Ghuna Bdiwi

Articles

• Ghuna Bdiwi (March 2022). Resorting to the International Court of Justice to Hold the Syrian Government Accountable for Violating Its Obligations Under the United Nations Convention Against Torture. Hikama- the Arab Centre for Research and Policy Studies.

The article examines the joint decision of Canada and the Netherlands to invoke the responsibility of the Syrian government for breaches of its international obligations under the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Inhuman, Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). It argues that the decision is a momentous step for at least three reasons. First, it keeps the pressure on the Syrian government and reminds it that its egregious human rights violations are not forgotten. Second, it may spur or compel the Syrian government to take the necessary measures, such as adopting constitutional and legislative reforms consistent with its obligations under the CAT and to hold accountable perpetrators of acts of torture as stipulated in the relevant provisions of the CAT. Third, the Canada and the Netherland process is veto-proof, i.e., not subject to veto by the Syrian government's allays holding veto power and therefore has the chance to do more to open the regime's human rights record in the ten decade-long civil war to external scrutiny. The article was submitted in English and Arabic but published in Arabic.

• Ghuna Bdiwi (June 2022). Thickening Autocracy in a Non-Democratic State: Changing Demographics in Syria to Maintain Authority. Arab Law Quarterly.

The article analyses several authoritarian practices in Syria since 1971 and demonstrates that, since the 2011 uprising, its authoritarian regime has successfully remained resilient instead of collapsing. The post-2011 Syrian Government under Al-Assad is no longer the Ba`thist government of old, albeit still autocratic but adept at adapting to hostile changing political environments. Al-Assad’s regime no longer relies on Ba’ath Party loyalty and appearances of legitimacy but both during and post-war has depended more on social re-engineering to sustain its political, economic power. The Syria example demonstrates that, when threatened, authoritarian regimes may thicken the layers of their autocratic rule to sustain their grip on power, even changing the composition of its citizenry to create a new population to rule. The author demonstrates how the Syrian Government has used urban planning, housing, and property laws to re-engineer its demographics so that friendly foreign nationals will receive permanent citizenship and displace indigenous citizens.

Conferences

• First Conference on Housing, Land and Property (HLP) Rights in Syria, March 24-25, 2022 (Istanbul, Turkey).
  Ghuna spoke about the Constitutional Guarantees of the Right to Property.
• Dealing with the past: Advanced Workshop for Policy Makers and Professionals, June 15-22, 2022 (Switzerland).
  Ghuna shared her views and vision on the future process of transitional justice in Syria.

Interviews/Media

• On May 4, 2022, Ghuna was interviews by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights to share her opinion on the political process in Syria. She believes that the current political process is not what the Syrian people imagined or waited for, and that is due to the absence of actual political will.
• On March 26, 2022, Ghuna's opinion was cited by the Middle East News (Asharq Alawsat News), where she called on the Syrian Constitutional Committee to work on strengthening the rule of law in the new constitution. She as well pointed out that the transitional government, if formed, will bear a heavy burden in dealing with violations of human rights in Syria, returning the displaced people to their homes, and setting policies to enhance the right to housing. She as well suggested that the right to property and housing should be reflected in the new constitution.