Welcome, colleagues, to the 97th meeting of the Subcommittee on International Human Rights.
Today we are holding a session on the dire situation in eastern Ghouta in Syria. Over the past two weeks, the Syrian regime, backed by Russia and Iran, has killed hundreds of civilians in eastern Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus, where 400,000 civilians have been under siege since 2013. The most recent crisis is part of the consistent targeting of civilians and humanitarian aid, including medical facilities, carried out by the Assad regime over the course of the Syrian civil war.
While I think we all held out some hope for the success of the UN Security Council's recent resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire and the end of all sieges across Syria, including in eastern Ghouta, the Assad regime's latest atrocities are another sign of its complete disregard for fundamental human rights.
Before us today, by video conference, we have Dr. Hussam Al Fakir and Dr. Anas Al-Kassem from the Union of Medical Relief Organizations Canada. In person, we have Ms. Muzna Dureid, co-founder and board member of Urnammu for Justice and Human Rights.
I would like to thank you all for making yourselves available to the committee on such short notice. We consider this to be an emergency situation. I invite you to make your opening remarks, beginning with Dr. Al-Kassem and Dr. Al Fakir. I will ask you to divide up the 10 minutes among yourselves however you see fit. Then we'll have Ms. Dureid, after which we'll proceed to questions from the members.
Thank you very much. I turn the floor over to you.