Syrian Government and opposition forces responsible for war crimes – UN panel
August 16, 2012: Syrian Government and opposition forces have perpetrated war crimes
and crimes against humanity, according to a new report by the United Nations independent
panel probing abuses committed during the country’s ongoing conflict.
Issued
on Wednesday and produced by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry
(CoI) on Syria under a mandate from the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, the
report states that war crimes, including murder, extrajudicial killings and torture,
and gross violations of international human rights, including unlawful killing, attacks
against civilians and acts of sexual violence, have been committed in line with State
policy, with indications of the involvement at the highest levels of the Government,
as well as security and armed forces.
Syria has been wracked by violence, with
an estimated 17,000 people, mostly civilians, killed since the uprising against President
Bashar al-Assad began some 17 months ago. The report, which presents the CoI’s findings
based on investigations conducted through 20 July, notes that the situation in the
Middle Eastern country has deteriorated significantly in the past six months, with
armed violence spreading to new areas and active hostilities between anti-Government
armed groups and Government forces and members of the Government-controlled militia
known as the Shabiha.
It also notes that more “brutal tactics” and new military
capabilities have been employed in recent months by both sides to the conflict. The
report updates earlier findings on the events that took place in the town of Houla
on 25 May, concluding that Government forces and Shabiha fighters were responsible
for the killings there of more than 100 civilians – nearly half of whom were children.
In
early June, the Human Rights Council had called for a “special inquiry” into the Houla
massacre. It also adopted a resolution condemning in the strongest terms the use of
force against civilians. While opposition forces also committed war crimes, including
murder and torture, the CoI says in its report that their violations and abuses were
not of the same gravity, frequency and scale as those committed by Government force
and the Shabiha.
It also reiterates the need for international consensus to
end the violence and pave the way for a political transition process that reflects
the aspirations of all segments of Syrian society. In a news release issued by Office
of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Commission underlined that
the lack of access to the country significantly hampered its ability to fulfil its
mandate, and for that reason it continued to collect firsthand accounts of the situation
on the ground from people who left the country.
Established in September last
year, the CoI has conducted 1,062 interviews since 15 February. Its report is scheduled
to be presented at the 21st session of the Human Rights Council on 17 September.