syria-un-20180306 2

4/23/2018 OHCHR | UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria: Amid the ruins of Ar-Raqqah and Dayr al-Zawr, calls for justice and accountability by victi… http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22766&LangID=E 2/3 in northern Syria. There, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are interning up to 80,000 internally displaced persons to vet them for possible connections to ISIL. “The blanket internment of all IDPs from Raqqah and Dayr al-Zawr cannot be justified by the SDF,” said Commissioner Karen AbuZayd. “These IDP camps lack adequate resources and are only compounding their suffering. Those civilians who wish to leave must be immediately released,” she added. SDF violations noted in the report also include forced conscription, including of children. Elsewhere across Syria, places of worship, civil defence centres, homes, medical facilities, mark ets, bakeries, and schools continue to be regularly attacked with impunity by warring parties. In one particularly harmful attack on 13 November, the Russian Air Force carried out airstrikes on a densely populated civilian area in Atareb (Aleppo), killing at least 84 people and injuring another 150. Using unguided weapons, the attack struck a market, police station, shops, and a restaurant, and may amount to a war crime. Entering its fifth year, the siege of eastern Ghouta has been characterised by increasingly cynical means and methods of warfare, which have led to the worst documented cases of severe acute malnutrition over the course of the Syrian conflict. The siege continues to be marked by indiscriminate attacks affecting civilian and protected objects, the use of chemical weapons and cluster munitions, starvation, and the routine denial of medical evacuations. Terrorist or armed groups within the enclave continued to indiscriminately shell Damascus city, amounting to war crimes killing and maiming scores of civilians. “Even if the state is engaged in combatting terrorism, as it has stated, there can be no justification for punishing a whole population through starvation, indiscriminate bombardment, and denial of medical and humanitarian relief,” said Commissioner Hanny Megally. “This whole conflict has been characterized by a total disregard for the rules of war. All parties must immediately lift all sieges, allow humanitarian access, and stop using strategies that primarily target civilians,” he added. Background The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, which comprises Mr. Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro (Chair), Ms. Karen Koning AbuZayd, and Mr. Hanny Megally has been mandated by the United Nations Human Rights Council to investigate and record all violations of international law since March 2011 in the Syrian Arab Republic. The full report and supporting documentation can be found on the Human Rights Council web page dedicated to the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/IICISyria/Pages/IndependentInternationalCommission.aspx The report is scheduled to be presented on 13 March during an interactive dialogue at the 37th session of the Human Rights Council. ***** For further media information: (Geneva) Rolando Gómez, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Tel: +41- 79-4774411, email: rgomez@ohchr.org, and Sarah Lubbersen, OHCHR, slubbersen@ohchr.org Tel: +41-22-9179689. Home CONTACT US Frequently Asked Questions OHCHR on Social Media OHCHR Memorial Employment Mobile App Site Map © OHCHR 1996-201