President of the Syrian National Coalition, Anas al-Abda, sent a legal memo to the President of the UN Human Rights Council, Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger highlighting the war crimes the Assad regime and its allies are committing in Syria, especially the killing of civilians and the targeting of public facilities and medical centers In Idlib and Aleppo provinces.
The move came as part of a campaign by the Coalition to hold war criminals accountable, especially for the atrocious crimes that took place over the past three months.
“As you know, the Syrian people are living the worst human tragedy the world has witnessed in the twenty-first century, with the bloody escalation of the attacks launched by the regime and its allies in recent months on Idlib,” Al-Abda said.
“The suffering has worsened, and the waves of displacement increased after the regime invaded Ma’aret al-Numan and in the light of threats to invade Saraqib and other areas in Idlib.”
Al-Abda also said that “every prohibited act mentioned in international humanitarian law, international human rights law and international criminal law has been committed by the Assad regime and its allies Russia and Iran.”
Moreover, he stressed that the Assad regime did not abide by UN Security Council resolutions, most notably UN resolutions 2042, 2043, and 2254, which is the basis for the political process.
“The continued failure of the international community to save the Syrian people from the worst humanitarian catastrophe since the World War II will lead to the breakdown of the credibility of international institutions in the eyes of peoples and governments; and to deepening the culture of fulfilling rights by force due to the impunity of those involved; and will have a big impact on the political process and peace future in Syria and the region, which makes the threats to international peace and security an imminent reality.”
“All this places your esteemed Council and the United Nations with doubled responsibilities that need different ways to ensure saving both civilians in Syria and the credibility of the United Nations,” Al-Abda added.
Al-Abda called for an urgent meeting of the Human Rights Council to discuss the situation in Idlib and take decisions and appropriate measures in this regard.
He also called on all council’s institutions, treaties committees and working groups to double their work on Syria in order to proclaim the truth, redress the victims and hold perpetrators accountable. (Source: Syrian National Coalition’s Media Department)
