Ahmad Baccora, Coordinator of the Syrian Opposition Coalition’s Refugees and Displaced Persons Working Group, has called on all signatories of the Convention Against Torture to uphold their commitments to Syrian refugees and to immediately cease illegal deportations.
In a press statement, Baccora emphasized that protecting human rights and ensuring the safety of refugees is a shared responsibility that necessitates international cooperation to eradicate all forms of torture and ill-treatment in Syria.
Baccora highlighted that the SOC has consistently pointed out that the conditions leading to the isolation of the Assad regime persist, particularly the widespread arrests and brutal torture to death, as confirmed by periodic human rights reports.
He warned of the grave dangers facing Syrian refugees if they are forcibly returned to Syria, noting the documented cases of killings and arrests of several refugees upon their return to Assad-controlled areas.
Last week, 54 countries issued a joint statement condemning the deaths, torture, and mistreatment of detainees in Assad’s prisons, and called for a sustainable political solution in Syria in line with Security Council Resolution 2254.
Following an interactive dialogue held by the Human Rights Council with the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, the signatories expressed deep concern over the tens of thousands of Syrians subjected to arbitrary detention incommunicado. They urged the Assad regime to end these practices, release unjustly detained Syrians, clarify the fate of missing persons, grant independent and humanitarian organizations access to monitor the situation, and hold those responsible accountable.
In parallel, the Syrian Network for Human Rights released a report documenting 1,236 cases of arrest in Syria, including 56 children and 30 women, in the first half of this year.
The Network noted that 126 cases of arrest were documented following the forced return of refugees in 2024.
The 23-page report revealed that 73 percent of arrests in Syria later result in enforced disappearances, with the Assad regime responsible for approximately 88 percent of the total recorded arbitrary arrests.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
