Contact: Kelly Hengesbach, Just Consulting,  571-257-7423

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2014 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Coalition for a Democratic Syria, a coalition of groups representing over 100,000 Syrian-Americans, has issued a letter to Geneva ll Conference delegates demanding they take responsibility for the suffering of the Syrian people.

The Coalition's letter lays out a series of expected outcomes from the conference, including an end to attacks on civilians, full access for humanitarian organizations, the initiation of transitional justice processes, and the establishment of democracy in Syria.

"By engaging in the Geneva II process, the international community has taken the responsibility of the Syrian people upon themselves," the letter reminds the participants. "With this process must come a full implementation of the Geneva I process, an end to atrocities, accountability for war crimes, and a transition to a peaceful, stable, democratic Syria. Without these, the Geneva II process will be a significant and painful failure that will undoubtedly lead to greater violence, greater suffering, and significantly greater regional insecurity."

"Over 2 million people have fled Syria since the beginning of the conflict in 2011, making this one of the largest refugee exoduses in recent history with no end yet in sight," the letter reminds the delegations. The United Nations estimates that three-quarters of the Syrian population will need humanitarian assistance in 2014. European Union aid coordinator Kristalina Georgieva has called Syria "the greatest humanitarian crisis of modern times."

The UN-backed Geneva II Conference, which began today in Montreux, Switzerland, bring together representatives from Syria's Western-backed political opposition, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, and over 40 countries and regional organizations in an attempt to end the violence being perpetrated by the Assad regime and to bring about a political transition in the country.

The full text of the letter can be found here: www.unitedfreesyria.org/geneva-ii-letter