MESOP SAMPLER OF RELEVANT RESSOURCES : THE CONSTRUTION OF AN UN TEAM TO SYRIA

MESOP TOP OF THE AGENDA

UN Approves Team to Investigate Syria War Crimes

The United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution to create a special team to collect evidence of human rights abuses (Al Jazeera) committed during the Syrian civil war. The new team will work alongside the UN Syria Commission of Inquiry to prepare files that will “expedite fair and independent criminal proceedings” in national or international courts that may have jurisdiction over such crimes in the future. The International Criminal Court (ICC) does not have jurisdiction over Syria (NYT), which is not party to the court, and efforts by the UN Security Council to refer Syrian cases to the ICC have been blocked by Russia. Liechtenstein’s UN ambassador told the General Assembly before the vote (Reuters) that the international body has “postponed any meaningful action on accountability too often and for too long.”

ANALYSIS

“There is no dearth of accusations of crimes. In no other conflict have so many atrocities been so widely seen and shared via social media, including pictures of starving children denied food aid in Madaya, photographs that indicate torture in government prisons and videos of health workers treating victims of chemical warfare,” Somini Sengupta writes for the New York Times.

“Assuming some sort of justice does come to pass, courts will need evidence. And that’s one thing they are likely to have. Groups like the Commission for International Justice and Accountability have been meticulously gathering and storing evidence with an eye to future prosecutions—it alone has smuggled more than 600,000 documents out of Syria,” Annie Slemrod writes for the Eurasia Review.

“The General Assembly today demonstrated that it can take the reins on questions of justice in the face of Security Council deadlock. The countries that voted for this unprecedented Syria resolution took a critically important stand for victims of massive grave crimes. By establishing the investigative mechanism, the General Assembly is helping pave the road to accountability after years of unchecked atrocities. Simply condemning the murder and mayhem inflicted on civilians is not enough,” said Balkees Jarrah for Human Rights Watch.