Naresh,

The crisis in Syria is a human rights catastrophe. Over 70,000 Syrians have been killed—mostly civilians, over 3,700 children—since the democracy movement started in March of 2011. And the number is mounting with no end in sight.

Mass atrocities are complex, organized crimes. The Assad regime is supported by "enablers." These are governments, commercial entities, and individuals that provide weapons, ammunition, surveillance technology, troops, fuel, and financial support that sustain the commission of atrocities. Together, these enablers form a supply chain that fuels Assad's crimes against humanity.

We have been tracking this supply chain since the conflict spiraled into a crisis and found that the United States is well positioned to disrupt it. Urge President Barack Obama to stop the supply chain to Syrian atrocities!

President Obama has made stopping mass atrocities a "core national security interest." This manifestly applies to Syria. Yet U.S. efforts to slow or stop the crisis—diplomacy and sanctions against the regime, primarily—have had little effect.

Now, neighboring countries struggle to absorb the nearly one million refugees and regional powers become more involved in the conflict. The possibility of wider violence and instability looms.

Urge President Obama to stop the bloodshed in Syria by cutting the supply chain that enables Assad to commit atrocities.

Sincerely,

Sadia Hameed
Human Rights First