
2 According to figures from the European Commission, there are currently an estimated 13.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance inside Syria, including 4.9 million in difficult-to-reach or besieged areas and 6.1 million internally displaced. 1 Over the last seven years, the world has witnessed the intentional and continuous targeting of the civilian population through bombings and the denial of basic necessities, including food, water, and medicine. Syria is currently experiencing the world’s largest humanitarian crisis since World War II. Finally, within this complex picture of complementary international legal frameworks, the article proposes concrete recommendations for a more integrated and mutually reinforcing interpretation and implementation of these areas of law to foster better access to medicines in Syria and elsewhere. This reinforcement, however, remains rhetorical and far from practical. Second, the potential for on-the-ground change lies in the mutual reinforcement of these four legal frameworks. First, all four bodies of law hold clear potential in terms of regulatory-hence compliance-and accountability mechanisms for improving access to medicines in times of conflict, but they are too weak on their own account. Addressing the dire need for improved access to medicines in Syria from an international law compliance and accountability perspective, this article highlights four complementary legal frameworks: international human rights law, international drug control law, international humanitarian law, and international criminal law. Syria is currently experiencing the world’s largest humanitarian crisis since World War II, and access to medicines for emergency care, pain control, and palliative care remains shockingly restricted in the country.
