ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Many Syrians who fled the country following the onset of the deadly civil that has been raging for over a decade face “gross human rights violations and abuses” upon returning to the Syria, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
In a report documenting violations and abuses by the Syrian government, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights slammed regime authorities and armed groups for a myriad of abuses inflicted upon returnees, such as “arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment, sexual and gender-based violence, enforced disappearance, and abductions.”
“The report paints an alarming picture of the suffering of returnees, in particular women, amid the increasing number of deportations of Syrians from other countries. The situation of these returnees raises serious questions about the commitment of States to due process and non-refoulement,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.
Many Syrian returnees are subjected to forced conscription into the armed forces, while others are accused of supporting terrorism on the grounds of them having sent money to family members who had remained in Syria.
In detention, returnees reported being tortured, beaten, and subjected to electric shocks.
“Those who remain in host countries must be treated according to international law, including the principle of non-refoulement. The rights of refugees and asylum-seekers must be respected. Their return should be voluntary with conditions for a safe, dignified and sustainable return,” Turk said.
The UN report also highlights the abuses faced specifically by women upon returning to Syria, with a returnee saying she was detained for a week by regime forces for trying to leave the country for a second time, eventually having to pay a $300 bribe to expedite her release.
“There are reasonable grounds to believe that the overall conditions in Syria do not permit safe, dignified and sustainable returns of Syrian refuges to their home country,” the report says.
Syrians rose up against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad in March 2011, leading to a full-scale civil war that has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and has left millions more in need of dire humanitarian assistance.
Over 13 million Syrians, half the country’s prewar population, have been displaced since the start of the civil war, more than six million of which are refugees who have fled the war-torn country, according to UN figures.
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