MORAL RESPONSIBILITY
UN is paralysed as Syrians’ human rights are violated with impunity
One of the world’s leading medical journals, The Lancet, published an exceptionally powerful plea earlier in March for the world to intervene to stop one of the most searing humanitarian catastrophes playing out with such monstrous impunity in Syria. In the most recent round of fighting, which started on February 21, hundreds of people were killed and more than 1,550 civilians were injured, many deliberately. A total 25 hospitals and health centres have been hit, reducing capacity to 50% when patients most need care. Physicians for Human Rights found that the unspeakable suffering was deliberately planned and meticulously implemented. The Syrian American Medical Society estimates that more than 1,000 critically ill patients now need medical evacuation, but the Syrian government has allowed only 37 to proceed. Children have paid the heaviest price in the conflict. Their suffering has deteriorated to such a degree that the UN International Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef) published ...
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