Legal Strategies to Protect the Civilians in Syria - Research Paper Example

The crisis in Syria has become a humanitarian crisis. The Syrian regime has committed mass atrocities against the population, the most used one being the crimes against humanity. Some legal analysts argue that the Syrian regime is on the verge of committing genocide, as the Alawi minority dominates the country and is currently fighting the Sunni majority. Moreover, a humanitarian disaster is present, as thousands have fled Syria and burdened neighboring countries such as Turkey.

With only a few solutions available under the international law to the Syrian conflict, even the ones at hand are either not politically feasible, or need UNSC authorization. Under international law, military intervention in another country of any kind must be authorized by the UNSC, and it must be done in cases where human rights are in some way violated on a massive scale. The international community has a duty to protect Syrian civilians.

There are many prerogatives that demand the protection of civilians, two of which are crucial for Syria. The first is the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), aiming to protect civilians from mass atrocities, and the second is elements of the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflicts (POC). Under elements of POC referring to a conflict, the international community is again obliged to assist civilians and address their most basic needs.

The proposed solutions so far have been mostly focused on either intervention or diplomacy. Military intervention conducted in the same style as in Libya has been proposed by some legal analysts. However, others claim that Russia and China would never vote in favor of such an intervention in the UNSC. Moreover, factors present in Libya are absent in Syria, and thus an intervention of any type cannot take place. Instead, others propose the use of diplomacy through sanctions and referral of the regime members to the International Criminal Court (ICC) under the Statute of Rome. Since Syria signed the Statute, even in the absence of its ratification, ICC is authorized to prosecute Syrian regime members. However, again, a UNSC referral to ICC is needed. Russia and China will never interfere with Syrian sovereignty.

A third solution, also based on diplomacy, would be more feasible. It would be to ignore the Statute of Rome and simply allow the Syrian regime to save face and find a common dialogue with the opposition through an organized ceasefire agreement and peacekeeping mission. This option would be based on diplomacy. Sanctions on Syria are crucial in this option, but so is the option offered to the Syrian regime to leave and let the opposition take over the country. A ceasefire agreement would be arranged through sanctions. Once it would take place, peacekeepers would enter the country. The latter would need to be authorized by UNSC, but chances are higher than the resolution would pass, as it is non – interventionist and does not involve ICC. Kofi Annan or another high-profile figure in the Middle East could be used to mediate the negotiations.