President of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) Nasr al-Hariri sent a legal memorandum to the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, President of the UN General Assembly Volkan Bozkir, and President of the Security Council for the current session Vietnamese Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy regarding the Assad regime forces’ targeting of a civilian vehicle near the town of Jisr al-Shughour on Thursday, April 8. The attack, which involved the use of a high-precision guided missile, killed eight people.
Al-Hariri said that two families from the same town were traveling in the targeted car. As a result, three children, two women and two men were killed, the following are their names: Ghazwan Hallaq, Rola Rustom, Rand Ghazwan Hallaq, Murhaf Janoudi, Reem Abdel Wahed, Jumah Murhaf Janudi, and Masa Murhaf Janudi. Three other children were seriously injured.
He said that available information “indicated that the targeted area is free of any military presence, and confirms that the targeted road is a civilian one that the people use in their usual daily movement, and that it was clear in the middle of the day that the car is a civilian car carrying children and women.
“In our country, Syria, and every day, crimes against humanity continue to be committed by the Assad regime,” Al-Hariri said, adding that “the credibility of the United Nations is at stake, and the continued impunity of the Assad regime deepens the culture of taking right by one’s self, and threatens the future of peace and stability in the region and the world.”
Moreover, al-Hariri said that the hostilities constitute a flagrant violation of the Russian-Turkish memorandum of understanding, Security Council resolutions that provide for a ceasefire; the principles of international humanitarian law, international human rights law, international criminal law, customary international law, the four Geneva Conventions and their appendices, the Rome Statute, and all relevant international agreements.
He called for registering our memorandum as an official document in your records and forwarding it to the competent United Nations bodies; condemning the aggressive hostilities of Russia, the Assad regime and Iran, working hard to stop them, and announcing effective measures that oblige the regime and its supporters to comply with international resolutions, ensure the protection of civilians in Syria, and ensure that the necessary accountability measures are taken to prevent the impunity of those involved.
Al-Hariri also called for finding opportunities to redress victims, and demanding Russia to compensate the Syrian people for the material and moral damage it caused in Syria;
He also called for working to de-represent the Assad regime in international forums due to its violations of the principles and charter of the United Nations, or at least work to stop the Assad regime from exercising membership rights and benefits in accordance with Articles 5 of the Charter.
Furthermore, al-Hariri called for supporting the efforts of the political process towards achieving a political transition and not allowing the regime to foil it again, given that a comprehensive solution to the humanitarian crisis in Syria requires reaching a political solution with the full implementation of the Geneva Communique and Security Council resolutions, especially 2118 (2013) and 2254 (2015) and the General Assembly resolutions, including 262/67. (Source: SOC’s Media Department)
