An international initiative to hold the Assad regime accountable for its crimes
The High Commissioner for Human Rights confirmed that the joint initiative by Canada and Netherlands “will offer a potential new avenue for accountability in Syria.”
This comes in a statement issued by the High Commissioner, before the Human Rights Council held its fiftieth session, on June 13.
The High Commissioner for Human Rights said in the statement: ” over a decade of conflict and violence in Syria, all parties have committed violations and abuses against the international humanitarian law and international human rights law.”
The High Commissioner pointed out that the efforts to ensure accountability in Syria have until now taken various forms, including the establishment of Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, the International, Impartial and Independent International Mechanism to submission of cases to the UN human rights mechanisms.”
The statement indicated to the possibility of imposing measures against Assad regime for violating the Convention against Torture, which is considered one of the treaties of the International Court of Justice.
On the 13th of last March, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, Marc Garneau, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Steve Blok, issued a joint statement regarding their cooperation to hold Syria (the Assad regime) accountable for human rights violations, and they will demand justice for the victims of Assad regime’s horrific crimes.
The Netherlands announced, under the UN Convention Against Torture, in September 2020, its desire to hold the Assad regime accountable for committing massive human rights violations over a decade of conflict and violence in Syria.
The Netherlands hold the Assad regime accountable for war crimes, human rights violations and torture in Syria, and this formed the basis of the Netherlands’ request, which was documented by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
