‘On 29 July, the Syrian National Coalition Representative to the Benelux and EU, Mouaffaq Nyrabia, delivered a letter to the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schultz, thanking him for his support to exhibit the ‘Caesar’ photographic evidence of the Assad regime’s systematic use of torture.
The letter outlines the need for decisive steps the international community must take to protect Syrians from further human rights violations and the need to revive a process of accountability and justice by:
- Develop thinking on alternative options for accountability while the ICC route remains blocked, including the viability of an ad-hoc tribunal or trying human rights perpetrators in European national courts using universal jurisdiction principles;
- Intensify sanctions against human rights violators, sending a clear message that the current culture of impunity in Syria will not be tolerated any further;
- Press the need for protection of the Syrian people against further human rights violations and abuses at the hands of the regime, extremists and foreign fighters, including Hizbollah. Only by stopping the relentless killing by barrel bombs, chemical weapons and ISIL’s barbarity, can the basis for a credible political solution begin.’
