Examining the Crisis in Syria

Almost four years after what began as a demonstration against President Bashir al Assad in Daraa in March 2011, Syria is still in crisis. Victimized by Assad’s violent oppression of his people and the influx of jihadi groups, nearly 7 million Syrians have been displaced, 1 million have been injured, and an estimated 200,000 have lost their lives. Ambassador Robert Ford, the former U.S. ambassador to Syria, puts it simply: “the situation on the ground is evolving in a bad way.”

Though these facts tend to bleed into the background, they’re worth repeating: this conflict is one of the worst displacement crises in history.

Ford spoke these words at a recent conference, Examining the Crisis in Syria, co-produced by Arizona State University’s Center for the Future of War, the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and New America. The conference brought together international law experts, humanitarian activists, journalists, and government officials to offer multiple perspectives on the lived realities and policy solutions for events in Syria. Overall, the conference participants painted  a grim picture with their outlook on the situation in Syria, focusing on how the media’s disparity in reporting about the conflict impacts efforts to hold war criminals accountable for violent acts and potential ways for the Syrian people to end  their suffering.

Though these facts tend to bleed into the background, they’re worth repeating: this conflict is one of the worst displacement crises in history.  Half of the 7 million internally displaced people are children, and an estimated $8.4 billion in humanitarian aid is needed to provide food, shelter, rent, cash assistance, and education to the 4 million refugees in neighboring countries. All attempts made so far at reconciliation and negotiation have failed..

The conference began by addressing the issue of war crimes charges with a panel debating the legality of actions in Syria under international humanitarian law. Under the Geneva Convention and Rome Statute, these laws seek to regulate armed conflicts. One of those accountability efforts, the Syrian Accountability Project, is spearheaded by Syracuse University College of Law professor David Crane. Crane and his team of law students at Syracuse University are scouring news reports, activists’ accounts, and NGO reports attempting to identify every violation of IHL in the hopes that prosecutions will occur in the future. Another effort by the Human Rights Data Analysis Group seeks to identify the names of those killed. Clear documentation, Crane acknowledged, such as accurate reporting of who died, how they died, and who killed them can be difficult to come by. Journalists are actively blocked from entering the country and local reporters often disappear. This ban against journalists is just one of the many reasons why media coverage of the day-to-day activities within Syria can be hard to come by.

Washington Post reporter and Associate Editor Rajiv Chandrasekaran and New York Times reporter Peter Baker, among others, weighed in on why U.S. media coverage of Syria and the humanitarian plight there is not nearly equal to the coverage received by other conflicts, or even other global incidents, like Iraq, Afghanistan, or the Paris shootings. For Baker and Chandrasekaran it boils down to two basic truths. First, according to Baker, “Americans’ interest [in particular global incidents] is directly proportionate to the American presence there.” So, for example, if there are no American troops fighting in that war, Americans won’t care very much about the war itself, or Americans, who often travel to Paris or have European roots, care about Paris. Second - and more unfortunate, according to Chandrasekaran -  is that “the first killings are shocking, but then four years in, [the killings of civilians] isn’t shocking anymore.”

Second - and more unfortunate, according to Chandrasekaran -  is that “the first killings are shocking, but then four years in, [the killings of civilians] isn’t shocking anymore.”

What started out as a bloody crackdown against protesters has slowly morphed into a regional conflict where cities, hospitals, and civilians waiting in line for food are intentionally targeted. Refugees have flooded into Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Egypt costing each of those countries billions of dollars. In Lebanon alone, a country of only 4 million, there are over 1 million refugees costing the government $7.5 billion.  RAND research has also found that insurgencies such as this one typically last 10 years. With this humanitarian crisis churning on such an epic scale, the region will not be able to take much more.

Is there a way for the world to end this catastrophe?  International law expert Toby Cadman, who submitted a report to the International Criminal Court on Jan. 15, summed up this crisis aptly in his speech at the conference: “Atrocities [have been committed in Syria] on a scale not seen since the Holocaust.” Panelists stressed that a Syrian-led process of negotiations, with Assad, the Syrian opposition, Iran, and Russia at the table, is going to be the only way in which an effective peace agreement will stick. Only extensive international support for refugees and those still caught in the conflict on the ground will bring an end to this crisis.