eaceful protest movement and documenting human rights abuses. However, LCC figures and other activists have faced violence and intimidation by armed groups.
Professional syndicates in state-held areas are controlled by the Baath Party, and all labor unions must belong to the General Federation of Trade Unions, a nominally independent grouping that the government uses to control union activity. The economic and political pressures of the war have made functioning labor relations virtually impossible across the country.
F. Rule of Law: 0 / 16
The constitution forbids government interference in the civil judiciary, but all judges and prosecutors must belong to the Baath Party and are in practice beholden to the political leadership. Military officers can try civilians in both conventional military courts and field courts. While civilians may appeal military court decisions with the military chamber of the Court of Cassation, military judges are neither independent nor impartial, as they are subordinate to the military command.
Government forces are responsible for the arrest and torture of tens of thousands of people since the uprising began in 2011. In 2014, a newly revealed archive of some 55,000 images—compiled by a military police photographer who defected from the regime—documented the torture and starvation of prisoners on a massive scale. Human Rights Watch in 2012 identified 27 facilities where people have been subjected to more than 20 types of torture, including beatings, torture with electricity or battery acid, rape, and mock execution. Most victims are men between 18 and 35 years of age, but women, the elderly, and children are also detained and tortured. Rape is being used as an instrument of war, and while most reported victims are women, men and boys have also been raped. Human rights groups report that the overwhelming majority of documented sexual assaults in Syria are perpetrated by government forces and their allies.
Insurgent groups have been accused of committing summary executions, including of civilians, and torturing and mutilating captured combatants. Some Islamist rebels and jihadists have also set up religious courts in their areas, imposing harsh punishments for perceived religious offenses by civilians. More generally, the breakdown of state authority and the proliferation of both loyalist and rebel militias has led to warlordism, crime, and arbitrary exercise of authority.
The Kurdish minority has historically faced official discrimination and severe restrictions on work, travel, property ownership, and cultural and linguistic expression, though their situation somewhat improved after 2011 due to receding government authority in Kurdish areas. Syrian law also discriminates against LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people; according to the 1949 penal code, “unnatural sexual intercourse” is punishable with up to three years in prison, and gay men are subjected to targeted forms of sexual abuse. They are also persecuted by extremist groups in insurgent areas.
G. Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights: 0 / 16 (−2)
The proliferation of military and rebel checkpoints, heavy combat, and general insecurity have severely restricted the free movement of people and vital supplies since 2011, affecting resident civilians, the internally displaced, and those attempting to flee the country. The regime has systematically blockaded regions controlled by rebels, with especially tight cordons surrounding districts under military siege or assault. Rebel and jihadist forces have also intermittently blocked and confiscated shipments of aid and medicine for civilians.
Rampant corruption predated the Syrian uprising, affecting the daily lives of Syrians. Citizens are frequently required to bribe officials to complete procedures, and business investors and owners must often pay bribes to operate. Since the war broke out, Syrians who fear persecution have been wary of approaching official institutions to request critical documentation, and must resort to the black market. Rebel groups also extort busines