Safety Zones for Syria are a Human Right, but they are threatened by deceit

Update Ribbon Friday 6th Janaury 2012
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Large Explosions were reported in Damascus Qaboun districts in the night with another reported in Midan, Domascus this morning. Activists say including the 10 dead from the explosion in Damascus reported by the BBC there are 35 dead in #Syria today, some singled out in other shooting incidents. There are over 100 demonstrations today throughout Syria in line with Dignity strike, which has moved up a notch to be called the Noise Revolution Strike. Over 69 spontaneous demonstrations took place in Damascus city.

A worrying trend which seems to have developed with the Syrian Government regime is the misuse of Red Cross symbol on vehicles used to carry shooting squads. A video has emerged posted by the Red Cross in Geneva on it's website from November 2011 which clearly shows how a vehicle was used by the government army falsely marked with the neutral medical Red Cross emblem. Such a tactic by the Assad regime is devastating to the reputation of the Red Cross but it is also dangerous development, seriously undermining it's attempts to set up Hospital safety zones. Unverified reports say that there may have been more use of false Red Cross vehicles firing into protestors this week. The Red Cross have flagged up the misuse of their emblem in Syria as a violation of the Geneva convention. The crime of falsely displaying the Red Cross symbol with intent to deceive comes with a 25 year prison sentence so it is a serious violation of human rights and international trust for any country to perform.

But with such a serious action, the even more serious consequence is that by undermining the Red Cross, the Assad Government is jeopardizing the creation of neutral safety zones for civilians. It is little wonder that the Military Commander of the Free Army has cast up a warning this week of further reprisals when the military request for a safety zone has been so tarnished. What is even more shocking is that the international community would allow Assad to get away with it. Below is an explanation of civilian SAFETY ZONES
(By the way Goulian head of the Syrian national Council has requested there be Safety Zones as well as a No Fly Zone in a restricted area of the country when he was interviewed by the BBC yesterday)

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Syrian National Council launches new Website at the url http://syriancouncil.org/
Red Cross Fail to implement Safety Zones in Syria

When you examine the International Committee for the Red Cross's guidelines on Safety Zones in places of war you have to read it twice, not because it's a hard read but because one's mind races at the thought of a solitary soldier walking through the enemy line trying to organize the correct apparatus to set them up, with the agreement of an enemy, who could fire on him at any moment.

I imagine the vehicle he travels in winding though his own lines, taking the path across his own comfort zone knowing he has cover from his own side, but then entering enemy territory holding his fire, perhaps with a makeshift sign of white and red trying convey he has a message to deliver. Then being fired on, luckily avoiding the fire then reaching the enemy commanders outpost. What do they say to each other? How do they begin the truce if only in selected areas of ground, in hospitals and designated neutralised zones for children, women, the sick, the old, the wounded civilians as well as injured soldiers of both sides? They must speak to each other man to man and say Yes Ok we will do it, we will mark out our hospitals with a 5 mile excusion zone, we will assign towns as neutral zones, we will tape off villages for the wounded an perhaps even allow an aid corridor to feed the children, the women, the old and the dying. They have to agree to do this together, then instruct their troops to abide by this new way of doing things.

But this is not a new idea Henry Dunnat founder of the Red Cross, was the creator of an idea that was to revolutionize war. It successfully reduced civilian casualties, and deaths of soldiers in war whose right it became to be treated for their wounds. He advocated safety zones, neutral, hospitals, and living areas for people caught up in the tragedy of war. In 1870 in the Franco Prussian war he himself walked across the battle field to the enemy side where he began talks with them. When they agreed he put up the Red tape himself around the Hospitals and Villages or even Towns where the wounded were then to be treated. He campaigned for extended neutralised zones therefore allowing food and supplies into these towns. Today we know them as neutralised zones called the Humanitarian Corridor normally campaigned for by the UN when it has successfully secured access to the country at war. His wonderful idea was to become reality in 1938 with the draft constitution of the Geneva Agreement. Later in 1949 it received approval from all countries, after World War 2, to become what is known as the GENEVA CONVENTION. Since then it has become the world wide constitution for the Human Rights of children, men, women, unborn and the dying soldier in war to have dignity in being removed for the battlefield.
Here below are the guidelines from the 1949 4th Geneva Convention word for word, but to enact these simple things there needs to be intermediaries, to make requests to the other side to create space for civilians to remain as human beings in their own homes. The Convention also requests that these intermediaries are the legal right of both sides, to accomplish these zones.


GENERAL 1949 GENEVA CONVENTION 4th PROTOCOL article 14

1. ' Terminology '

The terminology in normal use should first be defined. A distinction is drawn between:

(a) ' hospital zones and localities, ' generally of a permanent character, organized outside the combat zone in order to shelter military or civilian wounded and sick from long range weapons, especially aerial bombardment (1);

(b) ' safety, zones and localities, ' generally of a permanent character, organized outside the combat zone in order to shelter certain categories of the civilian population, which owing to their weakness require special protection (children, old people, expectant mothers, etc.) from long range weapons, especially aerial bombardment (2).

[p.207]
(c) ' hospital and safety zones and localities, ' which are a combination of (a) and (b) above;

(d) ' neutralized zones, ' generally of a temporary character, established in the actual combat zone to protect both combatant and non-combatant wounded and sick, as well as all members of the civilian population who are in the area and not taking part in the hostilities, from military operations in the neighbourhood. END QUOTE


UN's Fails to Act on Syryia

It remains for the UN to act out, it's own bible, the Geneva Convention in Syria where the Opposition have made repeated requests for the safety zones to be set up. It also remains for the Red Cross to enforce its own guidelines in Homs where there are no designated civilian safety zones or neutral hospitals. There instead, the Red Cross have created the dangerous turf war of a compromise that only one hospital is freely available to Opposition fighters or supporters. This arrangement is NOT a safety zone but a poor compromise that bears no relation to the Geneva Convention. The Geneva representative of the RED CROSS is currently unavailable for comment due to leave over the New Year. I await his answer.

The Syrian National Council actively support the need for Safety Zones.

It remains if the International community will swiftly set up the apparatus to do so under the security council or the other processes available to it under the UN charter of Human Rights and Organs. Meanwhile the Syrian People await with their Children under fire.