A human rights approach to combat illicit trade: the case of Syria

24 Feb, 2022 | Press Releases

24 February 2022, 16:00-17:30

No Peace Without Justice together with the Euro-Syrian Democratic Forum, the Budapest Centre for Mass Atrocities Prevention and the Sant’Anna School of Advance Studies are convening the online conference “A human rights approach to combat illicit trade: the case of Syria”, to be held on 24 February 2022 (from 4pm to 5.30pm, Brussels time CET).

This event will aim at highlighting how war economies and illicit trade have serious and tangible costs for human rights and for the erosion of the rule of law, increasing the suffering of civilians, contributing to political instability and feeding mechanisms that favor impunity and underline the need for a human-rights based approach to countering illicit trade and the effects of war economies on the affected populations. As the EU remains the biggest international donor in assistance for needs inside Syria, it is critical that European institutions develop a human rights approach to the challenges posed by the emergence of war economies and trafficking in conflict situations and look into the necessary tools and mechanisms for effectively addressing these challenges. It is also crucial that civil society and the private sector acquire an increased awareness on the nexus between illicit trade and human rights violations against individuals and communities as a basis for greater commitment to counteracting illicit trade.

Simultaneous translation will be provided in English and Arabic

Co-Chairs

– Hussein Sabbagh, Euro-Syrian Democratic Forum

– Niccolò Figà-Talamanca, No Peace Without Justice

Panel: 

– Hon. Fabio Massimo Castaldo, Member of the EP Committee on Foreign Affairs

– Abdulbaset Sieda, Syrian politician and academic; former President of the Syrian National Council

– Nagham Ghadri, Human Rights advocate and former Vice-President of the Syrian National Opposition Coalition

– Luca Poltronieri Rossetti, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies

– György Tatár, Budapest Center for Mass Atrocities Prevention

Participation in the event is free, but registration on https://bit.ly/illicittradesyria is required in order to get the direct link to the conference.

The live stream of the event can be followed on our social media pages:

Documentation: