The UN organization that helps investigate Syria's most serious crimes said Monday that the country's new authorities were “very receptive” to its request for cooperation during a visit to Damascus, and that she is preparing to deploy.
Posted at 9:23 p.m.
Edith M. Lederer
Associated Press
The visit led by Robert Petit, head of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) for Syria, was the first since the creation of the organization by the UN General Assembly in 2016. It was created to help collecting evidence and prosecuting individuals responsible for possible war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide since the start of the civil war in Syria in 2011.
Mr. Petit stressed the urgency of preserving documents and other evidence before they are lost.
Since the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by rebels and the opening of prisons and detention centers by rebels, Syrians have increasingly demanded that those responsible for atrocities and killings committed while he was in power power to be prosecuted.
“The fall of the Assad regime is an important opportunity for us to fulfill our mandate on the ground,” said Mr. Petit. “Time is running out. There is a small window of opportunity to secure these sites and the material they contain. »
PHOTO BAKR ALKASEM, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Robert Petit, head of the UN International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) for Syria
Associate UN spokesperson Stéphane Tremblay said Monday that the investigation team is “preparing for operational deployment as soon as possible and as soon as it is authorized to carry out activities on Syrian soil.” .
The IIIM spokesperson who was on the trip with Mr. Petit went further, telling the Associated Press: “We are preparing for a deployment and hoping to get authorization.”
“Representatives of the interim authorities have been very receptive to our request for cooperation and are aware of the scale of the task ahead of them,” said the spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity. “They emphasized that they will need expertise to help protect the newly accessible documentation. »
The IIIM did not reveal which officials of the new government it met or the site Mr. Petit subsequently visited.
Even within a single facility, mountains of government documents reveal the frightening effectiveness of the regime's systematization of atrocious crimes.
Robert Petit, head of the UN International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) for Syria
He said a collective effort by Syrians, civil society organizations and international partners will be needed, as a priority, “to preserve evidence of the crimes committed, avoid duplication and ensure that all victims are represented in an inclusive manner.” in the quest for justice.
In June 2023, the 193-member General Assembly also established an Independent Institution for Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic to clarify the fate and whereabouts of more than 130,000 people missing as a result of the conflict.
