UN Warns of Ongoing Serious Violations in Syria

ARK News.. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned that grave abuses continue to be committed in Syria, despite what it described as “encouraging steps” taken by Syrian authorities during the first year following the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Speaking at a press briefing in Geneva, OHCHR spokesperson Thameen Al-Khaitan said the measures adopted by the Syrian government—including the establishment of two national bodies for transitional justice and missing persons, the formation of investigative committees for violence in the coast and Sweida, the announcement of a draft transitional justice law, and the launch of trials related to coastal-area abuses—represent “important steps, but only a beginning.”

Al-Khaitan stressed that the UN office continues to receive “harrowing accounts” of summary executions, extrajudicial killings, and kidnappings, primarily targeting individuals from specific communities or those suspected of ties to the former regime.

Reported violations also include sexual violence, arbitrary arrests, looting, destruction of homes, forced evictions, property seizures, and restrictions on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, he added.

Al-Khaitan noted that much of the violence has disproportionately affected Alawites, Druze, Christians, and Bedouins, driven by a surge in hate speech “both online and on the streets.”

He also criticized the “rushed” integration of former armed groups into the new security forces without adequate human-rights vetting, warning that this approach risks enabling perpetrators of serious abuses to enter official institutions and could increase the likelihood of repeated violations.

The spokesperson underscored the need for independent and transparent investigations into all past and ongoing abuses, and for holding those responsible accountable in line with transitional justice standards.

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