Executive Summary
This paper analyzes systemic human rights violations in Gaza, Syria, and Yemen, arguing they are driven by geopolitical rivalries, foreign interventions, and international complicity rather than isolated incidents. It highlights how international legal frameworks are undermined by power politics, leading to widespread impunity for atrocities. The study advocates for a shift from legal formalism to political realism in human rights discourse to address these structural issues.
Why It Matters
This document is crucial for defense and geopolitical analysts as it dissects how great power competition, foreign interventions, and arms trade directly enable and perpetuate systemic human rights violations and potential genocides in critical regions like West Asia, undermining international law and stability.
Key Takeaways
- Systemic human rights violations in West Asia (Gaza, Syria, Yemen) are deeply intertwined with geopolitical rivalries, foreign interventions, and international complicity.
Source evidence · PDF page 1
This paper explores the systemic human rights violations in West Asia, focusing on Gaza, Syria, and Yemen, where geopolitical rivalries intersect with enduring patterns of violence against civilians. Despite the presence of international legal frameworks, enforcement remains selective and politically compromised.
- Geopolitical interests, including great power rivalry, arms trade, and alliance politics, lead to selective enforcement of international human rights norms and impunity for perpetrators.
Source evidence · PDF page 2
The primary research question of concern in this paper is the systemic undermining of human rights application within West Asia by geopolitical interests. Great power rivalry, arms trade groupings, and alliance politics have led to the strategic imposition of international norms, resulting in a double standard within the international human rights order.
- The failure of international mechanisms like the UNSC and ICC to address atrocities is a crisis of legitimacy, necessitating a shift from legal idealism to political realism in human rights enforcement.
Source evidence · PDF page 11
These structural connections are manifested in proxy warfare, arms trade entanglements, and sectarian narratives, which serve as legitimating tools for both state and non-state actors. The United States' military aid to Israel, the Russian veto shielding Syria, and Western arms sales to Saudi Arabia represent direct links between geopolitical alliances and the normalization of systemic abuse (Khalidi, 2020; Ribeiro and Pires, 2024).
Strategic Relevance
The paper reveals how geopolitical alliances and strategic interests override international law, enabling state-sponsored violence and undermining global governance. This dynamic has significant implications for regional stability, the effectiveness of international institutions, and the conduct of foreign policy by major powers.