Canadians for Peace in Syria

As Canada prepares for an October 19th election and the United Nations General Assembly meets in New York, we call on our government to confront the source of the refugee crisis in Syria and to resume its role as a global leader in resolving conflict.

We call on the government of Canada to lead the world in responding to the Syrian crisis by demanding full and immediate implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2139, which demands the immediate cessation of shelling and aerial bombardment of civilian areas in Syria.

We call on the government to work with Canada’s NATO allies to support the implementation of UNSC Resolution 2139 by:

1.   Increasing assistance for Syrian refugees and internally displaced people through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees;

2.   Acting within the framework of the UNSC 2139 to halt the bombing of civilian areas by, if necessary, imposing no-fly zones;

3.   Creating and protecting humanitarian corridors delivering aid to the civilian population of Syria.

The civil war in Syria began with peaceful protests against the Bashar Al Assad regime. Protest leaders called for help from the international community but were ignored even as their protests were met with brutal reprisals. Government sniper attacks escalated to artillery and air bombardments.

Some protestors fled the country, others took up arms. The Assad regime continues to use chemical weapons against Syrian civilians. Today so-called barrel bombs dropped by the regime are killing seven times more people than ISIS.

ISIS the radical Islamist force grew powerful in part because the international community refused to support the moderate resistance. The consequences of our failure? More than 250,000 people have been killed. More than eleven million Syrian civilians have been forced from their homes. More than four million have become refugees.

The only way to stop the refugee crisis is to stop Assad’s bombing.

We call on Canada to lead the effort to build an international coalition to stop the bombing and to allow Syrians the chance to build peace and rebuild their country.

We call on Canada to act, to build on the foundations laid by Tommy Douglas and his call for action against fascism, of Lester Pearson when he established Canada’s role as peace keeper and of Brian Mulroney and his stand against apartheid. As a country we can unite in this cause, for the sake of the people of Syria, for the sake of peace, and for the cause of a better world.

Signed: