The Secretary-General of the Syrian Coalition, Nazir al-Hakim, stressed the need for the United Nations to safeguard civilians’ property rights in Syria. He said that Assad regime’s infringement on civilians’ property constitutes blatant violation of one of the basic civilian rights and does not serve the political process based on international resolutions, especially the Geneva Communique and UN Security Council resolution 2254.
Al-Hakim made these remarks following a meeting held at the headquarters of the Syrian Coalition on Thursday. The meeting brought together the Secretary-General, the Head of the Department of Foreign Affairs Abdul Ahad Steifo, the head of the National Commission on the Detainees and Missing Persons Yaser Al-Farhan, the head of the Department of Organizations Abdel-Majid Barakat, and the Director of the Assistance Coordination Unit (ACU) Mohammed Hassanu.
The meeting highlighted the importance of launching a national project that contributes to the safeguarding of the civilians’ property rights in light of the extensive destruction caused by the Assad regime’s bombing of the centers of cities and residential areas as well as its issuance of laws and decrees that violate property rights, including Law 10.
Al-Hakim said that such project would contribute to preventing the Assad regime from consolidating the demographic change it is seeking to achieve in Syria through the manipulation of real estate documents. He cited the Assad regime’s manipulation of civil registry records with the aim of concealing the war crimes it is committing against Syrian civilians.
Moreover, Al-Hakim pointed out that the Assad regime cannot conceal its strategy aimed at expropriating refugees and the forcibly displaced persons and grant their property to loyalists. He also cited the reports about the illegal transfer of property in the regime-held areas.
Al-Hakim added that such move would discourage the rightful property owners from returning to their areas of origin, stressing that this constitutes war crimes under international law. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
