ReliefWeb

Summary

For more than six years, the Commission has been independently and impartially documenting serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed by the parties to the conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic that has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands. Such violations have driven more than half of the population of the country to leave their homes. From its inception, the conflict was characterized by the utter disregard for the civilians that the parties to the conflict purport to represent and for international law.

The present report demonstrates once again that civilians have not only been the unintentional victims of violence, but have often been deliberately targeted through unlawful means and methods of warfare. Arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture, and sexual and gender-based violence have all been used against thousands of persons in detention. Vital civilian infrastructure has been decimated by repeated attacks on medical facilities, schools and markets. Humanitarian aid has been instrumentalized as a weapon of war with siege warfare and denial of life-saving assistance used to compel civilian communities and parties to the conflict, alike, to surrender or starve.

Despite this range of violations, Syrian victims have been denied any modicum of justice. In the report, the Commission signals its intention to help victims obtain justice and to pursue this task vigorously in the light of the evolving situation on the ground in the Syrian Arab Republic and the various ongoing efforts to bring the parties to the conflict to the negotiating table. Those developments provide new challenges — but also opportunities — to pursue justice for the victims. They will require, however, affirmation by all concerned that victims’ demands for justice and accountability are a central component of any negotiated settlement and any durable solution to achieve peace. There can be no tradeoff between that goal and a viable political solution.

I. Mandate and methodology

1. In the present report, submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 34/26, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic sets out the findings of investigations conducted from 8 July 2017 to 15 January 2018 in the country.

2. The methodology employed by the Commission was based on best practices of commissions of inquiry and fact-finding missions. First-hand information was collected through interviews with victims and witnesses of events in the Syrian Arab Republic.

3. In total, 513 interviews were conducted in person and remotely. The Commission faced numerous challenges with regard to the security of interviewees, particularly those in areas controlled by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). In Raqqah and Dayr al-Zawr, many persons interviewed by the Commission had limited access to mobile phones and Internet connection. In all cases, the Commission was guided by the “do no harm” principle.

4. The Commission collected, reviewed and analysed satellite imagery, photographs, videos and medical records. Communications from Member States and reports from the United Nations and non-government organizations were also consulted.

5. The standard of proof was considered met when the Commission obtained a reliable body of information to conclude that there were reasonable grounds to believe that the incidents occurred as described and that violations were committed by the party identified.

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