Peace Without Poison

Syria began implementing covert depopulation measures in 1978 and has pursued a steady yetmeasured policy of mass sterilization, as attested by the smoothly convex sides of its populationpyramid. The policy was first approved and implemented by President Hafez al-Assad (1971-2000), who brought down the total fertility rate from 7.5 to 4 children per woman during his timeat the helm of the country.President Hafez al-Assad was succeeded by his son, Bashar al-Assad, who assumed thepresidency a month after his father’s death in June 2000. In the fourteen years since he tookoffice he managed to reduce Syria’s total fertility rate from 4 to 2.7 children per woman.Syria’s contraceptive rate has never been sufficiently high to explain the decrease in fertilityexperienced so far. During the 1980s, when fertility decreased from 7.5 to 5 children perwoman, only 20% of Syrians used contraceptives. During the 1990s, contraceptive use rose to812 | P a g e