According to the Commission of Inquiry's report, the most serious violations committed in Syria – with absolute impunity – include sieges, massacres and indiscriminate shelling of areas inhabited by civilian populations, mainly by means of conventional weapons, all resulting in the killing and displacement of thousands of people. The report speaks of regular executions without due process, a surge of deaths in custody, thousands of arbitrary detentions, widespread torture and an exponential surge in enforced disappearances. Upon request of relatives or friends of the disappeared, Alkarama has been following a large number of cases of enforced disappearance and arbitrary detention since the outset of the crisis. This includes the situation of well-known human rights defenders, such as the ongoing unfair trial of Mazen Darwish and his colleagues before the Anti-Terrorism Court in Damascus, but also the disappearance of Hussam Youssef or Red Crescent volunteer Mohammad Atfah, to name a few.

Disappearances targeting medical workers like Mohammad Atfah not only gravely affect him and his relatives, but also weaken health services in general. This was further highlighted in a conference room paper distributed at the Human Rights Council during the interactive dialogue with the Commission yesterday. The Commission noted with concern the "deliberate targeting of hospitals, medical personnel and transports, the denial of access to medical care, and ill-treatment of the sick and wounded", which lead to the breakdown of health service, at the expense of the most vulnerable parts of the Syrian population.

Unlike the Mission to Investigate Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons, the Commission of Inquiry is also explicitly mandated to investigate responsibilities for the serious violations it documents. Once more, it identifies Government and pro-government forces as being responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Anti-government armed groups are named as perpetrators of war crimes with increasing intensity. Complete impunity prevails on all sides, as the respective political and military leaders fail to impose even simple disciplinary measures against individuals, brigades or security services involved in the atrocities described above.

At the international level, recent negotiations aiming at the eradication of Syria's chemical weapons revive hopes for a wider political initiative to end hostilities. However, Alkarama is concerned that efforts necessary to establish accountability and justice will be compromised in the process. This prospect diminishes the motivation for all parties to the conflict to respect obligations under international law today. It is further bound to seriously undermine meaningful transitional justice, contribute to the perpetuation of grievances and poison Syrian society for decades to come. We therefore call on the international community not to sacrifice accountability and justice and use all mechanisms available, including the International Criminal Court and universal jurisdiction, in a concerted effort to prosecute those who are believed to be responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Syrian population.