UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL JKMUN’12

1 JKMUN’12

LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE BOARD:

Dear delegates,

We must put people at the centre of everything we do. No calling is more noble,

and no responsibility greater, than that of enabling men, women, and children, in

cities and villages around the world, to make their lives better. Only when that

begins to happen will we know that globalization is indeed becoming inclusive,

allowing everyone to share its opportunities.

These were the words of Kofi Annan which aim at the betterment of the society

and establishment of peace so that humanity does not suffer. This is what United

Nations Security Council is supposed to do, “Maintain Peace” all over the world.

We at the UNSC session aim at getting relevant and possible solutions related to

the situation at hand ,”The Situation in Syrian Arab Republic with special

reference to humanitarian Intervention”. Well, from the time immemorial whenever

the rights of the common people were suppressed; they revolted, rebelled and

stood up to march forward and fight for their betterment ,”The betterment of

humanity”. Not every time they succeeded but their continuous practice made

them lively again.

The Present Situation in Syria is Critical and there has been a lot loss to humanity

where millions of people have suffered to a lot of extent. They have raised their

voice, formed armed groups, have united their powers against existing rule; there

have been many conflicts but at last, don’t you think, “whose loss is it?” .Well the

answer preferably is , we ,THE HUMAN RACE .Delegates , at the session the

committee needs to discuss some serious issues related to the agenda wherein the

members are supposed to frame out a resolution in this context so that our

solutions unanimously create a better living for the people suffering in Syria.

With this we wish you the best of luck for the Conference!

Note: The Background Guide is just for reference and is strictly not to be used as

a proof or as a document for the conference.

Shubham Rajrah Sania Sharma

COMMITTEE BACKGROUND:

The Security Council is the most decisive organ of the United Nations organization.

This organ holds power to carry out discussions and implement resolutions on

matters which prove to be a threat to international peace and harmony.

The Council is made up of 15 nations: five are permanent members and the

remaining 10 seats rotate every 2 years among the nations in the UN. The 5

permanent members are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United

States.

Permanent Member countries of the Security Council 2012

1. People’s Republic of China

2. The Russian Federation

3. French Republic

4. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

5. United States of America

Non Permanent Members:

1. Azerbaijan (2013)

2. India (2012)

3. South Africa (2012)

4. Colombia (2012)

5. Morocco (2013)

6. Togo (2013)

7. Germany (2012)

8. Pakistan (2013)

9. Guatemala (2013)

10. Portugal (2012)

• The permanent members of UNSC are vested with “VETO” powers.

• Each non-permanent member has one vote.

• While drafting a resolution, if at all there is a majority of non-permanent

members in favor or against (the resolution); the permanent members have

the power to overrule the majority and pass the resolution during the

session.

ABOUT THE AGENDA

“The situation in Syrian Arab Republic including the Humanitarian Intervention”

SYRIA (SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC):

Syrian Arab Republic

ية عرب ةال جمهوري ة ال سوري الal-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah As-Sūrīyah

FLAG COAT OF ARMS

Important Facts about Syria :

Capital : Damascus

Largest city : Aleppo

Official Language : Arabic

Government : Unitary Semi-presidential Constitutional Republic

President : Bashar-Al-Assad

Prime minister: Wael Nader-al-Halqi

Legislature: People’s Council

Independence : From France : 17 April, 1946

From United Arab Republic: 28 September 1961

Area : 185,180 km2

Water(%): 1.1

Population: 22,530,746

density: 118.3/km2

Currency: Syrian Pound(SYP)

Calling code:963

Drives on the : RIGHT

Syria ,officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia,

bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to

the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest.

In English, the name Syria was formerly synonymous with the Levant, known in Arabic

as Sham, while the modern state encompasses the sites of several ancient kingdoms

and empires, including the Eblan civilization of the third millennium BC. In the Islamic

era, its capital city, Damascus, the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, was

the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate, and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate of

Egypt.

The modern Syrian state was established after the First World War as a French

mandate, and represented the largest Arab state to emerge from the formerly Ottoman-

ruled Arab Levant. It gained independence in April 1946, as a parliamentary republic.

The post-independence period was tumultuous, and a large number of military coups

and coup attempts shook the country in the period 1949–1971. Between 1958 and

1961, Syria entered a brief union with Egypt, which was terminated by a military coup.

Syria was under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011, effectively suspending most

constitutional protections for citizens, and its system of government is considered to be

non-democratic. Bashar al-Assad has been president since 2000 and was preceded by

his father Hafez al-Assad, who was in office from 1971.

Syria is a member of one International organization other than the United Nations, the

Non-Aligned Movement; it is currently suspended from the Arab League, the

Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and self suspended from the Union for the

Mediterranean. Since March 2011, Syria has been embroiled in civil war in the wake of

uprisings (considered an extension of the Arab Spring, the mass movement of

revolutions and protests in the Arab world) against Assad and the neo-Ba'athist

government. This conflict has resulted in sanctions by the international community

aimed at trade and government officials by the countries of the Arab League, Australia,

Canada, the European Union, (as well as the European countries of Albania, Croatia,

Iceland, Liechtenstein, Macedonia Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Serbia,

and Switzerland) Georgia, Japan, Turkey, and the United States.

Human rights

Syria's human rights situation is currently among the worst in the world, according to

human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch. Freedom House ranked

Syria "Not Free" in its annual Freedom in the World survey.

The authorities are accused of arresting democracy and human rights

activists, censoring websites, detaining bloggers, and imposing travel bans. Arbitrary

detention, torture, and disappearances are widespread. Although Syria's constitution

guarantees gender equality, critics say that personal statutes laws and the penal code

discriminate against women and girls. Moreover, it also grants leniency for so-called

'Honor'. As of 9 November 2011 during the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad,

the United Nations reported that of the over 3500 total deaths, over 250 deaths were

children as young as 2 years old, and that boys as young as 11 years old have been

gang raped by security services officers. People opposing President Assad's rule claim

that more than 200, mostly civilians, were massacred and about 300 injured in Hama in

shelling by the Government forces on 12 July 2012.

Administrative divisions

Damascus

Rif Dimashq

Quneitra

Daraa

As-Suwayda

Homs

Tartus

Latakia

Hama

Idlib

Aleppo

Ar-Raqqah

Deir ez-Zor

Al-Hasakah

Syria is divided into fourteen governorates, or muhafazat (singular: muhafazah). The

governorates are divided into a total of sixty-one districts,

or manatiq (singular mintaqah), which are further divided into sub-districts,

or nawahi (singular nahiyah).

A governor, whose appointment is proposed by the minister of the interior, approved by

the cabinet, and announced by executive decree, heads each governorate. The

governor is assisted by an elected provincial council. Most of the Quneitra

Governorate has been unilaterally annexed by Israel as the Golan Heights territory.

Damascus is the capital city of Syria. Latakia along with Tartu are Syria's main ports on

the Mediterranean Sea. Other major cities include Aleppo in northern Syria, Hama in

central Syria, Homs in the south of Hama and Deir ez-Zor on the river in eastern Syria.

Military

The President of Syria is commander in chief of the Syrian armed forces, comprising

some 400,000 troops upon mobilization. The military is a conscripted force; males serve

in the military upon reaching the age of 18. The obligatory military service period is

being decreased over time, in 2005 from two and a half years to two years, in 2008 to

21 months and in 2011 to year and a half. About 20,000 Syrian soldiers were deployed

in Lebanon until 27 April 2005, when the last of Syria's troops left the country after three

decades.

The breakup of the Soviet Union — long the principal source of training, material, and

credit for the Syrian forces — may have slowed Syria's ability to acquire modern military

equipment. It has an arsenal of surface-to-surface missiles. In the early 1990s, Scud-C

missiles with a 500-kilometer range were procured from North Korea, and Scud-D, with

a range of up to 700 kilometers, is allegedly being developed by Syria with the help of

North Korea and Iran, according to Zisser.

Syria received significant financial aid from Persian Gulf Arab states as a result of its

participation in the Persian Gulf War, with a sizable portion of these funds earmarked

for military spending.

Current Situation: Syrian Uprising

Syrian uprising began in March 2011 with anti-government protests in provincial areas.

The government of President Bashar al-Assad responded with a bloody crackdown on

initially peaceful gatherings, along with piecemeal concessions that stopped short of

genuine political reform.

After almost a year and a half of unrest, the conflict between the regime and the

opposition has escalated to a full-scale civil war. Army defectors formed armed groups

that wage a guerrilla war on government forces. By mid-2012 the fighting has reached

capital Damascus and commercial hub Aleppo, with growing numbers of senior army

officers deserting Assad.

However, key army units remain loyal to the regime, and while Assad’s long-term

survival chances don’t seem great, he is far from finished. A prolonged bloody civil war

lies ahead, with possibly disastrous consequences for Syria’s multi-religious and multi-

ethnic society.

Why is there an uprising in Syria?

Here are the top 10 root causes that fuel the crisis in Syria:

1. Political repression

President Bashar al-Assad assumed power in 2000 after the death of his father Hafez

who had ruled Syria since 1970. Assad quickly dashed hopes of reform, as power

remained concentrated in the ruling family, and the one-party system left few channels

for political dissent. With no peaceful transfer of power since the 1950s, change can

seemingly happen only through a military coup or a popular uprising.

2. Discredited ideology

Syrian Baath party is regarded as the founder of "Arab socialism", an ideological current

that merged state-led economy with Pan-Arab nationalism. However, by 2000 the

Ba’athist ideology was reduced to an empty shell, discredited by lost wars with Israel

and a crippled economy. Upon taking power, Assad tried to modernize the regime

invoking the Chinese model of economic reform, but time was running against him.

3. Uneven economy

Cautious reform of the remnants of socialism opened the door to private investment,

triggering an explosion of consumerism among the urban upper-middle classes.

However, privatization has favored families with personal links to Assad, leaving

provincial Syria, later the hot bed of the uprising, seething with anger as living costs

soared and jobs remained scarce.

4. Drought

To make matters worse, a persistent drought has devastated farming communities in

north-eastern Syria, affecting more than a million people since 2008. Tens of thousands

of impoverished farmer families flocked into rapidly expanding urban slums, their anger

at the lack of government help fueled by the new ostentatious wealth of the nouveau

riche.

5. Population growth

Syria's rapidly growing young population is a demographic time bomb waiting to

explode. How can the bloated, unproductive public sector and struggling private firms

absorb a quarter of a million new arrivals to the job market every year?

6. New media

Although the state media is tightly controlled, the proliferation of satellite TV, mobile

phones and the internet after 2000 meant that any government attempt to insulate the

youth from the outside world was doomed to fail. The use of the new media is critical to

the activist networks that underpin the uprising in Syria.

7. Corruption

Whether it's a license to open a small shop or a car registration, well-placed payments

make wonders in Syria. For those without the money and good contacts, it's a powerful

grievance against the state. Ironically, the system is corrupt to the extent that anti-Assad

rebels buy weapons from the government forces, and families bribe the authorities to

release relatives that have been detained during the uprising.

8. State violence

Syria's vast intelligence services, the infamous mukhabarat, penetrate all spheres of

society. The fear of the state is one of the reasons why so many Syrians simply take the

regime as a fact of life. But the outrage over the brutal response of the security forces to

the outbreak of peaceful protest in spring 2011, documented on social media, helped

generate the snowball effect as thousands across Syria joined the uprising.

“ More funerals, more protest.”

9. Minority rule

Syria is a majority Sunni Muslim country but the top positions in the security

apparatus are in the hands of the Alawis, a Shiite religious minority to which the

Assad family belongs. Most Syrians pride themselves on their tradition of religious

tolerance, but many Sunnis still resent the fact that so much power is monopolized by a

handful of Alawi families. While not a driving force of the Syrian uprising, the

combination of a majority Sunni protest movement and an Alawi-dominated military has

added to the tension in religiously mixed areas, such as the city of Homs.

10. Tunisia effect

Last but not least, the wall of fear in Syria would not have been broken at this particular

time had it not been for Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian street-vendor whose self-

immolation in December 2010 triggered a wave of anti-government uprisings across the

Middle East. Watching the fall of Tunisian and Egyptian regimes in early 2011,

broadcast live on the satellite channel Al Jazeera, made millions in Syria aware that

change was possible - for the first time in decades.

The differences between Alawites and Sunnis in Syria have sharpened dangerously

since the beginning of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, whose family is

Alawite. The reason for tension is primarily political, rather than religious: top position in

Assad’s army, are held by Alawite officers, while most of the rebels from the Free

Syrian Army come from Syria’s Sunni majority.

Who Are the Alawites in Syria?

Geographical Presence: Alawites are a Muslim minority group that accounts for around

12% of Syria’s population, with a few small pockets in Lebanon and Turkey (though not

to be confused with Alevis, a Turkish Muslim minority). Around 70% of Syrians belongs

to Sunni Islam, as does almost 90% of all Muslims in the world).

Historical Alawite heartlands lie in the mountainous hinterland of Syria’s Mediterranean

coast in the country’s west, next to the coastal city of Latakia. Alawites form the majority

in Latakia province, although the city itself is mixed between Sunnis, Alawites and

Christians. Alawites also have a sizeable presence in the central province of Homs and

in the capital Damascus.

Doctrinal Differences: Alawites practice a unique but little known form of Islam that

dates back to the 9th and 10th century. Its secretive nature is an outcome of centuries

of isolation from the mainstream society and periodical persecution by the Sunni

majority.

Sunnis believe that succession to Prophet Mohammed (d. 632) rightly followed through

the line of his most able and pious companions. Alawites follow the Shiite interpretation,

claiming that succession should have been based on bloodlines. According to Shiite

Islam, Mohammed’s only true heir, imam, was his son-in-law Ali bin Abu Talib.

But Alawites take a step further in the veneration of Imam Ali, allegedly investing him

with divine attributes. Other specific elements such as the belief in divine incarnation,

permissibility of alcohol, celebration of Christmas and Zoroastrian New Year makes

Alawite Islam highly suspect in the eyes of many orthodox Sunnis and Shiites.

Latest Developments: Opposition Strikes at the Heart of the Regime

A bomb attack on 18 July killed Assad’s four top security chiefs, in a major blow to the

regime, as the opposition launched a surprise offensive in Damascus and Aleppo,

Syria’s largest cities. The government is fighting back to regain lost territory, but the

events have shattered Assad’s claims of full control over major urban centers.

Several crossings on the borders with Turkey and Iraq are currently under opposition

control, and Kurdish militias have claimed control over towns in Syria’s north-east.

Alarming reports have emerged of Al Qaeda-affiliated groups taking on a significant role

in the rebel ranks.

SITUATION AT A GLANCE

The Ba'ath Party government came to power in 1963 after a successful coup d'état. It

was followed by another coup in 1966 which overthrew the traditional leaders of the

party; Michel Aflaq and Salah al-Din al-Bitar. In 1970, then Defense Minister Hafez al-

Assad seized power and declared himself President, a position he would hold until his

death in 2000. Since then, the Ba'ath Party has remained the sole authority in Syria,

and Syrian citizens may only approve the President by referendum and do not

hold multi-party elections for the legislature. In 1982, at the height of a six-year Islamist

insurgency throughout the country, Hafez Assad conducted a scorched earth policy

against the town of Hama to quell an uprising by the Sunni Islamist community,

including the Muslim Brotherhood and others. This became known as the Hama

massacre, which left tens of thousands dead.

The issue of Hafez al-Assad's succession prompted the 1999 Latakia protests, when

violent protests and armed clashes erupted following 1998 People's Assembly's

Elections. The violent events were an explosion of a long-running feud between Hafez

al-Assad and his younger brother Rifaat. Two people were killed in fire exchanges

between Syrian police and Rifaat's supporters during a police crack-down on Rifaat's

port compound in Latakia. According to opposition sources, denied by the government,

the protests resulted in hundreds of dead and injured. Hafez al-Assad died one year

later, from pulmonary fibrosis. He was succeeded by his son Bashar al-Assad, who

was appointed after a constitutional amendment lowered the age requirement for

President from 40 to his age of 34.

Bashar al-Assad, who speaks English fluently and whose wife is British-born, initially

inspired hopes for reform; a "Damascus Spring" of intense social and political debate

took place from July 2000 to August 2001. The period was characterized by the

emergence of numerous political forums or salons where groups of likeminded people

met in private houses to debate political and social issues. Political activists such

as Riad Seif, Haitham al-Maleh, Kamal al-Labwani, Riyad al-Turk and Aref Dalila were

important in mobilizing the movement. The most famous of the forums were the Riad

Seif Forum and the Jamal al-Atassi Forum. The Damascus Spring ended in August

2001 with the arrest and imprisonment of ten leading activists who had called for

democratic elections and a campaign of civil disobedience. Renewed opposition activity

occurred in October 2005

Socioeconomics

Popular opposition against the government was stronger in the nation's poorer areas.

These included cities with high poverty rates, such as Daraa and Homs, rural areas hit

hard by a drought in early 2011, and the poor districts of large cities. Socioeconomic

inequality increased significantly after free market policies were initiated by Hafez Assad

in his late rule, and accelerated during the rule of Bashar Assad. With emphasis on the

service sector, the policies benefited a minority of the nation's population, mostly people

who had connections with the government, and people in the merchant class of

Damascus and Aleppo, the country's two biggest cities. Socioeconomic complaints were

reported, such as deterioration in the country's standard of living and steep rises in

prices of commodities. The country also faced particularly high

youth unemployment rates.

Human rights

The state of human rights in Syria has long been the subject of harsh criticism from

global organizations. The country was under emergency rule from 1963 until 2011,

effectively granting security forces sweeping powers of arrest and detention. The

Syrian government has justified this by pointing to the fact that the country has been in

a continuous state of war with Israel. After taking power in 1970, Hafez al-Assad

quickly purged the government of any political adversaries and asserted his control over

all aspects of Syrian society. He developed an elaborate cult of personality and

violently repressed any opposition, most notoriously in the 1982 Hama massacre.

After his death in 2000 and the succession of his son Bashar al-Assad to the

Presidency, it was hoped that the Syrian government would make concessions toward

the development of a more liberal society; this period became known as the Damascus

Spring. However, al-Assad is widely regarded to have been unsuccessful in

implementing democratic change, with a 2010 report from Human Rights

Watch stating that “he had failed to improve the state of human rights since taking

power ten years prior. All other political parties have remained banned, thereby

making Syria a one-party state without free elections.”

Chemical weapons

The issue of chemical weapons has been important, as Syria is thought to have the

third largest stockpile of such weapons in the world, and opposition forces are

concerned they may be used as a last resort to remain in power by the

regime. Countries such as the United States have described the use of such weapons

as a "red line" for the Ba'athist regime that would result in "enormous

consequences". Similarly, France and the United Kingdom have promised

consequences in regards to the use of chemical weapons including military

interventionism, with France in particular promising a "massive and blistering"

response.

Arab Spring

In December 2010, mass anti-government protests began in Tunisia and later spread

across the Arab world, including Syria. By February 2011, revolutions occurred in

Tunisia and Egypt, while Libya began to experience a civil war. Numerous other Arab

countries also faced protests, with some attempting to calm the masses by making

concessions and governmental changes. The events were later commonly referred to

as the Arab Spring

UPRISING

The 1932–1958 flag of Syria has been used as an opposition flag.

Before the uprising in Syria began in mid-March 2011, protests were relatively modest,

considering the wave of unrest that was spreading across the Arab world. Syria

remained what Al Jazeera described as a "kingdom of silence", due to strict security

measures, a relatively popular president, religious diversity, and concerns over the

prospects of insurgency like that seen in neighboring Iraq.

The events began on 26 January 2011, when Hasan Ali Akleh from Al-Hasakah poured

gasoline on himself and set himself on fire, in the same way Tunisian Mohamed

Bouazizihad in Tunis on 17 December 2010. According to eyewitnesses, the action was

"a protest against the government”. Two days later, on 28 January 2011, an evening

demonstration was held in Ar-Raqqah to protest the killing of two soldiers of Kurdish

descent.

["Down with Bashar al-Assad" Government-critical graffiti was an early sign of the

uprising.]

On 3 February, a "Day of Rage" was called for in Syria from 4–5 February on social

media websites Facebook and Twitter; however, protests failed to materialize within the

country itself. Hundreds marched in Al-Hasakah, but Syrian security forces dispersed

the protest and arrested dozens of demonstrators. A protest in late February at

the Libyan Embassy in Damascus to demonstrate against the government of Muammar

Gaddafi, facing his own major protests in Libya, was met with brutal beatings from

Syrian police moving to disperse the demonstration against a friendly regime.

On 6 March young boys were arrested in the city of Daraa for writing the slogan "the

people want to overthrow the regime" on walls across the city. The following day 13

political prisoners went on a hunger strike protesting "political detentions and

oppression" in their country demanding the implementation of civil and political rights.

Three days later dozens of Syrian Kurds started their own hunger strike in solidarity with

these other strikers. During this time, Ribal al-Assad, a government critic, said that it

was almost time for Syria to be the next domino in the burgeoning Arab Spring.

DOMESTIC RESPONSE

Even before the uprising began, the Syrian government conducted numerous arrests of

protestors, political activists and human rights campaigners, many of whom were

labeled "terrorists" by Assad. In early February, authorities arrested several activists,

including political leaders Ghassan al-Najar, Abbas Abbas, and Adnan Mustafa.

The police often responded to the protests violently, not only using water cannons and

tear gas, but also beating protesters and firing live ammunition.

As the uprising began, the Syrian government waged a campaign of arrests that had

caught tens of thousands of people, according to lawyers and activists in Syria and

human rights groups. In response to the uprising, Syrian law had been changed to allow

the police and any of the nation's 18 security forces to detain a suspect for eight days

without a warrant. Arrests focused on two groups: political activists, and men and

boys from the towns that the Syrian Army would start to besiege in April.

CONCESSIONS

During March and April, the Syrian government, hoping to alleviate the unrest, offered

political reforms and policy changes. Authorities shortened mandatory army

conscription, and in an apparent attempt to reduce corruption, fired the governor of

Daraa. The government announced it would release political prisoners, cut taxes, raise

the salaries of public sector workers, provide more press freedoms, and increase job

opportunities. Many of these announced reforms were never implemented.

The government, dominated by the Alawite sect, made some concessions to the

majority Sunni and some minority populations. Authorities reversed a ban that restricted

teachers from wearing the niqab, and closed the country's only casino. The government

also granted citizenship to thousands of Syrian Kurds previously labeled "foreigners".

A popular demand from protestors was an end of the nation’s state of emergency, which

had been in effect for nearly 50 years. The emergency law had been used to justify

arbitrary arrests and detention, and to ban political opposition. After weeks of debate,

Assad signed the decree on 21 April, lifting Syria’s state of emergency.

Crackdown

Anti-government protests continued in April, with activists unsatisfied with what they

considered vague promises of reform from Assad. During the month, the uprising

became more extensive and more violent, as the government sent security forces into

restive towns and cities. Many protesters were arrested, beaten, shot or killed. Assad

characterizes the opposition as armed terrorist groups with Islamist motives. Early in

the month, a large deployment of security forces prevented tent encampments in

Latakia. Blockades were set up in several cities, to prevent the movement of protests.

Despite the crackdown, widespread protests remained throughout the month in Daraa,

Baniyas, Al-Qamishli, Homs, Douma and Harasta.

CENSORSHIP OF EVENTS

Since demonstrations began in March, the Syrian government has restricted

independent news coverage, barring foreign free press outlets and arresting reporters

who try to cover protests. Some journalists had been reported to have gone missing,

been detained, been tortured in custody, or been killed on duty. International media

have relied heavily on footage shot by civilians, who would often upload the files on the

internet.

The government disabled mobile phones, landlines, electricity, and the Internet in

several places. Authorities had extracted passwords of social media sites from

journalists through beatings and torture. The pro-government online group the Syrian

Electronic Army had frequently hacked websites to post pro-regime material, and the

government has been implicated in malware attacks targeted at those reporting on the

crisis. The government also targeted and tortured political cartoonists who were critical

of the crackdown.

Propaganda

Propaganda, the coordinated attempt to influence public opinion through the use of

media, has been used by the Syrian government since the beginning of the conflict.

SANA, the government’s official news agency, often refers to the opposition as “armed

gangs” or “terrorists.” Although there are extremists fighting against the

government, most independent media sources do not refer to the opposition as

terrorists. Television interviews sometimes use loyalists disguised as locals, who would

stand near sites of destruction and claim that they were caused by rebel fighters.

Protests and military sieges

As the protests and unrest continued, the Syrian government began launching major

military operations to suppress resistance. This signaled a new phase in the uprising,

as the government response changed from a mix of concessions and force to violent

repression. On 25 April, Daraa, which had become a focal point of the uprising, was

one of the first cities to be besieged by the Syrian Army. An estimated hundreds to

6,000 soldiers were deployed, firing live ammunition at demonstrators and

searching house to house for protestors. Tanks were used for the first time against

protestors, and snipers took positions on rooftops. Mosques used as headquarters for

demonstrators and organizers were especially targeted. Security forces began shutting

off water, power and phone lines, and confiscating flour and food. Clashes between the

army and opposition forces, which included armed protestors and defected soldiers, led

to the

FORMATION OF OPPOSITION GROUPS

Free Syrian Army(FSA)

On 29 July, a group of defected officers announced the formation of the Free Syrian

Army(FSA), which would become the main opposition army. Composed of defected

Syrian Armed Forces personnel and civilian volunteers, the rebel army seeks to

remove Bashar al-Assad and his government from power. This began a new phase in

the conflict, with more armed resistance against the government crackdown. The FSA

would grow in size, to about 20,000 by December, and to an estimated 40,000 by June

2012.

A web video featuring a group of uniformed men claiming to be defected Syrian

Army officers proclaimed the formation of a Free Syrian Army (FSA). In the video, the

men called upon Syrian soldiers and officers to defect to their ranks, and said the

purpose of the Free Syrian Army was to defend protesters from violence by the

state. Many Syrian soldiers subsequently deserted to join the FSA with estimates

ranging from 1,000 to over 25,000 as of December 2011. Nir Rosen, who spent time

with the FSA in Syria, claims the majority of its members are civilians rather than

defectors, who had taken up arms long before the formation of the FSA was

announced. He also stated they have no central leadership. The FSA functions more as

an umbrella organization than a traditional military chain of command, and is

"headquartered" in Turkey. As such, it cannot issue direct orders to its various bands of

fighters, but many of the most effective armed groups are fighting under the FSA's

banner.

More than 3,000 members of the Syrian security forces have been killed, which the

Syrian government states is due to "armed gangs" being among the protesters, yet the

opposition blames the deaths on the government. Syrians have been crossing the

border to Lebanon to buy weapons on the black market since the beginning of the

protests. Clan leaders in Syria claim that the armed uprising is of a tribal, revenge-

based nature, not Islamist. On 6 June, the government said more than 120 security

personnel were killed by "armed gangs"; 20 in an ambush, and 82 in an attack on a

security post. The main centers of unrest have been described as being predominately

Sunni Muslim towns and cities close to the country's borders where smuggling has been

common for generations, and thus have more access to smuggled weapons.

NON-STATE PARTIES IN THE CONFLICT

Shabiha

Shabiha have been described as "a notorious Alawite paramilitary, who are

accused of acting as unofficial enforcers for Assad's regime; gunmen loyal to

Assad";"semi-criminal gangs comprised of thugs close to the regime". Some

"Shabiha" operating in Aleppo have been reported to be Sunni, however, Assad is

reported to have created the secretive militia for the government in times of crisis.

According to a Syrian citizen, Shabiha is a term that was used to refer to gangs involved

in smuggling during the Syrian occupation of Lebanon: "They used to travel in

ghost cars without plates; that's how they got the name Shabiha. They would

smuggle cars from Lebanon to Syria. The police turned a blind eye, and in return

Shabiha would act as a shadow militia in case of need". Witnesses and refugees

from the northwestern region say that the Shabiha has been intimately involved in the

killing, looting and destruction.

SYRIAN NATIONAL COUNCIL

The Syrian opposition met several times in conferences held mostly in Turkey and

formed a National Council.

The Federation of Tenseekiet Syrian Revolution helped in the formation of a

Transitional National Assembly on 23 August in Istanbul "to serve as the political

stage of the Revolution of the Syrian people". The creation of the Syrian National

Council was celebrated by the Syrian protestors since the Friday protest following its

establishment was dubbed "The Syrian National Council Represents Me". The Syrian

National Council gained the recognition of a few countries, including "sole legitimate

interlocutor" by the United States. The SNC is said to have developed a debilitating

democratic deficit, and some opposition actors on the ground in Syria subsequently

refuse to work with it.

FOREIGN INVOLVEMENT

INTERNATIONAL REACTION

The conflict in Syria received significant international attention. The Arab League,

European Union, Secretary-General of the United Nations, and many Western

governments condemned the Syrian government's violent response to the protests, and

many expressed support for the protesters' right to exercise free speech. Russia and

China consistently rejected any United Nations resolution that would impose sanctions

on Syria. Russia denounced the use of violence by the opposition, and claimed that

"terrorists" are present within its ranks. Iran also expressed support for Assad. Both

the Organization and the Arab League have suspended Syria from membership.

IMPACT

In August 2012, the United Nations said 2.5 million people needed help due to the civil

war, and more than one million people were internally displaced.

Death

Total deaths over the course of the conflict in Syria

Estimates of deaths in the conflict vary, with figures ranging from 30,000 to 45,640.

One problem has been determining the number of "armed combatants" who have died,

due to some sources counting rebel fighters who were not defectors as civilians. At

least half of those killed have been estimated to be combatants from both sides,

including more than 7,200 government soldiers. In addition, UNICEF reported that over

500 children had been killed by early February 2012. Another 400 children have been

reportedly arrested and tortured in Syrian prisons. Both claims have been contested by

the Syrian government. Additionally, over 600 detainees and political prisoners have

died under torture. In mid-October 2012, the opposition activist group SOHR reported

the number of children killed in the conflict had risen to 2,300.

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

The "vast majority" of human rights violations, including the international crimes,

documented have been committed by the Syrian armed and security forces and their

allied militia. Some violations are considered by many to be so serious, deliberate, and

systematic as to constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes. Human Rights

Watch accused the Assad government of creating an "archipelago of torture

centers". The key role in the repression, and particularly torture, is played by

the mukhabarat: the Department of Military Intelligence, the Political Security

Directorate, the General Intelligence Directorate, and the Air Force Intelligence

Directorate.

With regard to armed opposition groups, the UN accused them of: unlawful killing;

torture and ill-treatment; kidnapping and hostage taking; and the use of children in

dangerous non-combat roles.

CRIME WAVE

As the conflict has expanded across Syria, many cities have been engulfed in a wave of

crime as fighting caused the disintegration of much of the civilian state, and many police

stations stopped functioning. Rates of thievery increased, with criminals looting houses

and stores. Rates of kidnappings increased as well. Rebel fighters were sighted stealing

cars and destroying an Aleppo restaurant in which Syrian soldiers had eaten.

Refugees

The violence in Syria has caused hundreds of thousands to flee their homes, with many

seeking safety in nearby countries. Jordan has seen the largest influx of refugees since

the conflict began, followed by Turkey, Lebanon, and Iraq. On 9 October 2012,

the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that the

number of Syrian refugees had increased to between 355,000 and 500,000.

***Although the Executive Board has tried to compile all the related information in this Background

Guide but there may be some uncovered aspects for which the EB advices the Delegates to have a

detailed search and come fully prepared for the MUN session.