Letter to the UN HRC Re: Statement by Civil Society Organizations on Accountability in Syria at the UN Human Rights Council

Excellency,

The undersigned non-governmental organisations remain deeply concerned by the inability of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC).  We note with alarm that the May 22, 2014 resolution before the UNSC intended to ensure such referral was vetoed by Russia and China.

We therefore call on member states of the HRC to expressly support the recommendation made by its Commission of Inquiry and to recommend that the UN Security Council refers the situation to the ICC in any resolution on Syria adopted at the 26^th Session of the HRC.

We echo the statement issued by a group of UN independent human rights experts on the 30^th of May emphasizing that failure to refer the situation to the ICC ‘leaves the door open for new atrocities in the ongoing conflict’ and that ICC referral would have been a necessary step to protect civilians from further violations. We also note the repeated calls by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Navi Pillay, to refer the situation to the ICC.

A referral by the UN Security Council would have given the court jurisdiction over crimes against humanity and war crimes, regardless of the side that perpetrated them. At least 60 countries from all regions stood on the side of victims by supporting the referral of the situation in Syria to the ICC. On May 15, over 100 non-governmental organizations from around the world issued a statement urging the Security Council to approve the proposed resolution. Broad support for the resolution from governments and non-governmental groups alike reflects the widespread determination to achieve justice for serious crimes in Syria.

Neither Syrian authorities nor the leaders of non-state armed groups have taken any meaningful steps to ensure accountability for past and ongoing grave human rights crimes. The failure to hold those responsible for these violations to account has only fuelled further atrocities by all sides. Against this background, we believe the ICC is the forum most capable of effectively investigating and prosecuting the people who bear the greatest responsibility for serious crimes and of offering a measure of justice for victims in Syria.

We acknowledge previous resolutions of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) pertaining to Syria, including resolution A/HRC/25/23 which emphasizes the need for the use of ‘appropriate international criminal justice mechanisms under appropriate circumstances ’to achieve justice, reconciliation, truth and accountability for grave rights violations, including war crimes and crimes against humanity being carried out in the country. But time has come for the HRC to heed the call for justice and to send a clear message that the ICC is the most appropriate judicial mechanism to address the impunity in Syria, as already concluded by its international Commission of Inquiry in February 2013.

We commend the diligence of the Commission of Inquiry in fulfilling its investigative role, and recommend that the HRC asks the Commission of Inquiry to support international efforts to support accountability in Syria by considering releasing  credible information and data collected on  those individuals who may bear responsibility for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

We thank you for your attention,

1. Act for Peace (Australia)

2. Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture – ACAT

3. Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect

4. Benin Coalition for the International Criminal Court

5. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies

6. Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law (Sierra Leone)

7. Coalition Burundaise pour la Cour Penale Internationale (Burundi)

8. Coalition Ivoirienne pour la CPI (Côte d'Ivoire)

9. Community Empowerment for Progress Organization - CEPO (South Sudan, Juba)

10. Conectas Direitos Humanos

11. Congress of National Minorities of Ukraine

12. Dawlaty Foundation (Syria)

13. Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights – EIPR

14. Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network

15. Genocide Alert (Germany)

16. Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect

17. Gulf Center for Human Rights

18. Human Rights Watch

19. Igarape Institute (Brazil)

20. International Federation for Human Rights

21. International Service for Human Rights

22. Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights

23. No Peace Without Justice

24. Pakistan Body Count

25. Parliamentarians for Global Action – PGA

26. PAX (The Netherlands)

27. Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team – EPAF

28. RADDHO-Guinée

29. Scientific Association of Young Political Scientists (Greece)

30. Southern Africa Litigation Centre

31. Syrian Network for Human Rights

32. Syrian Nonviolence Movement

33. Vision GRAM (International, Canada, Democratic Republic of Congo)

34. Wake Up Genève for Syria

35. West African Bar Association

36. World Federalist Movement (Canada)

37. Zarga Organization for Rural Development (Sudan)