The ICJ today delivered a statement before the UN Human Rights Council during the interactive dialogue with the Commission of Inquiry on Syria.
The statement reads as follows:
“Mister President,
The ICJ notes with profound concern the latest report of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Syria which documents grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian law committed across the country since July 2021, including war crimes and ongoing crimes against humanity. In addition to the recent escalation in violence, the COI reports that crushing poverty, food insecurity and massive internal displacement place all Syrians in an unprecedented need of humanitarian assistance.
Despite the COI attesting to over a decade of impunity for the most serious crimes under international law, the UN Security Council continues to abdicate its responsibility to take any of the effective measures at its disposal that would allow to ensure accountability for them, including a referral to the ICC.
The ICJ calls upon this Council and its Member States to act individually and collectively to fill the accountability gap in Syria by exercising universal or extra-territorial jurisdiction over crimes under international law, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture, enforced disappearance, and extrajudicial killings ; renewing the COI’s mandate as well as supporting and implementing its recommendations; alongside the recommendations made by the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism.
I thank you.”
Contact:
Massimo Frigo, ICJ UN Representative, e: massimo.frigo(a)icj.org, t: +41797499949
