which began in 2011. Unfortunately, battles were severe in many of Syria’s archaeological sites, including those inscribed on the World Heritage list such as Aleppo, Palmyra and Bosra (Abdulkarim 2013). That has led to the destruction and loss of a part of Syria’s heritage, which is important not only to the history of the region, but also for the history of humanity.

When ISIS captured Palmyra for the first time in May 2015, the people of Palmyra, or “al-Tadamera”, were affected by the destruction wrought upon the archaeological site as much as they were by the loss of their families, friends and homes. This should not come as a surprise as the connection between the people of modern Palmyra (Tadmor) and the archaeological site is a deep-rooted one. The ruins of Palmyra were a home and shelter for the local people of Palmyra until a century ago when the French Mandate authorities decided to obliterate their village inside the temple of Bel and move the inhabitants, including our own grandfathers, to the current modern city called Tadmor in Arabic. The archaeological site of Tadmor is often talked about by the international media without relating it to its people or its oasis. The archaeological site on its own is just one element of a trilogy that made Palmyra such a unique place. The oasis and al-Tadamera are essential parts of this trilogy too.

The following piece is taken from The Aleppo Project’s Adnan Samman’s op-ed for The National about the last time he saw his hometown, Hama, during one last visit to Syria ten years ago. 

Every year, Eid brings a melancholic set of memories. I remember the family gatherings back home in Syria, the great food, new clothes, gifts and toys. As years passed by, I never got used to being indefinitely exiled. Each year brings its own new set of memories. Life goes on. This year, however, I have found myself marking a milestone that I never wanted to reach in the first place. It is now a decade since I left Syria. It was the first morning after Eid in 2010 that I closed the door to my room for the last time and left my home.

Values in Retreat? Is the Resurgence of “Transactional” Foreign Policy Hindering the Prevention of Mass Atrocities, the Promotion of the Rule of Law, and the Global Response to COVID-19?

The Lemkin Reunion, 6th Annual Meeting

Shattuck Center, School for Public Policy, Central European University Budapest

July 1-3, 2020

Many expected that the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of Communism would lead to the proliferation of liberal democracy and usher in an age of global cooperation on the prevention of atrocities and strengthening rule of law. Thirty years on, however, that idealistic hope has all but vanished amidst a resurgence of realpolitik embodied in the so-called “transactional” approach to foreign policy. Under transactionalism, nations prefer to pursue bilateral relationships based purely upon power and narrowly defined national interests. This approach, however, complicates consensus building through diplomacy around shared values and common interests that strengthen the international system. A disturbing consequence of a system focused on transactional relationships is how it struggles to hold nations accountable in any meaningful way for aggression, atrocities, and eroding the rule of law.

The Aleppo Project has recently blogged about the multiple hospital bombing attacks that New York Times investigations proved were perpetrated by the Russian Air Force in rebel-held Idlib on at least two separate occasions this year.  A December 1 New York Times report linked Russian warplanes to attacks on civilian targets in Idlib on July 22 and August 16 that together killed 39 people and injured dozens more.  Far from being isolated incidents, the bombing and shelling of hospitals, health facilities, and clearly civilian areas, overwhelmingly perpetrated by the Assad regime and the Russian military acting on the regime’s behalf nationwide is an all too common feature of Syria’s long running conflict.  The fact that the international treaties that comprise the “law of war” explicitly prohibit attacks on hospitals, other safety zones, and civilians appears to have provided little deterrence.  On the contrary, the frequency with which the Assad regime attacks medical facilities and civilian targets demonstrates that the practice is in fact integral to its military strategy.  Through its legally questionable tactics that explicitly target civilians, the regime aims to break the will of the people and render rebel-controlled areas as ungovernable as possible.  Having achieved control of Aleppo in 2016 through similar tactics, it should surprise no one that the Assad regime returned to the same playbook in Idlib.  Nor should it surprise anyone if Idlib’s fate, once the regime regains control of it, resembles that of Aleppo.

I read the report published in English and Arabic by the New York Times on October 13, 2019, titled 12 Hours. 4 Syrian Hospitals Bombed. One Culprit: Russia, which includes an investigation into Russian attacks on four hospitals in northern Syria’s Idlib province:  the Nabd al Hayat Surgical Hospital, the Kafr Nabl Surgical Hospital, the Kafr Zita “cave Hospital” (specifically constructed underground to protect it from bombings) and Al-Amal Orthopedic Hospital.

The New York Times piece was based on multiple pieces of evidence:  a collection of Russian Air Force audio recordings obtained by The Times, social media posts from Syria on the day of the bombings, interviews with eyewitnesses, and records of humanitarian organizations supporting the four hospitals.  What is striking in the report is the analysis of the evidence and its use of multiple sources to confirm who perpetrated the bombing, as well as how plainly the evidence is laid out both in the written report and the accompanying video about the bombing of hospitals in northern Syria in May 2019.

Just over a week in, Turkey’s continuing incursion into Northern Syria has precipitated significant changes on multiple fronts.  According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as of October 14 the fighting has forced up to 300,000 to flee their homes and resulted in the deaths of at least 70 civilians and more than 200 combatants – numbers that are certain to grow.  Instances of summary executions of combatants, unarmed civilians, and at least one local politician by Turkish forces or their allies in the rebel Syrian National Army (SNA) have been reported.  In response to Turkey’s operation, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which has autonomously administered much of Northern Syria, redeployed the bulk of its forces to the border regions targeted by Turkey.  One consequence of this move appears to be the escape of up to 1,000 ISIS-related detainees (family members and fighters) from an SDF administered prison and camp.