Kristyan Benedict

The fourth anniversary of the uprisings in Syria has passed. The reality for most Syrian civilians is as grim as it was on March 15 2015 as it is today. For Syrians hiding from barrel bombs and missiles, there is still no respite. For...

US-led strikes against ISIS positions inside Syria and the arming of armed opposition groups are now a real possibility . However, little is being said about what this may mean for civilians in Syria or the prospect of long-term...

I recently wrote about the importance of ensuring greater grassroots buy-in for increased humanitarian access into Syria. This is vitally important now that there is a UN Security Council resolution mandating the UN to enter Syria...

“A step change in access is still required that will make a meaningful difference in the lives of those who suffer in the Syrian Arab Republic.” UN Secretary General, 21 August 2014 The UN now having the ability to enter Syria without...

"The crisis changed each and every one of us. The challenges changed us, but mostly it was death. Death left its mark in every one of us: we all changed because of the increasing violence, the loss of people close to us, the injustice...

It was a pleasure to take part in a conference on June 21 called Syria - Correcting the Narrative, Building Solidarity , held at SOAS in London. The conference was expertly organised by the Center for Middle East Studies, Josef Korbel...

The road ahead is still long and riddled with obstacles and mines. The end is still blocked, and what lies beyond it remains unknown – what lies beyond the siege, the revolution, and the war. It is a dream binding us all, as though we...

Amnesty International UK’s national conference opened on April 12 with a speech delivered by Syrian human rights activist, Reem al Assil . What she had to say was melancholic yet ultimately inspiring. Reem has been a friend of Amnesty...

The situation in Syria is the greatest humanitarian crisis of our times. 15 March marks three years since the start of the Syrian uprising. Now more than ever, we need to stand together to ensure that this is the last anniversary...

Letters to the editor The Times letters@thetimes.co.uk Tuesday 4 February 2014 Sir, Growing numbers of reports of the use of “barrel bombs” by Syrian government forces in attacks on Aleppo and elsewhere are absolutely reprehensible and...

We are a few hours into 2014 and the pattern of human rights violations, abuses, impunity and international inaction that blighted Syria in 2013 (and before) is still happening. Those responsible are contributing to the further misery...

The UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage has said the UK should take in some of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees. He said “there is a responsibility on all of us..to try and help some of those people fleeing Syria, literally in...

"Syria has become the great tragedy of this century – a disgraceful humanitarian calamity with suffering and displacement unparalleled in recent history.” António Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 3 September...

The following is a first-hand account with an 11 year old resident of Daraya in Syria. Daraya has been under siege for the past year by the Syrian government. “My name is Maher (11). I am from besieged Daraya. I have been here under...

One year ago, the UN General Assembly voted to recognize Palestinian statehood . In the year since then, the Palestinian leadership has taken no statesmanlike steps. It has not signed any UN treaties that would protect human rights, or...

One of the current pre-conditions of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) is that key personnel within the regimes political, military and security structures need to be removed from positions of power for any credible transitional...

Only the most callous regime apologists would have remained unmoved by BBC Panorama's Saving Syria’s Children documentary aired last night. This was raw, to the bone reporting on a conflict which is literally seeing the skin shredded...

A UN Security Council referral of the miserable situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC) is vital but is far from certain. Like many other disappointments ordinary Syrians have had to endure from the so-called...

Time is not on the side of the displaced, the disappeared and the thousands of Syrians in fear of death – which could come any second from a regime ballistic missile or a bullet to the back of the head. If ever there was a time to...

Details below of a free event at Amnesty International UK. It's very short notice so please share with your networks and on social media. Below the event details are some brief details of new Amnesty reports coming up on Israel /...