UN Special Rapporteur for human rights Fionnuala Ní Aoláin released a statement July 22 urging the cessation of "indefinite mass detention without legal process," particularly of children, in northeastern Syria detention centers. After arriving in Damascus, Ní Aoláin visited prisons and detention sites at various places around the country and witnessed "major humanitarian challenges," including inadequate access to water and electricity and issues with health services.

The Security Council has failed to renew the resolution allowing the UN to deliver aid across the border from Turkey to northwest Syria, throwing into question the future of a relief effort that is crucial for millions of people. The resolution, which has allowed the UN cross into rebel-held territories without the permission of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, expired on July 10. The following day, Russia vetoed a new resolution that would have allowed access through one border crossing into the region, Bab al-Hawa, for nine months.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has dropped his opposition to Sweden's entry into NATO, it was announced just ahead of the opening of the military alliance summit in Vilnius July 11. US President Joe Biden thanked Erdogan for his "courage" in clearing the way for Stockholm's bid. In an apparent quid pro quo, the State Department said the administration is dropping its objections to Turkey purchasing F-16 fighter jets from the US. Congress opposed sales of the jets to Turkey after Ankara bought Russian S-400 missile systems in 2017.

At least 13 people, nine of them civilians, were killed in Russian air-strikes within the so-called "de-escalation zone" in northern Syria's Idlib province June 25. The raid struck the village of Basbat, west of Jisr al-Shughur, according to the White Helmets rescue group and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). At least 30 people were also injured in the strike, with the death toll likely to rise. The three Russian warplanes took off from Khmeimim air base in Latakia province. Some of the strikes hit a crowded vegetable market.

Donors and diplomats met for a seventh straight year in Brussels this week to raise money for Syria's ongoing humanitarian crisis. They pledged a total of 5.6 billion euros ($6.1 billion) for "2023 and beyond," including 4.6 billion euros ($1 billion) for this year. The money will be used to support people both inside Syria and in neighboring countries hosting Syrian refugees. Aid groups have said the amount isn't enough given growing needs within Syria and for Syrian refugees, many of whom face increasing pressure to return to a country still at war. The UN has so far received 11.6% of the $5.41 billion it says it needs for aid to Syrians in 2023, and that doesn't include assistance for refugees. Low funding levels have led to cuts in various forms of aid, including food rations in a place where millions are struggling to get by.

The Netherlands and Canada jointly submitted a case against Syria to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) June 8, accusing the Damascus regime of committing numerous violations of international law, including torture, since the beginning of the country's civil conflict in 2011. The primary objective of the application is ICJ action compelling Syria to desist from any future use of torture. If the ICJ finds that it possesses authority to rule on the matter, it will mark the first instance of an international court adjudicating Syrian torture allegations.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) joined with 20 other human rights organizations to issue a joint statement May 11 protesting Lebanon's summary deportation of Syrian refugees. The rights organizations say the deportations violate the international law principle of non-refoulement, which protects individuals from being returned to a country where they may face torture, cruel or degrading treatment, or other irreparable harm. "The Lebanese Armed Forces have recently...summarily deported hundreds of Syrians back to Syria, where they are at risk of persecution or torture," the statement charges. "The deportations come amid an alarming surge in anti-refugee rhetoric in Lebanon and...coercive measures intended to pressure refugees to return." (Jurist, SNHR)

Amid deadly Israeli air-raids on Gaza, a terror attack targets the ancient Ghriba Synagogue in Djerba, Tunisia. The attack came as Jews from throughout the Mediterranean world gathered at Ghriba in the annual pilgrimage for the Lag B'Omer festival. In Episode 173 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg recalls how the Jews of Djerba have been repeatedly targeted over the past generation, with this latest attack coming in the context of a reconsolidating dictatorship in Tunisia and a harsh crackdown on the opposition. Yet the Tunisian Jews continue to resist Zionist pressure to emigrate to Israel, instead embracing their North African indigeneity. This embrace is overwhelmingly returned by the country's Arab and Muslim majority, in repudiation of extremists who would target Tunisian Jews to avenge Israeli crimes. Prominent Tunisians were among the Muslims who sheltered Jews during the World War II Axis occupation of North Africa. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon.