Executive Summary Can and should the Syrian conflict be defined as genocide? This policy paper outlines a new conceptual framework to define the concept of genocide. This new framework is based on the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the different critiques it has received over the years. The framework gives an extended definition of the concept of genocide to fit the need of modern warfare. It is then applied it to the cases of the sieges of eastern Aleppo and Eastern Ghouta. The report starts by outlining the conceptual framework, defining each elemen ..read more

Syria became one of the most important international archaeological fields in recent decades; by the early 21st century, Syria had accepted over one hundred archaeological missions in the country. Stability in Syria was one of the reasons which attracted numbers of well-known archaeological research institutes and universities. The government’s construction of the Tabqa, Teshreen, and Hassakeh dams along the Euphrates and Khabur Rivers also facilitated conditions for archaeological work in Syria. Numerous new discoveries at a large number of excavations made Syria one of the most archaeologica ..read more

When ISIS captured Palmyra for the first time in May 2015, the people of Palmyra, or “al-Tadamera”, were affected by the destruction wrought upon the archaeological site as much as they were by the loss of their families, friends and homes. This should not come as a surprise as the connection between the people of modern Palmyra (Tadmor) and the archaeological site is a deep-rooted one. The ruins of Palmyra were a home and shelter for the local people of Palmyra until a century ago when the French Mandate authorities decided to obliterate their village inside the temple of Bel and move the inh ..read more

The Aleppo Project’s Adnan Samman wrote this piece for The National about the last time he saw his hometown, Hama, during one last visit to Syria ten years ago.    Every year, Eid brings a melancholic set of memories. I remember the family gatherings back home in Syria, the great food, new clothes, gifts and toys. As years passed by, I never got used to being indefinitely exiled. Each year brings its own new set of memories. Life goes on. This year, however, I have found myself marking a milestone that I never wanted to reach in the first place. It is now a decade since I left Syria ..read more

Values in Retreat? Is the Resurgence of “Transactional” Foreign Policy Hindering the Prevention of Mass Atrocities, the Promotion of the Rule of Law, and the Global Response to COVID-19? The Lemkin Reunion, 6th Annual Meeting Shattuck Center, School for Public Policy, Central European University Budapest July 1-3, 2020 Many expected that the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of Communism would lead to the proliferation of liberal democracy and usher in an age of global cooperation on the prevention of atrocities and strengthening rule of law. Thirty years on, however, that idealist ..read more

Values in Retreat? Is the Resurgence of “Transactional” Foreign Policy Hindering the Prevention of Mass Atrocities and the Promotion of the Rule of Law? The Lemkin Reunion, 6th Annual Meeting Shattuck Center, School for Public Policy, Central European University Budapest April 23-24, 2020 The sixth Lemkin Reunion in April 2020 will examine the resurgence of “transactional” foreign policy and the challenges it poses for the prevention of atrocities and promotion of the rule of law. The Shattuck Center invites practitioners, experts and scholars at all levels to present papers and articles at th ..read more

The Aleppo Project has recently blogged about the multiple hospital bombing attacks that New York Times investigations proved were perpetrated by the Russian Air Force in rebel-held Idlib on at least two separate occasions this year.  A December 1 New York Times report linked Russian warplanes to attacks on civilian targets in Idlib on July 22 and August 16 that together killed 39 people and injured dozens more.  Far from being isolated incidents, the bombing and shelling of hospitals, health facilities, and clearly civilian areas, overwhelmingly perpetrated by the Assad regime and the Russian ..read more

A video investigation published by the New York Times on November 15 confirmed that on November 6, Russian pilots again bombed Kafr Nabl hospital in Idlib, Syria, just weeks after the Times proved Russia carried out similar attacks in May. The hospital now is out of service. The Times notes that the hospital’s coordinates were provided by the United Nations to Russia in order to prevent it from becoming a bombing target. It appears, however, that the coordinates instead were used by Russia to more precisely bomb the hospital and thus deprive the rebel-held area critically needed medical servic ..read more

I read the report published in English and Arabic by the New York Times on October 13, 2019, titled 12 Hours. 4 Syrian Hospitals Bombed. One Culprit: Russia, which includes an investigation into Russian attacks on four hospitals in northern Syria’s Idlib province:  the Nabd al Hayat Surgical Hospital, the Kafr Nabl Surgical Hospital, the Kafr Zita “cave Hospital” (specifically constructed underground to protect it from bombings) and Al-Amal Orthopedic Hospital. The New York Times piece was based on multiple pieces of evidence:  a collection of Russian Air Force audio recordings obtained by The ..read more

Just over a week in, Turkey’s continuing incursion into Northern Syria has precipitated significant changes on multiple fronts.  According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as of October 14 the fighting has forced up to 300,000 to flee their homes and resulted in the deaths of at least 70 civilians and more than 200 combatants – numbers that are certain to grow.  Instances of summary executions of combatants, unarmed civilians, and at least one local politician by Turkish forces or their allies in the rebel Syrian National Army (SNA) have been re ..read more