Amnesty International on Monday called on Syria to investigate the abductions of Alawite women and girls, and bring perpetrators to justice.
Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary general, called on the Syrian authorities to “act swiftly and transparently in locating missing women and girls, bringing perpetrators to justice, and providing affected families with timely, gender-sensitive and credible information and support.”
Amnesty International reported that around 36 Alawite women and girls have been abducted in Latakia, Tartous, Homs and Hama governorates since February. In some of these cases, the women were abducted “in broad daylight.” Some of those abducted were underage girls. Through interviews, Amnesty International found that many women and girls from the Alawite community, as well as others in the affected governorates, are now frightened, which has caused them to be very careful when leaving their homes for school, university or work. Amnesty International stated that the Syrian authorities have failed to adequately investigate these abductions.
Some abducted women have reached out to their families to ask for divorces from their husbands. Amnesty International said it is probable that “they were subjected to forced marriage or coerced to request a divorce.” Abducted women have also been held for ransom, and in some cases forcibly married off despite ransom payments.
Amnesty International stressed that forced marriage places “the woman or girl at risk of a range of further abuse, including additional forms of sexual violence, other forms of physical abuse, and other mistreatment.” The UN General Assembly has recognized that child, early or forced marriage is a human rights violation. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has also highlighted that international law requires spouses to enter a marriage with full and free consent.
Furthermore, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has stated that forced marriage can amount to a crime against humanity under Article 7(1)(k) of the Rome Statute. The Ongwen case concerned marriages forced upon girls and women by the Lord’s Resistance Army during the Ugandan civil war. The ICC found that forced marriage is a form of gender-based violence. Its coercive nature violates an individual’s right to choose a spouse and start a family.
Callamard emphasized that the Syrian authorities are legally obliged to put a stop to gender-based violence, urging immediate and effective investigations into the kidnappings.
