The Commission of Inquiry on Syria on Monday reiterated its call to the UN Security Council to refer the situation in that country to the International Criminal Court (ICC) or to an ad hoc international tribunal.
Briefing UN correspondents in New York on the latest report, Mr Paulo Pinheiro, the Chair of the Commission, said that with no end in sight, the conflict in Syria would continue to subject civilians to crimes against humanity and war crimes.
He said that the failure of the Security Council to reach consensus on accountability had allowed perpetrators to continue to operate with impunity.
The chair added that in May 2014, the Council failed to adopt a draft resolution which called for the referral of the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic to the ICC.
He noted that “in the light of the manifest failure of the Government to protect its population from gross human rights abuses, the international community, through the UN, bears the responsibility of protecting the Syrian population from such crimes.
“The Commission looks forward to specific actions by the UN to urgently adopt and implement a common human rights up front strategy to ensure that all engagement with the Syrian Arab Republic effectively takes into account and addresses the gross human rights violations.’’
Pinheiro told reporters that perpetrators had for six years, committed crimes that shock the “conscience of humanity.’’
This, he said, raised questions about the `inadequacy’ of the response of the international community.
The Syrian authorities had demonstrated their unwillingness to bring perpetrators to justice, he added.
He noted that extremism and terrorism proliferate daily, with groups such as ISIS and Al-Nusra carrying out unspeakable atrocities.
Pinheiro said the Commission has used its information to identify those responsible for crimes and other violations and to help to ensure perpetrators were held accountable.
“The armed conflict has been characterised by massive, recurrent violations of human rights and international humanitarian law that demand urgent international and national action.
“This was recognised by the Security Council in its resolution 2139 (2014), in which the Council stressed the need to end impunity and reaffirm the need to bring perpetrators to book.
“In spite of the consensus reached in that resolution, no concrete measures are yet in place to ensure accountability.’’
Pinheiro told reporters that more than 3,500 victims and eyewitness accounts were collected, while war crimes and crimes against humanity were documented, as well as other violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.
He added that in all cases, interviewees were asked to provide their explicit consent for the Commission to use the information provided in its reports and/or to share pertinent details with current and future accountability mechanisms.
He said that as the situation in Syria had yet to be referred to the ICC, the Commission acknowledged that other options to pursue criminal justice must be explored.
Mr Vitit Muntarbhorn, a member of the Commission also told reporters that all information relating to the identity of potential perpetrators, either individuals or entities, were recorded, including names, affiliation, rank, source and exact circumstances of the alleged incident.
“To further promote accountability, the Commission has shared information, where the consent of the interviewee was obtained – with the justice systems of states willing to exercise their national jurisdiction over crimes committed in Syria,” he said.
The commission had recommended that all parties must comply effectively with human rights, international humanitarian law and relevant Security Council resolutions.
It called on parties to combat the spread of violations, extremism and terrorism by bringing perpetrators to justice, while tackling the root causes and promoting social inclusion and peaceful alternatives to violent narratives.
It also demanded that all parties should take effective measures to end all forms of unlawful recruitment of children or their use in hostilities; respect the principle of non-refoulement and share the burden through a variety of measures, including resettlement of refugees, support for affected local populations and adequate response.
The Commission recommends that the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic should immediately stop the use of illegal and indiscriminate weapons, including barrel bombs, end arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture and other violations
