The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria: War Crimes likely to be committed by all sides
The UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Syria highlighted in its latest report released today the aerial and ground attacks carried out by Syrian Government forces and Russian Air forces last year in Idlib Governorate which decimated civilian infrastructure.
“All sides likely committed war crimes”, said Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chair of the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic in a video message to the UN. “Children were shelled at schools, parents were shelled at the market, patients were shelled at the hospital, entire families were bombarded even while fleeing these attacks”.
Syrian children, women and men endured unfathomable suffering during the military campaign launched late 2019 by pro-government forces to re-take the last remaining areas under armed groups’ control in Syria.
The 29 - page report presented today at the United Nations in Geneva covers the period from November 2019 to June 2020 and was based on overflight data and witness testimony.
“We have actually investigated 52 counted violations, 17 attacks on hospitals, 14 attacks on schools, 9 on marketplaces and 12 others on residential buildings and other places”, said Hanny Megally, Member of the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic. “Within that, we have found that war crimes were likely to have been committed by both the Syrian Airforce and by the Russian Airforce”.
The special investigation into recent events in Idlib province and surrounding areas which lead to nearly one million people being displaced in only three months was requested by the Human Rights Council.
The report concluded that the widespread and indiscriminate bombardment carried out by pro-government forces on Ma’arrat al-Nu’man and Ariha (Idlib governorate) as well as Atarib and Darat Azza (western Aleppo) which started in the second half of December and mid-February, foreseeably led to mass displacement and may amount to the crimes against humanity of forcible transfer, murder and other inhumane acts.
“We have come to the conclusion that attacks by the pro-government forces were so systemic and designed to force the population to move and a possible transfer of populations is a crime against humanity”, said Hanny Megally, Member of the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic. “So, we think that again may have happened by both pro-government forces and by armed groups and terrorist organisations we have seen pillaging and looting happening which again are war crimes”.
The UN investigators also condemned attacks by terrorist fighters. They maintained that UN-designated terrorist-group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) indiscriminately shelled densely populated civilian areas “spreading terror” in Government-held areas.
As if the suffering for the nearly one million displaced civilians was not enough, the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic magnified the already dire humanitarian situation in Syria, including in Idlib and western Aleppo. “Some people are returning to their homes and places of prior displacement because the conditions in overcrowded camps are just dire and compounded by the looming threat of Covid-19”, said Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chair of the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic.
The COI’s Chair urged that “the very least the Security Council can do now is to renew and strengthen the cross-border and cross-line aid operations. Pandemics know no borders, nor should humanitarian aid”.
The Commission called on all parties to the conflict in Syria to cease attacks on civilians and civilian objects. “While we welcome last week’s resolution by the Security Council calling a 90 day pause in fighting, the Commission urges the parties to the conflict to hear the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy’s call for a lasting cease fire and the immediate return to negotiations to end this conflict”, Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chair of the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic.
The Commission’s report is scheduled to be presented on 14th July to the Human Rights Council.
- Exterior shot, Palais des Nations flag alley, sunny, flags fluttering.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chair of the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic: “All sides likely committed war crimes. Children were shelled at schools, parents were shelled at the market, patients were shelled at the hospital, entire families were bombarded even while fleeing these attacks”.
- Exterior shot, Palais des Nations with UN lettering and logo
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Hanny Megally, Member of the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic: “We have actually investigated 52 counted violations, 17 attacks on hospitals, 14 attacks on schools, 9 on marketplaces and 12 others on residential buildings and other places. And within that, we have found that war crimes were likely to have been committed by both the Syrian Airforce and by the Russian Airforce”.
- Wide shot, UN Palais, Entry Pregny Gate
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Hanny Megally, Member of the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic: “We have come to the conclusion that attacks by the pro-government forces were so systemic and designed to force the population to move and a possible transfer of populations is a crime against humanity. So, we think that again may have happened and by both pro-government forces and by armed groups and terrorist organisations we have seen pillaging and looting happening which again are war crimes”.
- Medium shot, Place des Nations with Broken chair in front of UN building
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chair of the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic: “Some people are returning to their homes and places of prior displacement because the conditions in overcrowded camps are just dire and compounded by the looming threat of Covid-19”.
- Wide shot, Place des Nations with Broken chair in front of UN building
- SOUNDBITE (English) - Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chair of the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic: “The very least the Security Council can do now is to renew and strengthen the cross-border and cross-line aid operations. Pandemics know no borders, nor should humanitarian aid”.
- Wide shot: ICRC with UN flag
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chair of the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic: “While we welcome last week’s resolution by the Security Council calling a 90 day pause in fighting, the Commission urges the parties to the conflict to hear the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy call for a lasting cease fire and the immediate return to negotiations to end this conflict”.
- Wide shot: UN flag alley
- Medium, UN flag
- Medium shot, UN flag alley
- Wide shot, UN Palais with flags
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM
Well over 1.3 million people have fled Sudan’s ongoing war for South Sudan, the UN migration agency, IOM, reported on Friday, amid rising violence and a massive humanitarian emergency linked to the country’s political crisis.
2
1
2
Statements , Conferences , Edited News | HRC , OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday presented to the 61st Human Rights Council his global update on the human rights situation.
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday presented to the UN Human Rights Council a new report on the human rights situation in occupied Palestinian territory.
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday briefed the Human Rights Council in Geneva on the human rights situation in Sudan: “Nearly three years of brutal conflict have almost turned Sudan into a land of despair. The report I am presenting today is yet another chapter in the chronicle of cruelty. It outlines clear, ongoing patterns of violence against civilians, including killings, rape, and torture. As the fighting has intensified, violations of international law by all parties to the conflict have surged, while accountability has remained practically absent,” he said.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday told the Human Rights Council in Geneva today: “Afghanistan is a graveyard for human rights. The cascade of edicts and laws announced by the de facto authorities since coming to power in 2021 is having a crushing impact on the Afghan people, particularly women and girls.”
3
1
Edited News | UNITED NATIONS , OCHA , UNHCR
Ukraine enters fifth year of war: Attacks and displacement deepen human suffering amid mounting recovery challenges
On the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, UN officials took stock of the immense human and economic toll of the conflict while appealing to the world to “never get used to war.”
2
27
2
2
Edited News , Press Conferences , Images | General Assembly , UNITED NATIONS
The full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops on 24 February 2022 shattered the peaceful aspirations of an entire continent, but war must never be the new normal, UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday.
1
48
1
1
Edited News | UNOG
A ceremony marking the completion of the construction of the Portail des Nations, a soon-to-open visitors centre for the UN in Geneva, was held today for diplomats from around the world who have gathered in the Swiss city for the opening session of the Human Rights Council.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday delivered his opening remarks to the 61str session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
10
1
1
Edited News | HRC , SG
In Geneva, delegates from more than 120 countries gathered on Monday to mark 20 years of the UN Human Rights Council and a shared commitment to international law, amid runaway global instability and conflict, amid runaway global instability and conflict.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office has published a report on the grave human rights abuses suffered by the hundreds of thousands of people trafficked into scam operations mostly in southeast Asia.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Marta Hurtado briefed journalists on a UN report detailing child trafficking by gangs and how it is putting Haiti’s future at risk.