Qatar stressed the need to stop the continued serious violations of international law and international humanitarian law being committed by the Assad regime against Syrian civilians.
The remarks were made at a speech delivered by Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani at a meeting held on Syria on the sidelines of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday.
Al-Thani called on the Assad regime to stop showing total disregard for the lives of the Syrian people and deal seriously with negotiations to resolve the crisis.
“It impossible to talk about the humanitarian repercussions of the crisis without talking about the necessity of stopping the continued serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law committed by either by the Syrian regime or ISIS, as indicated by the reports of the United Nations and international organizations,” the Qatari top diplomat said.
Al-Thani stressed that “accountability for these atrocities and crimes committed in Syria is a responsibility of the international community for achieving the principle of justice, deterring perpetrators from continuing to commit such crimes and removing obstacles to the sustainability and success of resolving the crisis, political transition and national consensus.”
Moreover, Al-Thani reiterated Qatar’s support for the efforts for reaching a political solution to the crisis on the basis of the Geneva Communique of 2012 and UN Security Council’s resolutions, including resolution 2254 (2015).
Al-Thani reaffirmed “Qatar’s support for the de-escalation efforts in accordance with the United Nations Charter, international law and international humanitarian law, as well as the ongoing Astana talks.”
A report released on September 6 by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria concluded that the Assad regime forces were responsible for the April 4 sarin attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun in rural Idlib that killed over 90 people, many of them women and children. The report indicated that the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons amounted to war crimes. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department + Agencies)
