On Thursday, 20th of May, the Syrian British Council (SBC) participated in a high level meeting with the Friends of Syria All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) from the UK’s House of Commons and House of Lords. The meeting was attended by eight parliamentarians; Alison McGovern MP (Labour), Lord Dubs (Labour), Afzal Khan MP (Labour), Andrew Mitchell MP (Conservative), Jeff Smith MP (Labour), Wayne…
On Friday, The SBC and a group of Syrian & British activists handed a letter to the Danish Ambassador, opposing the Danish government’s decision to repatriate Syrian refugees based on the false premise that Syria is safe. This action by Denmark is based on a false assessment of the situation in Syria and is in breach of international law and the principle…
We, the undersigned Syrian organisations, in Syria and abroad, call upon Bashar al-Assad to end the Syria sanctions programmes immediately. Assad holds the keys to ending the sanctions by engaging genuinely in the political process outlined by in the UN Security Council resolution 2254, ending human rights violations and submitting to the pillars of genuine justice. In 2011, the United Nations High…
On the 18th of April, the Syrian regime announced that Syria’s presidential elections will be held on the 26th of May and on 21st of April, Bashar al-Assad, has officially announced his candidacy. These elections, which certainly guarantee the continuation of al-Assad’s brutal autocracy, are set to take place in the midst of a perpetual violent conflict where the ruling regime is…
A new report by Amnesty International issued on March 23, 2021, documents the number of violations committed against Syrian refugees in Lebanon. A previous Human Rights Watch report estimated the true number of Syrians in Lebanon to be 1.5 million. The same report mentioned that seventy-four percent of Syrians in Lebanon lack legal residency and risk detention for unlawful presence in Lebanon….
On Tuesday, 16 March 2021, the Syrian British Council and the Syria Relief hosted a Panel discussion to commemorate the 10the anniversary of the Syrian revolution. Key speakers of the event were the Minister for the Middle East & North Africa in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Labour MP and Shadow Minister for Culture & Progressive, Alison McGovern, Labour MP and…
Happy International Women’s Day! On this occasion, we, in the Syrian British Council, are very proud to have three wonderful women on our Board and we take this opportunity to recall some of what these pioneering women have achieved. Samera Zeitoun Tayan: As a co-founder of Souriat Across Borders (SAB), Samera, with other Syrian ladies, dedicated her time since the start of…
One of the recommendations of the Syrian British Council (SBC) regarding the Syrian elections appears in the speech of the UK representative in New York In the past two months, SBC raised the issue of the Syrian elections with decision-makers in the UK. In November 2020, SBC met with shadow ministers from the opposition, including the Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs and…
On 9 December members of the Syrian British Council attended a meeting with the former UK Syria Envoy, Dr Longden, his successor Mr Hargreaves and senior members of the Syria FCDO team. The meeting discussed the UK’s priorities in Syria.