Commission for Human Rights: Syria needs more work to stop violations and achieve justice

In a statement read by its spokesman, Thameen Al-Khitan, at the bi-weekly press conference of United Nations agencies in Geneva, the Commission indicated that the interim authorities had established two national bodies for transitional justice and for missing persons, two committees to investigate acts of violence in the coastal areas and in Suwayda, the announcement of a draft law for transitional justice, and the start of trials for those accused of committing acts of violence in the coastal areas.

Al-Khitan said: “However, we continue to receive horrific accounts of summary executions, arbitrary killings and kidnappings, mainly targeting specific communities and people accused of belonging to the previous government.”.

The UNHCR spokesperson stated that other reported violations and abuses include sexual violence, arbitrary arrests, looting, destruction of housing, forced evictions and confiscation of homes, land and property, as well as restrictions on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

He explained that in many of these cases, the violence mainly affected certain communities, including Alawites, Druze, Christians, and Bedouins. These actions fueled rising hate speech, both online and in the streets.

Conditions for the success of the transition process

The Commission spokesman said that the past year witnessed repeated Israeli military operations, which included incursions and occupation of additional lands, adding: “We received reports of civilian casualties, including in a recent Israeli military operation near Damascus, in addition to arrests and house searches.”.

He pointed out that the process of integrating former armed groups into the new security forces has so far been carried out in a hasty manner, without proper human rights-based vetting. He added: “This scrutiny and proper security sector reform are essential to ensure that perpetrators of serious violations of international law are not integrated into the security forces, and to prevent further violations.”.

Al-Khitan stressed the need to investigate all these violations – past and present – independently, comprehensively and transparently, and hold those responsible accountable.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called on the authorities to take action to address the root causes of these violations, stressing that accountability, justice, peace and security for all Syrians are essential preconditions for the success of the transitional process, and that the rights of victims to effective redress and compensation must be guaranteed.