Coordinator of the Syrian Coalition’s Department of Foreign Relations, Abdulahad Astepho, stressed the need to give the UN Human Rights Council the necessary powers to ensure an end to the widespread violations of human rights in Syria and to create a suitable environment for a political process leading to a political transition in accordance with UN Security resolution 2254.
Astepho lauded the draft resolution submitted by the United Kingdom to the UN Human Rights Council on behalf of France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, the Netherlands, Qatar, Turkey, and the United Kingdom on the human rights situation in Syria.
Stemming the violence and reaching a political solution in Syria would not be possible without serious, effective international action by identifying perpetrators of violations and holding them accountable as well as exerting pressure on the Assad regime to seriously engage in a sustained political process, he added.
The United Kingdom on Monday announced it presented draft resolution L.33 on the human rights situation in Syria to the UN Human Rights Council. It covers a wide range of human rights violations and abuses across Syria – attributing responsibility where credible evidence clearly denotes this.
The text particularly highlights the grave situation in Idlib province and surrounding areas, deploring the escalation of violence that took place there at the end of 2019 and spring of 2020, which resulted in the displacement of nearly 1 million civilians, almost half of them children.
It welcomes the ceasefire agreed on 5 March, and calls on all parties to abide by that ceasefire.
The UK Foreign Office said that the states that took part in the drafting of the resolution remain fully supportive of the role of the Commission of Inquiry to document all human rights violations and abuses being carried out in Syria. It added that this work is vital for protection and for accountability.
The text seeks to renew the mandate of the COI and also requests it to conduct a special report on the situation in Idlib province and surrounding areas. (Source: SOC’s Media Department)
