Opening Speech

Deliberation of the humanitarian crisis of Syrian people with special emphasis on refugees in
neighbouring countries and displaced people inside the country

-Delegate of Niger

Good Morning, my Dear Delegates and the Board Committee, I, as the delegate of Niger, would like
to begin my Opening speech and some possible solutions about the current Humanitarian Crisis of the
Syrian People, giving special emphasis on refugees in neighbouring countries and the displaced
Syrian People and the havoc of Human Rights in the country.
But first, what are Human Rights?
Well, in short, Human Rights the Indivisible, Universal and Un-alienable rights of a human being.
They are inherent to all of us irrespective of caste, race, religion.
The UNHRC is an inter-governmental body responsible for protecting and strengthening the Human
Rights, providing possible solutions for it.
Brief on Agenda-
As we all know that there is a Huge Humanitarian Crisis going on in Syria affecting millions of
Syrian children. Syria is facing worsening economic crisis with continued localized hostilities, mass
displacement and devastated public infrastructure. Around 90% of the Syrians live in poverty with
50% having lack of food and around 7.5 million people needing humanitarian assistance. This
everlasting crisis has been going around for 12 Years. This crisis began because of some peaceful
protestors being violently taken down by the government which caused public demonstrations in the
country which were violently supressed by the government causing a civil war within the country
itself between the Syrians and the corrupted government. Due to the wars and explosions, no other
choice was left to the Syrian families than to flee and take shelter in more than 130 neighbouring
countries but the majority live in Türkiye, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, even though 9 out of 10 of those
families depend on humanitarian support. These refugees are unemployed, poor and have lack of
education. Around 15.3 million people are displaced in the country. Refugee camps like Zaatari
Refugee Camp in Jordan provide shelter to the refugees.
Stance of Syria-
The conflicts in Syria have cause many global powers to either support or oppose Syria’s judgements
and President Bashar-Al-Ashar. Recently, the meeting of many world powers in Vienna agreed to a
nine-point plan that they hope will pave the way for a ceasefire in Syria, but they are not sure what
happens to President Assad. Allie powers like USA, Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia are helping Syria
against the protestors with providing troops, weapons, but All the Powers are against President Ashar
for his violent regime’s. With Russian and Iranian support, the Syrian government has steadily
regained control of territory from opposition forces. So right now, the human rights situation in Syria
is very poor.

Stance of Niger-
As the delegate of Niger, we are a charter member of the Organization of African Unity and the West
African Monetary Union and belong to the Niger Basin Authority and the Lake Chad Basin
Commission, the Economic Community of West African States, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. We pursue a moderate foreign policy and maintain friendly
relations with the West and the Islamic world, as well as nonaligned countries and will gladly help a
country if required including Syria.

Solutions-
Few Solutions we can implement is that we can plan out with other partnering countries for the
temporary shelter of refugees until the crisis is over.
And we can provide better self-reliance and decent paying jobs to the refugees so that they can at least
live well in their asylum-like life until the various government politicians of various countries try to
talk out with Syria and end this civil war.
Dear Board Committee, I would like to end my speech here.
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Info about Niger-

As the delegate of Niger, we are a charter member of the Organization of African Unity and the West
African Monetary Union and belong to the Niger Basin Authority and the Lake Chad Basin
Commission, the Economic Community of West African States, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. We are also a member United Nations and its main specialized
agencies and in 1980-81 have also served on the UN Security Council. We also have friendly relations
with U.S.A, Italy, China, France, IMF, World Bank, who fund our government keeping our economy
mostly stable. Our First President, Hamani Diori, maintained close relations with the west and
became internationally prominent in his diplomatic work, seeking to broker resolutions to conflicts
in Africa and beyond. We pursue a moderate foreign policy and maintain friendly relations with the
West and the Islamic world, as well as nonaligned countries. We were elected to the Board of
Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the International Telecommunications
Union and remain in a good standing of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) and
the African Union. We also played an important role in the stabilization of Mali. We also are known
for having world's largest uranium deposits and some of the highest-grade African Uranium mines
providing 5% of the world uranium. We qualified for enhanced debt relief under the International
Monetary Fund program for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries and received 100% multilateral debt
relief from the IMF.
 Round Robin
Provision of basic rights to women and children with special emphasis on education and healthcare
and measures to implement accountability mechanisms to fulfil these basic rights

The condition of Human Rights in Syria is shockingly bad by the Observers and the Civil Authorities
with lack of freedom of speech and an almost virtual assembly under the Ba'athist government of
Bashar al-Assad; which is regarded as "one of the world’s most repressive regimes. With over one
thirds of the Syrian children under 18 years being un-educated, there is a massive education and
employment crisis going on in Syria. And with the recent outbreak of COVID-19, healthcare
organisations like WHO have provided tents, beds and Free Medicine to the affected Syrians. Due to
the war, at least 25,000 Syrians have been killed with many more injured, among them women and
children. Injuries include multiple traumas with head injuries, thorax and abdominal wounds. The
UNHCR has provided huge humanitarian assistance to the Syrians. The Zaatari Refugee Camp has
sheltered many Syrian Refugees. Many refugee camps in Iran, Jordan have implemented decent
paying jobs to the refugees so that they can atleast lead a debt-less life.
The Syrian government prohibits having homosexual relations, i.e., "carnal relations against the order
of nature", and provides for up to three-years imprisonment. In the Autonomous Administration of
North and East Syria, there exist Mala Jīns (Women's houses) in more than 60 localities where
women can seek refuge and demand justice. There the women get support in matters like divorce,
beatings and other forms of domestic violence. The women of the Mala Jīn, have the authority to
speak out banishments or in more serious cases encourage to file a criminal case. Underage marriage
is banned within the territory of the AANES and in 2019 it passed a set of laws further strengthening
women's rights.
Under Article 34 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, children are protected against all forms
of sexual abuse. Child Marriage has lowered a lot. Until the start of the conflict, Syria’s child survival
statistics matched those of other middle-income countries; however, unremitting violence has resulted
in a shattered healthcare system that has left millions of children suffering. Children in Syria are dying
simply because they do not have access to basic medical care. Before the conflict, 96% of women in
Syria had medical assistance, today, in some sub-districts, less than a quarter have regular access to
reproductive health services. The vaccine rates has decreased a lot. Access to health care is severely
restricted, hampered by security factors. Maternal and child health services at the primary health care
(PHC) level are disrupted
The UN and OHCHR Syria monitors, strengthens and protects the basic human rights of the Syrians
and provides capacity building and technical support to Syrian civil society as well as technical
cooperation with Syrian actors.
The education system in Syria is overstretched, underfunded, fragmented and unable to provide safe,
equitable and sustained services to millions of children. Inside Syria, there are over 2.4 million
children out of school, nearly 40 per cent are girls. This number has likely increased in 2020 due to
the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which exacerbated the disruption to education in Syria. One in
three schools inside Syria can no longer be used because they were destroyed, damaged or are being
used for military purposes. Children who can attend school often learn in overcrowded classrooms,
and in buildings with insufficient water and sanitation facilities, electricity, heating or ventilation. The
IMF, UNICEF has donated to the Syrian refugees the bare minimum so that they can atleast get the
basic education and health care facilities.

Debate Points- Caucas

Back to Syria
SYRIA 2022
The conflict in Syria continued although hostilities decreased, while economic and social conditions
deteriorated. Parties to the conflict continued to commit with impunity gross human rights abuses,
serious violations of international humanitarian law and crimes under international law, including war
crimes. Government forces and armed opposition groups and their allies carried out unlawful attacks
on civilians and civilian infrastructure, including water stations and displacement camps, through
aerial bombing and artillery shelling in northern Syria. Government authorities, the Syrian National
Army (SNA) and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Autonomous
Administration) subjected civilians to arbitrary detention, abduction and enforced disappearance.
President al-Assad enacted Syria’s first anti-torture law, which failed to address impunity or provide
redress to victims and families, and ratified a new cybercrime law that criminalizes online criticism of
the authorities or constitution. The armed opposition group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and the
Autonomous Administration continued to restrict freedom of expression and assembly. The
government continued to prevent residents and internally displaced people in north-west Syria from
enjoying their economic and social rights, including by obstructing aid to displaced people in al-
Rukban near the border with Jordan.
Background
In February, hundreds of people in Sweida, a Druze-majority city in south-west Syria, protested
against the continued deterioration of living conditions. Throughout the year, teachers in north-west
Syria, an area controlled by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, protested against low wages and demanded
salaries for long-standing volunteers.
In February, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) reported that there
“were reasonable grounds” to believe that the Syrian government had conducted a chlorine attack on
Kafer Zita, a town in Hama governorate, in 2016. On 30 March, Russia vetoed a US-sponsored
resolution at the UN Security Council that would have allowed OPCW inspectors to determine who
was responsible for chemical weapons attacks in Syria.
In April, the World Food Programme estimated that 55% of the Syrian population was food insecure.
Economic and social conditions deteriorated across the country with 14.1 million people identified as
in need of humanitarian assistance for food, water and sanitation, health, education and housing.
On 10 May, the EU and other international donors pledged only USD 6.7 billion of the USD 10.5
billion needed to support all of the 14.1 million people in need of aid.
On 27 July, the Autonomous Administration said that it found a mass grave containing at least 29
bodies of people who may have been killed by the Islamic State when the armed group controlled the
area.
On 10 September, the Ministry of Health declared a cholera outbreak in six governorates including
Aleppo and Deir ez-Zor.
In October, an Associated Press investigation revealed allegations of mismanagement and corruption
against the representative of the WHO in Syria. Based on the obtained evidence, the representative
“engaged in abusive behaviour, pressured WHO staff to sign contracts with high-ranking Syrian
government politicians and consistently misspent WHO and donor funds.” The WHO said an internal
investigation was ongoing.
Israel continued air attacks targeting Syrian government, Iranian and Hizbullah forces in Syria. Its
occupation of the Golan Heights reached 55 years in June.
Unlawful attacks
Warring parties and their allies continued to conduct unlawful ground and aerial attacks on civilians
and civilian infrastructure in northern Syria, killing and injuring scores of civilians.
Syrian government and its ally Russia
The Syrian government, supported by Russian government forces, launched indiscriminate attacks
and direct attacks on water stations, displacement camps, poultry farms and residential areas in north-
west Syria. On 6 November, they launched a series of artillery attacks and air strikes on a forest next
to displacement camps in Kafr Jallis in the north-west, killing four internally displaced people,
including three children and a woman, and injuring more than 70 civilians.
According to the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic (UN
Commission of Inquiry), the Syrian government and Russia launched multiple air strikes and ground
attacks on civilians and civilian objects in the north-east. On 2 January, an air strike attack on
Arashani water station that serves Idlib city injured one civilian and temporarily cut the water supply
to at least 300,000 people. On 3 January and 12 May, air strikes on two poultry farms in Idlib
governorate injured a woman and her eight-year-old son, and a man, respectively. The report added
that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that pro-government forces had “intentionally
targeted objects indispensable to the survival of the population”.
Syrian armed opposition groups and their ally Türkiye
Syrian armed opposition groups and their ally Türkiye carried out indiscriminate attacks, including
drone strikes and ground attacks, that struck residential areas, a school and a displacement camp in
northern Syria.
On 24 February, a Turkish government drone strike targeting a military objective landed near a
civilian bus on the Amuda-Qamishli road in north-east Syria. At least four civilians – three women
and one man – were injured in the attack.
According to the UN Commission of Inquiry, heavy machine guns were likely used within areas
occupied by Türkiye and controlled by the SNA in an attack against a school in a village close to
Afrin, a town in northern Syria, which injured 11 children aged 6 to 12.
Arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances
Syrian government
The government continued to subject tens of thousands of people, including journalists, human rights
defenders, lawyers and political activists, to enforced disappearance, many for more than 10 years.
In February and April, the authorities partially revealed the fate of around 1,056 individuals forcibly
disappeared since the start of the conflict by updating civil registry documents and issuing death
certificates. These provided the date of death but did not disclose the circumstances in which the
individuals died. The authorities failed to return the bodies of the deceased to their families.
On 30 April, President al-Assad issued Legislative Decree No.7 granting a general amnesty for
“terrorism” crimes except for those that led to deaths. The authorities failed to announce the number
of detainees released as a result, but local organizations estimated at least 150 releases.
Autonomous Administration
The Autonomous Administration continued to unlawfully hold around 17,000 women and 37,000
children of Syrian, Iraqi and other nationalities, in al-Hol and al-Roj camps in the north-east in squalid
conditions and without access to due process. On 7 February, the Asayish, the Autonomous
Administration’s police force, opened fire in al-Hol camp, killing at least one child and injuring three
women and three children.1
On 20 January, hundreds of children held in Ghwairan prison, an adult detention centre in Hassake,
were trapped with limited access to food and medical aid for 10 days during an exchange of fire
between the Autonomous Administration’s military force, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and
the Islamic State. Children continued to be held in detention facilities in dire conditions in violation of
the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Türkiye-backed Syrian National Army
In July, Hevdesti-Synergy, an association for victims in northern Syria, reported the arrest of 79
people by the SNA and affiliated armed groups in Afrin, Ras al-Ayn and Tall Abyad – areas occupied
by Türkiye – for their alleged affiliation with the Autonomous Administration, attempting to cross to
Türkiye irregularly, extortion or being Kurdish. Thirteen were released while the fate and
whereabouts of the others remained unknown.
In August, Syrians for Truth and Justice, a Syrian organization, recorded the arrest of 311 people in
Afrin, a predominantly Kurdish town in northern Syria, during the first six months of the year on
account of their ethnicity or to extort a ransom. Of these, 282 were released.
According to the UN Commission of Inquiry, the SNA held detainees incommunicado for between
three months and three years, prohibited contact with a lawyer, and threatened or arrested family
members for inquiring about their fate or whereabouts or only allowed them to have contact if they
paid bribes.
Torture and other ill-treatment
On 30 March, President al-Assad enacted Syria’s first ever law criminalizing torture (Law No.
16/2022), which failed to address impunity granted to military and security agents, offer redress to
past victims of torture, include any protection measures for witnesses or survivors of torture, or state
whether torture survivors or, in the event of their death, their families, would receive compensation.2
According to the UN Commission of Inquiry, the Syrian government authorities continued to torture
and otherwise ill-treat detainees, including with “electric shocks, the burning of body parts, being
folded into car tyres (dulab) and suspended by one or two limbs for prolonged periods (shabeh), often
combined with severe beating with various tools, including sticks or cables.”
Freedom of expression, assembly and association
Syrian government
In April, following increasing criticism of the government’s socio-economic policies, a new
cybercrime law was passed that imposed harsh sentences and fines against anyone who criticized the
authorities or constitution online. Articles 24 and 25 criminalize “electronic slander” defined as the
sharing between two people, including in private communications, of slandering or humiliating
information about other individuals, with harsher fines and a prison term if the individual is a public
employee. Articles 27, 28 and 29 impose sentences of between three and 15 years in prison for
publishing online content that “aims or calls to change the constitution illegally”, “undermines the
prestige of the state”, and “undermines the financial position of the state.”
In June, the minister of interior said that 11 individuals had been arrested under the cybercrime law
for spreading “false information” on Facebook.
Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham
Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham continued to repress freedom of expression by subjecting journalists, activists
or anyone who criticized their rule to arbitrary detention without access to a lawyer or family
members.
Local organizations told Amnesty International that the group restricted some of the activities of
humanitarian organizations or forced them to coordinate with the armed group, which led donors to
temporarily withdraw or halt funding.
Autonomous Administration
In January, the SDF opened live fire at people protesting against the deteriorating economic
conditions and lack of access to essential services in Raqqa governorate. At least 50 people were
injured.
On 5 February, the Autonomous Administration suspended the licence of Rudaw Media Network, a
media outlet based in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, in north-east Syria, accusing it of spreading
misinformation and inciting hatred.
Right to truth, justice and reparation
European countries investigated and prosecuted individuals suspected of committing crimes under
international law in Syria through their national courts under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
On 13 January, the Higher Regional Court in Koblenz, Germany, sentenced a former Syrian
intelligence officer to life in prison for crimes against humanity.
On 19 January, the trial of a doctor accused of committing crimes against humanity, including 18
counts of torture and killing of detainees in military hospitals in the capital, Damascus and Homs
between 2011 and 2012, began in Frankfurt, Germany, under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
German police had arrested him in June 2020.
On 4 April, the Paris Court of Appeal in France ruled in favour of prosecuting Islam Alloush, a
former leader of an armed opposition group in Damascus Countryside, for committing war crimes,
including torture. He was detained in Paris in 2020.
Economic and social rights
The number of internally displaced people in Syria increased to 6.9 million. Of around 4 million
people living in north-west Syria, a region under the control of armed opposition groups, 2.8 million
were internally displaced. The government continued to deny and obstruct their access to essential
services.3 As a result, people in the region fully depended on UN-coordinated humanitarian assistance
provided through the cross-border aid mechanism, which the UN Security Council renewed in July for
six months after Russia vetoed a 12-month extension.
Out of the total displaced population in north-west Syria, around 1.7 million lived in camps, 58% of
whom were children and 22% were women. The overwhelming majority lived in tents that offered
minimal privacy or protection from extreme heat, cold or rain, and had limited or no access to water,
sanitation and healthcare. Only 40% of camp residents had access to functioning latrines.
Domestic water needs for drinking, cooking and maintaining personal hygiene were unmet, with camp
residents relying fully on humanitarian organizations to fill water tanks.
More than 8,000 displaced Syrians in al-Rukban camp, located in an isolated and desert border area
with Jordan known as “the berm”, suffered dire living conditions as the Syrian government prevented
entry of essential aid such as food, water and medical supplies for another year.
Occupied Golan Heights
The Golan Heights remained under Israel’s occupation and illegal annexation. The number of Jewish
Israeli settlers living in 35 illegal settlements in the Golan Heights surpassed the total number of its
Syrian inhabitants, reaching 29,000 compared to 28,000, according to Al-Marsad, a Syrian human
rights NGO based in the Golan Heights. In July, Israel’s National Planning and Building Council
approved two new settlements, each including 2,000 housing units, as part of a USD 293 million
government plan announced in December 2021 to double the number of Jewish settlers in the Golan
Heights. Meanwhile, Syrian residents faced discrimination in housing and distribution of natural
resources such as water.
Refugees’ rights
By the end of 2022, 5.6 million Syrians had sought refuge outside the country since the conflict began
in 2011.
In neighbouring Lebanon, the worsening economic conditions and restrictive policies imposed by the
authorities continued to drive refugees back to Syria, where some faced detention, torture and other
ill-treatment, and enforced disappearance (see Lebanon entry). Between February and July, the
Turkish authorities arbitrarily arrested, detained and unlawfully returned hundreds of Syrian refugee
men and boys (see Türkiye entry).
The number of news media has increased in the past decade, but the Ba'ath Party continues to
maintain control of the press.[84] Journalists and bloggers have been arrested and tried.[10] In 2009,
the Committee to Protect Journalists named Syria number three in a list of the ten worst countries in
which to be a blogger, given the arrests, harassment, and restrictions which online writers in Syria
faced.[85]
Internet censorship in Syria is extensive. Syria bans websites for political reasons and arrests people
accessing them. Internet cafes are required to record all the comments users post on chat forums.
During the Syrian civil war, a UN report described actions by the security forces as being "gross
violations of human rights".[92] The UN report documented shooting recruits that refused to fire into
peaceful crowds without warning, brutal interrogations including elements of sexual abuse of men and
gang rape of young boys, staking out hospitals when wounded sought assistance, and shooting of
children as young as two.[93] In 2011 Human Rights Watch stated that Syria's bleak human rights
record stood out in the region. While Human Rights Watch doesn't rank offenders, many have
characterized Syria's human rights report as among the worst in the world in 2010.[12]