Between Geopolitics and Genocide: Mapping Systemic Human Rights Violations in West Asia

This paper explores the systemic human rights violations in West Asia, focusing on Gaza, Syria, and Yemen, where geopolitical rivalries intersect with enduring patterns of violence against civilians. Despite the presence of international legal frameworks, enforcement remains selective and politically compromised. The study interrogates how foreign interventions, regional power contests, and global indifference perpetuate impunity, often resulting in violations that approach or fulfill the criteria for genocide. Existing literature tends to analyze these crises in isolation, overlooking the structural connections linking state violence, foreign policy, and international paralysis. Utilizing a comparative-historical methodology and drawing on human rights reports, UN documents, and secondary sources, the research maps patterns of abuse and identifies the systemic drivers behind their persistence. It reveals how strategic alliances, arms trade, and the silence of powerful actors enable and reproduce atrocities under the guise of political necessity. The findings challenge the normative assumptions of international human rights mechanisms, exposing their susceptibility to politicization. The paper ultimately advocates a shift from legal formalism to political realism in human rights discourse and calls for stronger global and regional advocacy to hold perpetrators accountable. It situates West Asia within a broader discussion on justice, accountability, and the structural dynamics of geopolitical violence.