Press release
Syrian Opposition Coalition
Department of Media and Communications
May 25, 2021
Nine years have passed since this terrible massacre took place without the criminals and those responsible receiving the punishment they deserve, which confirms that the state of law and legitimacy in the international community is at its nadir. All countries, without any exception, especially those claim to defend human rights and respect of international law, are mere eyewitnesses who are standing idly by while expressing lukewarm, ambiguous positions.
Everyone remembers the outcry that followed the Houla Massacre, when several countries condemned the carnage and expelled the Assad regime’s ambassadors. However, no measures were taken to prevent further massacres. The massacre came as a direct result of the international community’s inaction towards the bloodshed. It also proved a turning point after which the Assad regime stepped up its brutality and escalated its crimes, reassured that the international community will not take any action.
The National Commission for the Affairs of the Missing and Detainees, Human Rights, the Syrian Opposition Coalition’s (SOC) Legal Committee, and several independent Syrian bodies and international human rights organizations are working to follow up on the issue of crimes against the Syrian people. They are collecting evidence, testimonies and documents, and seeking to prosecute criminals in order to achieve justice as well as seek to exert pressure to transfer these crimes to international courts as soon as possible.
It is imperative that the international community assume its responsibilities towards the ongoing atrocities in Syria. All parties must do whatever necessary to enforce UN resolutions and bring about a political solution in line with the Geneva Communique of 2012.
