DETENTION REPORT
The Detention Report is an analytical report prepared by the IIIM as part of its work to support current and future justice opportunities for core international crimes (particularly war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide) committed in the Syrian Arab Republic from March 2011.
This detailed report analyses the widespread and systematic commission of torture, ill treatment and related violations across more than 100 Government Detention facilities in Syria, as well as the functioning of the detention system and the roles played by different government entities within that system. This includes analysis of inhumane detention conditions, sexual violence and enforced disappearances. It draws on over 300 witness interviews, medical forensic evidence, the Syrian Government’s own documentation, and an extensive body of other evidence. Focusing on factual patterns and their systematic nature, consistent accounts of abuse emerge from victims and survivors detained in Government facilities across Syria.
The Detention Report also sheds light on the devastating impact on the families of disappeared detainees. The anguish and distress caused has long-term consequences for whole communities.
Completed by the IIIM in June 2024, a redacted version of the Detention Report is now online.
The Detention Report is being released first in its original English language version, to make it widely available and accessible as meaningful justice opportunities arise. Mindful of the importance of Arabic language access for many of our Syrian stakeholders, the IIIM is undertaking to provide an Arabic translation as soon as possible. Some resources are available now in Arabic, including the mapping of the detention facilities referenced in the report.
The IIIM has benefitted from material shared by many sources, particularly Syrian civil society actors and victim/survivor groups. The IIIM is also appreciative of the Commission of Inquiry’s cooperation and sharing of its extensive body of information and evidence.
Annex A
Explains the IIIM’s mandate and methodology.
Annex B
Provides a mapping of Syrian Government detention facilities where former detainees, whose interview records were analysed in the Report, were held. The IIIM researched the identified detaining entities, compared them with Syrian Government documents, and mapped the geocoordinates for those it could locate based on further research reflected in summary tables. Based on this information, the names and approximate locations of the detention facilities are mapped and color-coded by facility type in a data visualization tool that can be viewed below.
Annex C
Annex C is a glossary which provides key Arabic terms, forms of torture definitions, full citations for sources referenced in the Report, and hyperlinks for accessible open-source materials. Other referenced materials have been preserved in the IIIM’s Central Repository and can only be shared with competent jurisdictions with the informed consent of the sources.
You can view the mapping of the detention facilities mentioned via the mapping below.
A. Most of the IIIM’s work to support competent jurisdictions is not publicly released by the IIIM. It remains confidential unless and until it becomes public in the context of a specific judicial process. However, the IIIM has determined that, for compelling reasons and in what is anticipated to be rare instances, it may publicly release analytical products that it has prepared. The IIIM has determined that the Detention Report warrants public release. It is the first, and so far, the only, report that the IIIM has made public. In making this decision, the IIIM considered a range of factors including the interests of victims/survivors, the scope of the report, confidentiality considerations, and the potential to facilitate a broader range of justice opportunities through public dissemination of the report.
As reflected in its Strategic Plan, the IIIM is committed to fulfilling its role as a crucial entity supporting and promoting current and future accountability efforts for victims/survivors of core international crimes committed in Syria. Providing a public version of the Detention Report facilitates broader justice objectives, as enshrined in its mandate and the underlying goal of resolution A/71/248 to pursue practical steps towards justice for all victims and the prevention of future violations.
A. As part of its mandate, the IIIM prepares ‘analytical products’ that are made available to assist the work of competent jurisdictions with cases they are working on relating to core international crimes in Syria.
The Detention Report is one of 47 analytical products the IIIM has so far developed and shared with competent jurisdictions. It addresses some key factual questions that will be relevant to many justice actors working on Syrian Government detention cases, such as the patterns of crimes across detention facilities and their systematic nature, the structure and operation of key entities involved in the detention system, and the impact of detention-related crimes on victims/survivors and their families.
The IIIM has the advantage of being able to draw upon many different sources of evidence from its Central Repository of Information and Evidence to inform its analysis. This can significantly assist competent jurisdictions who may have access to a more limited range of evidence. The IIIM’s analysis can also assist in shedding light on the overall context in which specific crimes have taken place. The Detention Report has been designed as a flexible resource that could be used in many different ways by justice actors. Information and evidence obtained by the IIIM is preserved according to international criminal law standards maximising the chances that it can assist in a wide range of different jurisdictions, with different legal frameworks.
A. Given the applicable consent restrictions and sensitive or potentially identifying nature of individual witness narratives, much of the detail from individual accounts could not be retained in a public report. In many instances, these details relate to the perspectives and experiences of children, persons with disabilities, and victims/survivors of sexual violence and other gender-based crimes, which the IIIM ensured were included in the Report pursuant to its inclusive justice approach. However, these perspectives still robustly informed its focus and overall analysis.
More generally, the IIIM’s reliance on witness interview records and the public disclosure of information therefrom depends on the witness’ consent, and on any conditions placed on use of materials by the sources. In line with these restrictions, some witness accounts were used descriptively, while others were redacted and only aggregated and reflected in the overarching analysis in the public version of the Report. In addition, the IIIM undertakes its own assessment to ensure the protection of potentially sensitive information and anything that could put witnesses or their relatives at risk is not disclosed. This has resulted in the extensive removal or redaction of relevant information and details provided by witnesses from the public version of the Detention Report.
A. As set out above, it is not the IIIM’s general practice to publicly release its analytical work.
A. The IIIM’s two-way dialogue with affected community civil society actors, including victim/survivor associations, has generated important insights to help inform the issues addressed in the Report. In addition to that, CSOs have contributed information and evidence that has helped inform the IIIM’s analysis.
As outlined in the Methodology of the Detention Report (Annex A), Syrian civil society actors have contributed by providing various forms of evidence as documenters; public and confidential issued reports; as well as expert reports related to medical evaluations and psychosocial support provided to victims/survivors requested by the IIIM. These materials form an important part of the overall body of evidence considered in the Report.
IIIM Releases Analysis of Widespread Torture in Syria’s Detention System
Geneva, 6 December 2024 – The International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) today released a detailed report analysing the widespread and systematic commission of torture, ill treatment and related violations across more than 100 Government Detention facilities in Syria. This includes analysis of inhumane detention conditions, sexual violence and enforced disappearances.
Titled “The Syrian Government Detention System as a Tool of Violent Repression”, the report draws on over 300 witness interviews, medical forensic evidence and the Syrian Government’s own documentation. Focusing on factual patterns and their systematic nature, consistent accounts of abuse emerge from the accounts of victims and survivors detained in Government facilities across Syria.
Robert Petit, Head of the IIIM, emphasized the significance of the report:
“Our report lays bare the harrowing reality within the Syrian Government detention system. The interview records of former detainees, corroborated by forensic medical evidence and an extensive body of other evidence, reveal the severity of the mental and physical harm that was intentionally inflicted.” On releasing this analysis, Mr. Petit said, “We are making the Detention Report public and widely available, to contribute to ongoing justice and accountability efforts, not only for past abuses but also those that continue to this day.”
Patterns in the Body of Evidence
Former detainees described severe physical and psychological abuse, including beatings, stress positions, and sexual violence. They reported horrific conditions, lack of hygiene, insufficient food and water, overcrowding, and denial of medical care. Many witnessed other detainees being tortured and killed.
The report includes descriptions of Syrian Government structures involved in the infliction of harms, including Government leadership and coordinating entities, intelligence branches, military hospitals and military police.
Impact on Families
The Detention Report also sheds light on the devastating impact on the families of disappeared detainees. The anguish and distress have caused long-term consequences for whole communities.
“Thousands of families bear the psychological toll of not knowing where their loved ones are,” Mr. Petit said. Speaking of the role of the Government, he added “This is unimaginable psychological torture, yet the Syrian Government continues to intentionally withhold and cover-up information that could address the agonising uncertainty.”
In accordance with witness protection considerations and consent limitations, the Detention Report has been released in redacted format. It is accompanied by supporting resources including an interactive map of approximately 100 detention facilities identified by witnesses, and an FAQ.
For more information, please contact: [email protected]
About the IIIM
The International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) is a United Nations organisation, established in 2016 by the UN General Assembly in a landmark vote. It is mandated to assist in the investigation and prosecution of individuals responsible for committing the most serious international crimes (including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide) in Syria since March 2011.
The IIIM works to collect and preserve evidence from multiple sources to support current and potential future accountability proceedings. A significant number of its sources and information providers are Syrian civil society actors. The Detention Report relies on information and evidence from the IIIM’s Structural Investigation and includes evidence from multiple sources, including Syrian Government documents, CSO evidence collections, CSO reports, the IIIM’s witness interviews and direct evidence collection, the Caesar Files, medical forensic reports, national court proceedings, and reports of UN bodies and their communications with the Syrian Government.
The IIIM’s work can be used by jurisdictions with the legal authority to prosecute international crimes, thereby supporting accountability for atrocities committed during the Syrian conflict.
It shares information, evidence and analytical products either in response to requests for assistance or proactively with competent jurisdictions.
It integrates a victim survivor centred approach and proactive strategies on gender and children/youth throughout its work, holding regular consultations and engagements with Syrian civil society and victim/survivor communities.
It is not a court or tribunal; it cannot issue indictments or conduct trials and does not have prosecutorial powers.
The IIIM is:
- Independent: Works without external instructions or influences. It does not share details of the justice processes it supports publicly except as authorised by competent jurisdictions.
- Impartial: Works to cover all international crimes committed by all parties in the conflict, no matter the affiliation, without bias.
- Rigorous: Applies international criminal law methodologies throughout all tracks of its work.
Since the start of its operations the IIIM has maintained its efforts to initiate cooperation from the Syrian Arab Republic, in line with its commitment to impartial and inclusive justice. Although it has not yet received any response, it will continue to reach out to all States who may hold information and evidence relevant to its mandate.
Approximate Locations of Syrian Government Detention Facilities
Based on Geocoordinates Provided in Annex B
The following data visualization is provided for reference. It was created using third-party data visualization software to illustrate the Government detention facility locations generated from geocoordinates in Annex B of the Detention Report. Any boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this visual tool do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.