Damascus - Geneva: Europe and the Arabs
The head of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria said that the situation on the ground has become more complex in light of the collapse of the economy, the devastating humanitarian situation exacerbated by last year’s earthquake, increasing dependence on drug manufacturing and trafficking, and the state’s “unwillingness and inability” to some extent to protect... The safety and security of its people.
In his speech yesterday, Wednesday, during the interactive dialogue within the activities of the 56th session of the Human Rights Council held in Geneva, Committee Chairman Paulo Pinheiro said that “there has been a continuous disregard for the lives and well-being of the Syrian people with no end in sight.”
He also expressed concern about the deepening fragmentation of the country on all fronts, which will have serious consequences in the long term, including on the social fabric and unity in Syria.
He noted that “horrific cycles of violence” continued, citing an incident in Al-Sanamayn, Daraa Governorate, on April 7, when ten civilians, including two children, were killed by a pro-government militia, in response to an IED attack in which at least seven children were killed.
“Such massacres evoke the atrocities committed with impunity during the conflict, including during the darkest days of ISIS rule,” he said.
Root causes of conflict
The head of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry explained that while the pace of the conflict is fluctuating, the root causes that led to it are still very much present.
He noted the persistence of incommunicado detention and enforced disappearances, with families of those illegally detained often forced to pay large sums of money to try to obtain information about the fate of their loved ones.
"Impunity and lawlessness have been a bleak reality for all Syrians, with no end in sight," Pinheiro said.
He added that the world leaders involved in the conflict in Syria are failing to achieve progress towards a peaceful settlement of the conflict, and they and the Syrian government are failing the Syrian people.
He pointed out that the normalization path led by some Arab countries last year, which witnessed Syria's return to the League of Arab States, has not yet achieved results, as the Syrian government has not made any other meaningful concessions.
He went on to say, "The government and the international community seem strangely content with maintaining the status quo. However, this is not a viable option for the Syrian people, both inside and outside the country."
Pineiro spoke about the situation of Syrians in neighboring countries, saying that they have become increasingly at risk of deportation and forced return to Syria, where they risk arrest or disappearance, or return to find their homes and farms destroyed and no way to make a living.
Three critical areas of action
The head of the independent commission said that, on a more positive note, Syrian civil society was leading very creative accountability initiatives outside the country. He pointed to another positive development: the establishment of a long-awaited foundation dedicated to helping the families of thousands of missing and disappeared people uncover the fate of their loved ones.
Pinheiro suggested three critical areas that require urgent government action, the first of which is the situation of those arbitrarily detained since 2019 in northeastern Syria.
He said that government assistance was needed to help authorities in the northeast find a solution for these detainees.
The second area, according to the Chairman of the Independent Commission, is the imposition of unilateral coercive measures by some governments on Syria, which have “dangerous and sometimes unintended consequences” that negatively affect the civilian population.
He urged Member States to undertake urgent reviews of their imposition of sanctions to ensure that these negative effects are eliminated.
The final area, he said, is “the alarming lack of support by your governments for the 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan.”
He stressed that the Syrian people cannot be abandoned because of the many other crises that need attention, adding, "They have endured 13 years of conflict and deserve more assistance from your governments."