Syria crisis: ‘Key priority’ is preserving evidence of crimes, say UN investigators

This article is published in association with United Nations.

The historic shift of power in Syria and the possibility of finally accessing evidence of horrific human rights violations could bring accountability closer than ever – if only proof can be preserved – a top UN investigator said on Tuesday.

The head of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism Investigating Serious Crimes in Syria (IIIM), Robert Petit, told reporters in Geneva that with an “interlocking series of crime scenes” across the country now accessible, there is the possibility of accessing evidence and “finally” establishing the fate of tens of thousands who had been “illegally arrested, detained and suffered years of violence inside the prison system”, almost 14 years after the start of a brutal state crackdown against Arab Spring protesters.

Golan communities face evacuation orders

Meanwhile, UN humanitarians warned that Syria’s humanitarian crisis is worsening, with fighting in the northeast, including in the occupied Golan Heights. “There have been orders issued by the Israeli forces to some villages for people to vacate, and that people have resisted leaving,” reported the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.

Asked if there was anything new that he’d learned since the fall of the Assad regime just days ago, Mr. Petit underscored the IIIM’s eight years of investigative experience and said that what had struck him the most was seeing “the horror of the impact of the crimes on victims coming out of detention centres and on families”.

Established in 2016 by the General Assembly, the IIIM is mandated to collect, preserve and analyze evidence to support competent jurisdictions in investigating and prosecuting international crimes committed in Syria from March 2011 onwards. These may include war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Engaging with new Syrian authority

Mr. Petit stressed that the previous Syrian Government had never recognized the IIIM’s legitimacy and failed to engage with the mechanism, despite many attempts. While preparing for future accountability processes, the IIIM has collected evidence from many sources, accumulating 283 terabytes of data which could be used to support current and future jurisdictions. Over the years it had received over 400 requests for assistance from 16 different jurisdictions and was able to support more than half of them with evidence and analysis.

With new opportunities emerging amid the fast-moving political situation, “in the past week, we have received at least four different requests for assistance from jurisdictions”, Mr. Petit said. “If a jurisdiction had for some years now, an open file on the crimes committed by agents of the regime with no possibility of gathering evidence, that file was probably put on the side for a while, but now it has been reactivated.”

Investigators in demand

The UN investigator said that he expects “increased demand” for the IIIM’s support. However, the destruction of potential evidence during the Syrian rebels’ flash offensive – while “quite understandable” given the fast-evolving situation – were a major concern.

The UN investigator spoke of “papers strewn all over the floor, people leaving with computers, hard drives burned and smashed”, and stressed the need for a concerted preservation effort “from everyone”, with the IIIM playing its part in this process.

The mechanism has “reiterated through a communication to the Syrian missions” in Geneva and New York its “willingness to engage and to go to Syria to fulfill our mandate”.

“We are awaiting a response. And as soon as that response is forthcoming, we will deploy,” Mr. Petit insisted.

He also noted, with hope, “a stated awareness from the transitional authorities, and from Syrian civil society actors of the need to preserve evidence.”

“When you’re talking about a government, a state apparatus, who for 14 years used every aspect of that apparatus to commit crimes, you will have a massive amount of documentation left behind.”

Several national and international actors have offered to help the transitional authorities to preserve evidence, Mr. Petit said, expressing hope that these efforts will continue. The situation “varies from governorate to governorate” and part of the country “is still very much under an armed conflict,” he warned.

“It’s a very delicate and fluid situation.”

Asked about reports that Syrians have accused the UN of arriving too late to help them, Mr. Petit said, “if the crime has been committed, it’s already too late, right? It’s always too late”.

He stressed that now, the call to the international community has been heard. “You’ve seen statements from the UN, multiple international actors, multiple states, regional bodies” amid a level of access which was not possible just 13 days ago. 

“Now that we have access, I think there is a real expression of commitment to helping Syria rebuild. And we’re certainly hoping to be part of that,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, warned that Syria faces a deepening humanitarian crisis amid ongoing fighting in the northeast and in the occupied Golan Heights. In recent days Israeli forces have advanced beyond the zone established by the May 1974 Agreement on Disengagement for the first time in 50 years and have reportedly carried out more than 500 airstrikes since the overthrow of the Assad regime.

Israeli military in spotlight

Rema Jamous Imseis, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said that in the Golan, “there have been orders issued by the Israeli forces to some villages for people to vacate, and that people have resisted leaving”.

The UNHCR official stressed the “massive humanitarian needs” in the country, with 90 per cent of the population living below the poverty line, and the need for donors to also support “early recovery and reconstruction” so that Syria can absorb an expected influx of returning citizens and move towards self-sufficiency.

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Both inbound and outbound population movements across the borders with Lebanon, Türkiye and Jordan have been observed amid the current “dynamic, fluid situation,” Ms. Imseis said. Next year, UNHCR expects to see as many as one million Syrians return to their country between January and June.

Ms. Imseis warned against any forced returns, highlighting a “non-returns advisory” issued by the agency on Monday and calling on host countries to respect the rights of asylum-seekers and the principle of non-refoulement.

“It’s simply too early to see how safe it’s going to be,” she said. “We need to respect the right of voluntary, safe and dignified returns for Syrians…And people simply cannot, after 14 years of displacement, pack a bag overnight and return to a country that has been devastated by conflict.”