An international human rights group submitted a memorandum to the International Criminal Court calling for the Assad regime to be held accountable for the forcible displacement of more than one million people to Jordan. It noted that the ICC had the mandate to launch an investigation in Amman as Jordan is a ‘State Party’ to the Rome Statute.
In a press release issued on Monday, The Guernica Center for International Justice explained its goals behind the submission of this memorandum. It deeply regretted the fact that the International Criminal Court did not launch any investigation into the war crimes taking place in Syria which is not a ‘State Party’ to the Rome Statute.
The Center pointed out that the ICC does not have the jurisdiction to look into the crimes taking place inside Syrian territory, which led to the impunity of those responsible for the violations. However, the Center called on the ICC to use the same jurisdiction as Jordan is a ‘State Party’ to the Rome Statute. It called for looking into the Assad regime’s forced deportation of hundreds of thousands of Syrian civilians.
“The legal submission by the Guernica Centre for International Justice filed today aims to ensure that the ICC as the first permanent international criminal court and the body with a clear mandate to adjudicate the gravest of crimes and to hold the most senior officials accountable, is given the basis for achieving such a noble aim,” the statement said.
The Center’s co-founder Toby Cadman said that there is a fair chance that the ICC will accept the Center’s legal submission which is directed against the leadership of the regime, its armed forces, the state security, and branches of military intelligence.
Cadman demanded that Bashar al-Assad be held fully responsible, adding that Assad possesses immunity at the national level, but he may not have it at the international level.
Cadman pointed out that the Center’s legal submission focuses on the circumstances surrounding the conflict, including the aerial bombardment, the use of chemical weapons and other prohibited weapons, mass arrests, the torture and execution of thousands of civilians. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department + Agencies)
