The Assyrian Democratic Organization
Damascus
General Secretariat Office
Honorable members of Human Rights Committee
United Nations Organization
On the fifty eight anniversary of the release of the “International Declaration of the Human Rights ” on the 10th of December 1948 which has become an international day for the human rights , Damascus Declaration for National Democratic Change in Syria ( a coalition of political opposition , comprising of a big number of political and social parties and forces , civil society organizations as well as national independent opposition figures working in public affair ) presents to your honorable committee this letter on behalf of the Syrian citizens explaining the flagrant violations of human rights that is constantly taking place in Syria on the hands of a repressive totalitarian regime that has been ruling the country for more than four decades.
In spite of the fact that the Syrian people , through its government and institutions , contributed from an earlier stage to the foundation of the United Nation , to laying down its various treaties and to the ratification of the International Charter for Human Rights, yet, the human rights condition in
Because of the martial laws imposed in
The Syrian citizens have been deprived, for decades , from a fair and independent judiciary and a just system that would protect them from the tyranny and repression of the uncontrollable executive authorities such as the Supreme State Security Court whose arbitrary rulings has done great damage to thousands of political prisoners of various political orientations and which is currently trying eighth of the finest youths and students of our Syrian society . The law number 49 that sentence to death members of Moslem Brothers and incriminate them for their mere political affiliation . As a result , thousands were thrown to jails and left there to rot for periods more than twenty years , some of them had spent more than ten years in prison before bringing them to these unconstitutional courts . There are now thousands of citizens who were thrown to this jails and whose marks have been lost forever , nobody , not even their parents , know anything about them . On the other hand, stories of the terrible Syrian dungeons and horrible means of torture in these prisons are
Known to everybody .
we , as a part of the opposition force , demand a democratic peaceful and phased change with the participation of all the Syrian people , to transform the country from a police state to a political one . We work from inside , and suffer unspeakable difficulties at the hand of the regime . We are deprived of the rights of meeting , expression , sit ins , demonstrations and publications and all aspects of peaceful political activities . A great number of opposition activists are prevented from traveling abroad and those abroad are not allowed to return to their country .
Syria is now subjected to the will and decisions of one ruler and his close circle .Both the judicial and the constitutional authorities , as well as all the other state institutions have become organs that execute the instructions of the regime that is mainly interested in their private interests rather than the supreme national interests , meanwhile , the people is suppressed and not allowed to protest , the unions and syndicates’ legal boards have been seized and dissolved and replaced by regime’s stooges . The country has no law for parties that would regulate the political life , no modern democratic laws for publications , elections or local administrative councils , the constitution itself is tailor?made to suit the one ruler and party system and to differentiate between people according to their political affiliations .
Amidst these circumstances the economic rights of the citizens have been violated and corruption ,protected by the security and influential figures, have become widespread whereas the condition of the majority of Syrians has worsened to a large extent .
Gentlemen
After all we have said , we appeal to your respected committee to show solidarity with our people in its endeavor to consolidate the culture of freedom and human rights in Syria , in deeds not only in words , and to keep a watchful eye over what is happening in our country with regard to human rights.
We count on you to expose the regime’s bad treatment of its people and to push it into releasing general freedoms . We look forward to your help in setting free all the political detainees and prisoners of conscience and in warding off the injustice and eliminating all sorts of discrimination against the citizens of one country irrespective of their national or religious affiliations , in addition to finding a just solution to the Kurdish issue based on the principles of unity of the country as well as guarantees for rights of the Assyrians (Syriacs) . We expect your support in restoring citizenship to the Kurds who have been stripped of it and protecting their cultural social and economic rights and in consolidating good citizen relationship based on equality and justice , and finally , in excluding human rights issues from bargaining among regimes in the area because it is an urgent human issue par excellence .
Moreover , we adhere to the rights of the Palestinian people in their territories and country and support their just struggle in establishing their independent state. Similarly , we adhere to the rights of our people in the occupied Golan heights and to its liberation and return to
A commitment such as this , far from being politically motivated , would reinforce the confidence and faith of our people in your committee and in the political and diplomatic struggle carried out through the UN after many years of double-standard approach and selectiveness in implementing decisions that has tarnished the image of this international organization .
