ReliefWeb

The harrowing violence in the Syrian Arab Republic has entered its fourth year, with no signs of abating. The lives of over one hundred thousand people have been extinguished. Thousands have been the victims of torture. The indiscriminate and disproportionate shelling and aerial bombardment of civilian-inhabited areas has intensified in the last six months, as has the use of suicide and car bombs. Civilians in besieged areas have been reduced to scavenging. In this conflict’s most recent low, people, including young children, have starved to death.

Save for the efforts of humanitarian agencies operating inside Syria and along its borders, the international community has done little but bear witness to the plight of those caught in the maelstrom. Syrians feel abandoned and hopeless. The overwhelming imperative is for the parties, influential states and the international community to work to ensure the protection of civilians. In particular, as set out in Security Council resolution 2139, parties must lift the sieges and allow unimpeded and safe humanitarian access.

Compassion does not and should not suffice. A negotiated political solution, which the commission has consistently held to be the only solution to this conflict, must be pursued with renewed vigour both by the parties and by influential states. Among victims, the need for accountability is deeply-rooted in the desire for peace. The international community has the obligation to demonstrate that impunity for war crimes and crimes against humanity will not be tolerated.

This update covers only the most egregious violations committed during the period of 20 January to 10 March 2014 and complements the presentation of the commission’s most recent report (A/HRC/25/65) to the Human Rights Council, which covered the period of 15 July 2013 to 20 January 2014. It is based on 130 interviews conducted in the region and from Geneva as well as satellite images, photographs, video recordings and other documentary material. Investigations into allegations of massacres are ongoing.

The commission’s investigations remain curtailed by the denial of access to the Syrian Arab Republic.