Arab states cannot whitewash Syria’s human rights record

“I fled the conflict in Syria to seek refuge in Lebanon… Now Lebanon has deported me back to Syria, where the same government I fled from continues to rule with an iron fist. I will be arrested, conscripted, tortured or starve. But it doesn’t matter (which) because the result is the same: I’m doomed,” Ashraf told me.

Their despair echoes the sentiments of Syrian refugees around the world as they watch Arab states welcome Syrian President Bashar al-Assad into the Arab League. Ashraf views recent events as the Arab world’s “great betrayal” of the Syrian uprising.

In fact, the Arab states’ rapprochement with Syria is hypocritical, to say the least. After a decade of condemning the Syrian government’s crimes and violations against its own people, Arab leaders are welcoming it, regardless of the criminal responsibility it still bears.

He speech of Jordan’s King Abdullah at the Arab League summit on May 19 is quite indicative of what the Arab states are seeking to achieve. “The brother Syrian people paid a high price (during the Syrian conflict) that had repercussions on all of us. Today we welcome Syria’s return to the Arab League as an important step that we hope will contribute to efforts to end the crisis,” he said.

But no matter how much Arab leaders invest in rehabilitating the Syrian government’s image through invitations to world conferences and diplomatic overtures, they will not be able to erase 12 years of war crimes and crimes against humanity that it committed.

It may seem naive to suggest that Arab states should invest in protecting human rights in Syria, given that many have abysmal rights records in the country. However, they have a responsibility to ensure that the recent thaw in relations does not encourage the Syrian government to continue to trample on human rights.

Some Arab states, such as Jordan and Lebanon, have already begun to exploit Syria’s return to the Arab fold to encourage the return of refugees. Jordan is seeking regional support for its “voluntary return” plan, while Lebanon has increased forced deportations.

Meanwhile, the Syrian government does not appear to be interested in making serious political concessions or improving its rights record in order to “end the crisis.” Instead of taking steps to ensure the voluntary, safe and dignified return of refugees, the Syrian authorities are using the refugee card to pressure Arab states for financial aid and reconstruction support while continuing to inflict terror on returnees.

A refugee who had been sent back from Lebanon told me recently that he was arrested by the Syrian army and had to pay all his savings (about $1500) to be released. His friends, who had also been deported with him, are still being held in the Fourth Division of the Syrian Army because they cannot pay for his release.

I also heard about the recent arrest and deportation from Lebanon of four men who had deserted from the Syrian army. Once on Syrian soil, they were transferred to the Palestinian Section, an intelligence division known for its use of torture and other ill-treatment of detainees.

The detention and mistreatment of returnees are part of the Syrian government’s systematic violations, including arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture and other ill-treatment, deaths in custody, and extrajudicial executions after mock trials, all constituting crimes against humanity.

The scale of these atrocities, committed with complete impunity, escalated after the start of the uprising in 2011, but the Syrian authorities had been perpetrating them for several decades before then to quell dissent. These crimes have not only devastated the Syrian population, but have also produced multiple human rights crises, including that of the more than 100,000 missing in Syria.

Since 2011, I have spoken to dozens of women whose sons, husbands, brothers, or other family members have been subjected to enforced disappearance for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, carrying out humanitarian work, or simply for being perceived as opposition supporters. .

These women told me about the immense psychological toll that living in perpetual uncertainty about the fate of their loved ones has taken on them, while struggling with government denials and insufficient support from the international community. They, and Syrians in general, deserve better.

The Arab countries have a responsibility towards the people of Syria that they cannot continue to evade. They must publicly acknowledge the Syrian government’s appalling human rights record, end the return of Syrian refugees and hold them accountable, an end to the use of torture and other ill-treatment and enforced disappearances. They should use their influence over the Syrian government to ensure the safe voluntary return of the refugees.

In addition, the families of the disappeared and survivors are pressing the UN General Assembly to establish an independent body to investigate the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared. They need the support of the Arab states; it is crucial that, when the time comes, all Arab states vote for the creation of this institution.

Anything less than that will send a message to the Syrian government, and to others in the region, that committing heinous crimes on a massive scale has no consequences on the world stage.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.