Kontakt 2017, 19(4):e270-e275 | DOI: 10.1016/j.kontakt.2017.09.013

The humanitarian crisis and civil war in Syria: Its impact and influence on the migration crisis in EuropeSocial Sciences in Health - Original article

Martin Staněk

České vysoké učení technické v Praze, Fakulta biomedicínského inženýrství, katedra zdravotnických oborů a ochrany obyvatelstva, Kladno, Česká republika

In the article we discuss the humanitarian crisis in Syria, which is associated with the ongoing civil war in the country, its origin and primarily its impact on the civilian population. The humanitarian crisis in Syria can be considered the worst humanitarian crisis in modern history, which is also associated with the issue of compliance with the international humanitarian law as a part of the ongoing civil war that greatly deepens the crisis. In this article, we also focus on the influence of this crisis on the current migration crisis in Europe. The aim of the article is to highlight the seriousness of the current situation in Syria, its influence on the migration crisis in Europe, and the issue of compliance and violation of the international humanitarian law in the ongoing civil war. An analysis of relevant sources was used to analyse this topic, especially reports and documents of international humanitarian organizations, documents of the United Nations and the European Union bodies, data from the Statistical Office of the European Union and available resources within the Scopus, Web of Science and Wiley Online Library scientific databases. The analysis of these sources shows that the current humanitarian crisis in Syria is critical, and all parties involved in the armed conflict repeatedly violate the international humanitarian law in the country. This law can help war victims, but it is unable to protect them properly. Fundamental human rights are also being fundamentally violated in the country where civilians are primary victims of the civil war and direct violence. The current situation in the country has resulted in the creation of large numbers of refugees and migrants. Syrian refugees form the largest group of asylum seekers within the European Union.

Keywords: Humanitarian crisis; Civil war; Syria; International humanitarian law

Received: June 30, 2017; Revised: August 27, 2017; Accepted: September 26, 2017; Published: November 21, 2017  Show citation