WUNRN

http://www.wunrn.com

 

UN S-G REPORT AGAINST WOMEN & CHILDREN BEING TAKEN AS HOSTAGE, LIKE IN ARMED CONFLICT + SYRIA EXAMPLE

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http://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/urgent-action-women-children-held-hostage-syria

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:

http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=E/CN.6/2014/7

 

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.