WUNRN
UN S-G REPORT AGAINST
WOMEN & CHILDREN BEING TAKEN AS HOSTAGE, LIKE IN ARMED CONFLICT +
SYRIA EXAMPLE
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Report from Amnesty
WOMEN & CHILDREN HELD HOSTAGE
IN SYRIA
28
October 2013 - At least two armed opposition groups are holding hostage at
least 105 civilians, who were reported recently to have been split between
three locations in northern Syria. The hostages, mainly women and children, are
at risk of being tortured or killed. At least 41 women, 56 children, mostly
under the age of 15, and two young men were abducted on 4 August when an
alliance of armed opposition groups took control of at least 11 villages and
farms in a northern, rural area of the governorate of Latakia. Most, if not
all, of the hostages are Alawite Muslims. There are also reports of at least
another 20 people being taken hostage during the same operation. President
Bashar al-Assad is an Alawite Muslim, and other Alawite Muslims are perceived
as pro-government.
The opposition alliance includes groups that advocate the killing of those they perceive as falling short of a strict interpretation of Islam. The language some of these armed groups use when referring to Alawite Muslims indicates that they perceive Alawite Muslims as falling short of observing Islamic teachings, which puts these hostages at even greater risk.
The hostages are believed to have been taken to the town of Salma, a stronghold for armed opposition groups in the Latakia governorate, after the Syrian army forced them to retreat in the third week of August. According to Amnesty International’s information, they were initially held by the armed group Katibat al-Muhajireen, which is reported to be composed of Libyan and other foreign nationals. More recent information suggests that the hostages have been divided into three groups, with one reportedly handed over to Katibat Hassan Azhari, reportedly made up of local Syrian fighters in Salma who work in close co-ordination on the hostages with Katibat al-Muhajireen. A second group of hostages have been reportedly taken to the village of al-Jamiliyeh in the Idlib governorate, but it is unclear to which armed group they have been handed over. The remaining hostages have been moved to the village of al-Bernas near Jisr al-Shoghoor, also in Idlib governorate. The armed groups apparently intend to trade the hostages for captured Syrian and Libyan fighters detained by the government.
Amnesty International wrote on 13 September to the president of the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) seeking his urgent intervention on this serious human rights abuse, which may amount to a war crime, and asking for responses to relevant questions: we have not yet received any response. The head of the SNC’s Supreme Military Command (SMC) visited the area and praised the operation only days after the hostages had been taken.
Article includes suggested follow up actions.
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Commission on the
Status of Women
Fifty-eighth
session
10-21 March 2014
Release
of Women and Children Taken Hostage, Including Those Subsequently Imprisoned,
in Armed Conflicts
Report of the
Secretary-General
Summary
The present
report is prepared in response to the request contained in resolution 56/1 of
the Commission on the Status of Women on the release of women and children
taken hostage, including those subsequently imprisoned, in armed conflict. It
includes information from Member States and provides an update on attention
given to issues relating to the topic in intergovernmental processes.
Direct Link to Full 4-Page 2013
Text:
IV. Observations and Recommendations
11. Since the previous report of the
Secretary-General, a number of
intergovernmental bodies, including the General Assembly, the Security
Council and the Human Rights Council, have continued to give attention to
issues relevant to the topic covered in resolution 56/1. Stronger
normative
frameworks and mechanisms are now in place to address and take more
determined action on issues such as enforced disappearance, missing
persons, hostage-taking and the protection of women and children in armed
conflict.
12. The ratification and effective implementation
of all related international
instruments and enhanced efforts to end impunity for violations of
international humanitarian and human rights law, along with measures to
support victims, witnesses and their families, remain essential to
preventing
and combating acts of hostage-taking in armed conflicts.
13. Two Member States responded to the request
for input to the present
report, which may be an indication of the increasing reporting on issues
covered in resolution 56/1
in related intergovernmental processes.
Given this
attention, the Commission on the Status of Women may wish to consider
recommending that information on women and children taken hostage and
means to facilitate their immediate release be reported to all other
relevant
processes and integrated into relevant reports of the Secretary-General
rather
than being prepared as a separate biennial report to the Commission.