Geneva, 8 December 2024 – Today’s events are historic. There is finally some hope for Syrians and their country to have a future based on justice and the rule of law. These are the fundamental principles on which the IIIM was created by the General Assembly in 2016.
We have all witnessed the poignant images of hundreds of detainees finally released from the notorious Syrian prisons system, a system that the IIIM has documented in an extensive Report released last Friday. Furthermore, we already have indications that, hour by hour, potential evidence of the Government repressive apparatus is becoming available, as fleeing regime agents retreat in haste.
Syrian individuals and civil society organizations have been at the forefront of accountability efforts, as first responders on the ground, as collectors and documenters, as witnesses and as advocates. We have seen in places like Rwanda and former Yugoslavia how essential it is to preserve high-value information and evidence in time and to do so in a way that allows for its use in court. By doing this, we can help Syrian, domestic and international courts and tribunals in the future to adjudicate events and contribute to a collective understanding of the past and an indisputable recounting of the truth.
While many Syrian civil society organizations have experience in preserving information and evidence, there might now be opportunities for others. This is why the Mechanism has produced guidelines to assist, which can be accessed on our website.
Accountability for the innumerable sufferings over the last 13 years should be central to future discussions and efforts of Syrians and the international community alike, to start addressing the widespread impunity for nearly every atrocity imaginable: from bombarding hospitals, the use of chemical weapons, systematic torture in Government-held prisons, widespread sexual and gender-based violence, and even genocide.
To bring about reconciliation and sustainable peace, we need to ensure credible and comprehensive accountability for violations of international humanitarian law and human rights violations and abuses through fair and independent proceedings in accordance with international standards. For decades, Syrians have endured injustices. They know firsthand that impunity breeds impunity. By ensuring that accountability is an integral part of the process, the international community has a historic opportunity to break this cycle.
In accordance with our mandate by the General Assembly, the Mechanism will continue to collect and preserve information and evidence of serious violations of international law and support current and future jurisdictions in providing some measure of justice for Syrians.
– ENDS –