Syria’s De- Escalation Zones Not to be Confused with “Safe Zones”

"While the fighting in de-escalation areas shall cease between Syrian forces and the groups that are party to the ceasefire regime, the memorandum foresees that there may be armed opposition groups that are not party to the ceasefire.In addition, the memorandum states that Russia, Turkey and Iran will take all necessary measures to continue the fight against ISIL, Nusra Front and other entities associated with ISIL or al-Qaeda, both within and outside the de-escalation areas.

These details make it apparent that the de-escalation areas are not designed to be “safe zones.” As described in an earlier post, international humanitarian law (IHL) foresees the establishment, by agreement between the parties to the conflict, of zones to shelter persons from the effects of hostilities. Hospital and safety zones can be set up to protect the wounded and sick, as well as certain categories of civilians, from the effects of armed conflict. These are typically set up far from the area of fighting, and must not be defended by military means. More temporary “neutralized zones” are typically not removed from the area of combat and are meant to provide shelter for the wounded and sick and civilians who are in the vicinity of military operations but take no part in hostilities and perform no work of a military character while residing in these zones. “Demilitarized zones” are established to protect entire civilian populations residing in these zones against attack. No party to the conflict can occupy or use these areas for military purposes. The establishment of such zones under IHL is premised on all the parties to the conflict agreeing to set them up and respect their civilian character. (See here and here for zones established with the parties’ agreement.)"

"In the absence of agreement by all parties to establish a safe zone, an alternative can be for the UN Security Council to declare one, as it has done through resolutions on Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1993 and Rwanda in 1994. Nevertheless, such arrangements will typically raise important concerns: Unless all parties agree to the establishment of a demilitarized safe area, a strong military presence will be required to ensure its protection against attack. In turn, this military presence can draw attacks from enemy parties, thereby exposing the civilian population to military operations and undermining the very purpose of the area.

The fact that the proposed de-escalation areas under Thursday’s memorandum do not enjoy the agreement of all parties to the fighting in Syria, require armed forces to prevent military confrontations along their borders, and can expect to experience fighting against ISIL and other groups, indicates that they should not be considered safe zones and should not give civilians a misguided sense of enhanced safety.

This being said, the memorandum does contain some humanitarian elements that are important to highlight. It foresees the provision of rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access, conditions for the delivery of medical aid and for meeting civilians’ basic needs, measures to restore basic facilities such as the supply of water and electricity, and conditions for the safe and voluntary return of refugees and internally displaced persons"