syria-un-20170119 2

A/71/755 2/15 17-00808 I. Background 1. On 21 December 2016, the General Assembly adopted resolution 71/248, by which it decided, in paragraph 4, to establish the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism to Assist in the Investigation and Prosecution of Persons Responsible for the Most Serious Crimes under International Law Committed in the Syrian Arab Republic since March 2011. 2. By that resolution, the Secretary-General was requested, with the support of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to develop the terms of reference of the Mechanism within 20 working days of its adoption, i.e. by 20 January 2017. The Assembly also requested that the steps, measures and arrangements necessary for the speedy establishment and full functioning of the Mechanism should be undertaken without delay, in coordination with the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic and building on existing capacities, including recruiting or allocating impartial and experienced staff with relevant skills and expertise in accordance with the terms of reference. The Secretary-General was requested to report on the implementation of the resolution within 45 days of its adoption, i.e. by 4 February 2017. II. Introduction 3. The Mechanism will provide assistance in the investigation and prosecution of persons responsible for the most serious crimes under international law in full independence, impartiality and objectivity. 4. The establishment of the Mechanism notwithstanding, under international law the primary burden rests with the Syrian Arab Republic and other States having jurisdiction to investigate, promptly, thoroughly, independently and impartially, any allegation of human rights violations or abuses, violations of international humanitarian law and international crimes, to prosecute those responsible and to ensure that victims have access to an adequate and effective remedy for such violations, as well as full redress and guarantees of non-recurrence. 5. Syrian and international civil society actors have been documenting violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights law. Two international inquiries have already concluded that violations of international law have occurred in the Syrian Arabic Republic. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic was established on 22 August 2011 by the Human Rights Council with a mandate to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law since March 2011 in the country. Since its establishment, the Commission has produced more than 20 public reports, thematic papers and updates documenting patterns of human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law, as well as the extent of the crimes committed by the Government, anti-government armed groups and terrorist organizations, in particular Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). 6. In August 2015, the Security Council established the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism and unanimously adopted resolution 2235 (2015), aimed at identifying those behin