1. Country profile
 

Capital: Damascus
Population: 22,517,750 (July 2010 est.)
Ethnic groups: Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%
Religions: Sunni Muslim 74%, other Muslim (includes Alawite, Druze) 16%, Christian (various denominations) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo)
 
Regime Type: Republic under an authoritarian regime
Head of state:  President Bashar al-ASSAD (since 17 July 2000)
Prime Minister: Prime Minister Adel Safar (since 3 April 2011)
Parliament (2007):
National Progressive Front or NPF [coalition of government loyalists, socialist, Arab-nationalist,169], includes: Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'ath) Party [President's party, secular, Arab-nationalist, Arab-socialist, 134]; Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Nasserist, Arab Socialism, 8]; Unionist Socialist Party [socialist-nationalist,6); Syrian Communist Party [communist, Khalid Bakdash faction: pro-soviet, communist, 5]; Syrian Arab Socialist Union or ASU [socialist-progressive,4 ]; Syrian Communist Party [communist, Faisal faction: post-soviet, pro-perestroika and glasnost, 3] ; Arab Socialist Movement [Arab socialism, 3]; National Vow Movement [Arab Nationalist, 3] Syrian Social Nationalist Party [secular, nationalist,2]; Arabic Democratic Unionist Party [ Socialist, Arab nationalist,1]]; Independents (regime-loyal, 81)
Freedom House Ranking: not free
 
GDP / Capita: $4,800 (2010 est.)
Literacy Rate: 90.8%. 
Unemployment Rate: 8,3 %
Human Development Index (2010): 0.589 (111th)
 

 Major protests and violent repression
 
2. Political situation
 
According to UN estimates, more than 5000 people, including over 300 children, have been killed in the brutal crackdown by the regime against its population since March 2011.
 
Important resolutions on the human rights situation in Syria have been adopted by the UN Human Rights Council on 2nd December 2011 and the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly on 22nd November 2011.
 
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, in its report of 23 November 2011, presented a substantial body of evidence which indicates that gross violations of human rights, which may amount to crimes against humanity, have been committed by the Syrian authorities and military and security forces since March 2011.
 
The Arab League decided, on 16 November 2011, to suspend Syria's membership in the organisation and, on 27 November 2011, imposed economic sanctions on the Syrian regime.
 
In her statement of 2 December 2011, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay warned that the continued ruthless repression of the Syrian regime against its population may drive the country into a civil war and also expressed, in this context, her concerns about reports of increased armed activities by opposition forces, including the so-called Free Syrian Army.
 
The opposition, both in the country and abroad, is divided. The two main groups are
- the Syrian National Council, which demands the immediate stepping down of President al-Assad and rejects any negotiation with him and his regime while it also calls for international monitoring of the situation on the ground;
- the Syrian National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change, which is more open to dialogue with the regime and only calls for Arab League monitoring of the situation.
Both groups agree on the necessity of a democratic transition in the country.
 
3. Key issues
 
• President Bashar al-Assad and his regime should step down immediately to allow a democratic transition to take place in the country.
 
• Opposition forces should avoid the trap of further militarisation of the situation when protecting the population.
 
• Syria - as an ethnically and confessionally diverse country and a neighbour of Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey - has a strategic position and role to play in the region. At the same time, Iran is interested in maintaining its influence over its key ally in the region.
 
• Even if the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution, co-sponsored by EU Member States, on 22nd November 2011 condemning the violent crackdown of the Syrian regime against its population, the Security Council has not been able to give an adequate answer to the crisis so far.
 
4. EU / Syria relations
 
The European Parliament adopted several resolutions on the situation in Syria in 2011
 
EU-Syria relations are based on the Cooperation Agreement signed in 1977.
 
The EU-Syria Association Agreement has never been signed. While the signing of this agreement has been delayed at Syria’s request since October 2009, the Council recently decided not to take any further steps in this field and partially suspended the application of the existing Cooperation Agreement.
 
The Council has extended the scope of EU asset freeze and travel ban sanctions to further individuals and associations supporting or benefiting from the Syrian regime, has banned the import of Syrian oil and other petroleum products to the EU, and is considering to further strengthen sanctions that target the regime but minimise the negative impacts on the living conditions of the population.
 
The EU is Syria's most important trading partner (22,8% of all Syrian trade in 2010).
  
5. Like-minded partners
 
Political parties
 
No Syrian party is member, or holds consultative or observer status in the Socialist International.
 
Opposition/civil society organizations
 
The Group is in contact with various actors in the Syrian opposition in exile and will organise a conference on "Syria at the Croassroads" on 7th December 2011 in the European Parliament in Brussels with the participation of the Syrian National Council.
 
Updated 14.12.11