Syria - Researched and compiled by the Refugee Documentation Centre of Ireland on Thursday 30 April & Friday 1 May 2015

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1 Syria - Researched and compiled by the Refugee Documentation Centre of Ireland on Thursday 30 April & Friday 1 May 2015 Information on penalties faced by those who refuse to join/resist conscription to the official Syrian Army; Information on recent conscription drives by the official Syrian army Research compiled and issued by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada in August 2014 notes that: Sources indicate that military service is mandatory for all Syrian males over the age of 18 (Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (13 August 2014) Syria: Compulsory military service, including age of recruitment, length of service; occasions where proof of military service status is required; whether the government can recall individuals who have already completed their compulsory military service; penalties for evasion (2008-July 2014) This document also states that: Sources state that those who try to evade military service face imprisonment or forced conscription (ibid). A report issued in September 2014 by Forced Migration Review notes that: Inside the regime-controlled areas of Syria, men regardless of their beliefs or politics face conscription at 18 years of age Since the conflict began, even men who have completed their military service have been called up to serve again, until the age of 42 (Forced Migration Review (September 2014) The Syria Crisis, displacement and protection, p.35 This document also points out that: being caught trying to avoid military service could mean prolonged detention, torture or death (ibid, p.36). A paper issued in October 2014 by the UNHCR notes: Where claims of asylum-seekers who have fled Syria are considered on an individual basis in accordance with established asylum or refugee status determination procedures, UNHCR considers that persons with any of the profiles below, or a combination thereof, are likely to be in need of international protection in the sense of the 1951 Convention, unless, of course, exclusion clauses would apply The profiles listed here are not necessarily exhaustive; they are based on information available at the time of Writing Persons opposing or perceived to be opposing the government, including, but not limited to, members of political opposition parties; protestors, activists and others perceived to be sympathizing with the opposition; members of anti-government armed groups, or persons perceived to be members of anti-government armed groups; draft evaders and deserters from the Armed Forces; Government and Ba ath Party officials who abandoned their positions; family members and affiliates of persons opposing or perceived to be opposing the

2 government; and civilian inhabitants of urban neighbourhoods, towns and villages perceived to be opposing the government (UNHCR (27 October 2014) International Protection Considerations with regard to people fleeing the Syrian Arab Republic, Update III, p.14). A report issued in December 2014 by the Institute for the Study of War notes: Young men aged 18 or older must serve an eighteen-month tour as a conscript soldier and remain eligible for recall in the army reserves until the age of forty. However, reports indicate that the avoidance of this legal obligation has reached staggering levels (Institute for the Study of War (15 December 2014) The Assad Regime Under Stress: Conscription and Protest among Alawite and Minority Populations in Syria). This report also points out that: The regime has complemented its reserve mobilizations with concentrated crackdowns on young men attempting to avoid compulsory military service. Military police, intelligence branch officers, and National Defense Force militia have employed mobile checkpoints and raids in regime-held areas in almost every Syrian province from regime-held neighborhoods of Aleppo city in the north to Dera a in the south, and from Latakia and Tartus along the Alawite coast to Hasaka in the east the Syrian Network for Human Rights catalogued over 5,400 arrests for military conscription during the first seven months of 2014 However, the regime has reportedly started to take stricter measures to target men avoiding military service. Regime forces now conduct raids on buses, cafes, and other venues frequented by young men instead of relying on fixed checkpoints. In some cases, security officials have conducted violent house-by-house searches in entire neighborhoods and detained any youths with improper documentation. Extortion and corruption are endemic, with National Defense Force militiamen reportedly charging young men or their parents up to 600,000 Syrian pounds ($3,300) to avoid detainment. Men conscripted into military service during these arrests often receive minimal training, in some cases being deployed to frontline fighting positions within days of their detention (ibid). A report issued in December 2014 by the Washington Post notes that: In October, the regime stepped up activations of reserve forces. Tens of thousands of reservists have been called up, and soldiers and militiamen have erected scores of checkpoints and increased raids on cafes and homes to apprehend those reservists who refuse to comply. Similar measures increasingly target those who avoid regular military service, a compulsory 18-month period for all men who are 18 and older. In recent weeks, the regime also began upping threats to dismiss and fine state employees who fail to fulfill military obligations (Washington Post (28 December 2014) Desperate for soldiers, Assad s government imposes harsh recruitment measures). In January 2015 the Syrian Human Rights Committee states: The year 2014 saw an increase in detentions carried out by the Syrian Army and security forces to conscript young people for the Army, in areas under the regime s control and in the barriers set up there. The Army's conscription branches prepared long lists containing names of young men wanted for military service (Syrian Human

3 Rights Committee (January 2015) The 13th Annual Report on human rights in Syria 2014 (January 2014 December 2014), p.49). In February 2015 the United Nations Human Rights Council notes in a report that: Boys and men are at constant risk of being targeted or instrumentalized by the parties to the conflict. Government forces, ISIS, and the YPG have all pursued a concerted effort to conscript young men into their ranks. Minors have been recruited and used by all parties to the conflict, at times systematically (United Nations Human Rights Council (5 February 2015) Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, p.9). A report released in February 2015 by the Syrian Network for Human Rights notes that: On 14 February, government forces arrested five civilians at a checkpoint on Al- Hamdaniya highway in Aleppo city for conscription purposes. They were then taken to an undisclosed place (Syrian Network for Human Rights (15 February 2015) [Untitled] The Syrian Network for Human Rights in February 2015 states: government forces started its conscription campaign in October 2014 which is still ongoing as hundreds were detained, kidnapped, and forced to join the military and fight with government forces as we noted in previous reports (Syrian Network for Human Rights (16 February 2015) The Dismissal of Government Employees whose Loyalties are in Doubt Continues, p.1). In February 2015 the IHS Global Insight points out in a report that: IHS sources have said that the Syrian government is struggling to get conscripts to join their units, and that conscription is becoming a major source of discontent in Assad's own Alawite community, and in other minority communities like the Druse (IHS Global Insight (23 February 2015) Failed Syrian government attempt to cut off Aleppo reflects shortage of manpower needed to control province). A paper published in February 2015 by the Danish Immigration Service notes: Throughout the autumn of 2014, the Syrian government has intensified its efforts towards recruitment of Syrian men to the army, although no official changes have taken place with regard to the military service law and its enforcement. The government s recruitment to the Syrian army is, however, mainly restricted to the areas under the regime s control. As regards the profile of those recruited, the government recruits all regardless of religious or ethnic background, including Sunnis (Danish Immigration Service (26 February 2015) Syria: Military Service, Mandatory Self-Defence Duty and Recruitment to the YPG, p.3). This document also notes that: Evaders and deserters of military service will be searched for by the authorities. Names of draft evaders and deserters are registered in a list or a database which the authorities have access to at checkpoints and border crossings (ibid, p.3).

4 This document also states that: the Syrian government is acting more aggressively in imposing military service on draft evaders and reservists (ibid, p.5). It is also pointed out in this report that: If caught, draft evaders would be detained by one of the security branches, most likely the Military Intelligence or Air Force Intelligence, and eventually be taken to the military court in al-qaboun, Damascus. The individual might be subjected to torture and ill-treatment while in the custody of security branches (ibid, p.10). A report released in March 2015 by the Syrian Network for Human Rights notes that: On March 10, 2015 the government forces raided Al-Qossour Neighborhood in Hama 3 civilians were detained for forced recruitment and taken to Military Police branch (Syrian Network for Human Rights (10 March 2015) [Untitled]. In April 2015 a report published by Agence France-Presse states that: As the territory that has fallen out of regime control is predominantly Sunni Muslim, the government is heavily recruiting from among the Druze, Christian, Alawite, and Ismaili minorities (Agence France-Presse (19 April 2015) Pro-regime Syrians support army but dodge draft). This document also states that: Syrian men by law are required to serve a two-year military service, which can be extended for much longer. Hit by defections and desertions, Syria's 300,000-strong military has halved in size since 2011 To reverse the trend and snare draft dodgers, military police have redoubled their efforts (ibid). In May 2015 Business Insider states: References Draft-dodging and desertions are also on the rise. In response, Assad has banned military-aged males from leaving the country and has pressed discharged soldiers into multiple rounds of duty (Business Insider (1 May 2015) Here are all of the problems with the reeling Syrian army). Agence France-Presse (19 April 2015) Pro-regime Syrians support army but dodge draft Business Insider (1 May 2015) Here are all of the problems with the reeling Syrian army ?r=US

5 Danish Immigration Service (26 February 2015) Syria: Military Service, Mandatory Self-Defence Duty and Recruitment to the YPG Forced Migration Review (September 2014) The Syria Crisis, displacement and protection IHS Global Insight (23 February 2015) Failed Syrian government attempt to cut off Aleppo reflects shortage of manpower needed to control province ue&risb=21_t &format=gnbfull&sort=boolean&startdocno=1 &resultsurlkey=29_t &cisb=22_t &treemax=true&tree Width=0&csi=250053&docNo=19THi This is a subscription database Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (13 August 2014) Syria: Compulsory military service, including age of recruitment, length of service; occasions where proof of military service status is required; whether the government can recall individuals who have already completed their compulsory military service; penalties for evasion (2008-July 2014) Institute for the Study of War (15 December 2014) The Assad Regime Under Stress: Conscription and Protest among Alawite and Minority Populations in Syria ogspot.com/2014/12/the-assad-regime-understress.html+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ie Syrian Network for Human Rights (10 March 2015) [Untitled] Syrian Network for Human Rights (16 February 2015) The Dismissal of Government Employees whose Loyalties are in Doubt Continues Syrian Network for Human Rights (15 February 2015) [Untitled] Syrian Human Rights Committee (January 2015) The 13th Annual Report on human rights in Syria 2014 (January 2014 December 2014)

6 UNHCR (27 October 2014) International Protection Considerations with regard to people fleeing the Syrian Arab Republic, Update III United Nations Human Rights Council (5 February 2015) Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic Washington Post (28 December 2014) Desperate for soldiers, Assad s government imposes harsh recruitment measures government-imposes-harsh-recruitment-measures/2014/12/28/62f d1d-4bd6- a862-b3ab46c6b33b_story.html This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Refugee Documentation Centre within time constraints. This response is not and does not purport to be conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please read in full all documents referred to. Sources Consulted Amnesty International BBC News Electronic Immigration Network European Country of Origin Information Network Freedom House Google Human Rights Watch Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre International Crisis Group IRIN News Lexis Nexis Minority Rights Group International Online Newspapers Refugee Documentation Centre E-Library Refugee Documentation Centre Query Database Reliefweb Reuters United Kingdom Home Office United States Department of State UNHCR Refworld