By Brittani Howell
Impunity Watch Reporter, The Middle East
DAMASCUS, Syria –March 15, 2016 marked the fifth anniversary of the Syrian Civil War. The Syrian conflict has caused the deaths of over 250,000 people, has displaced 4.8 million from their homes to other countries, has internally displaced another 6.5 million from their homes, and has left 13.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi stated, “Syria is the biggest humanitarian and refugee crisis of our time, a continuing cause of suffering for millions which should be garnering a grounds well of support around the world.” He further stated that more countries need to take a greater share in providing for refugees until the suffering in Syria ends.
Many European countries have imposed border and entry restrictions, making it even more difficult for those left in Syria to leave. This has also put a burden on countries neighboring Syria and refugees in the neighboring countries are taking greater risks to get to Europe. Other refugees in countries neighboring Syria are resorting to dangerous methods of survival, such as early marriage, child labor, or sexual exploitation,
“We are at a cross roads now as we mark another sad milestone in Syria’s war. If the world fails to work together due to short-term interests, lack of courage and knee jerk reactions to shift the burden elsewhere, we will look back carefully on this lost opportunity to act with solidarity and shared humanity”, Grandi stated.
Numerous war crimes as well as crimes against humanity have been committed since the start of the conflict. These crimes include the use of toxic chemical weapons, including nerve agents and chlorine, indiscriminate weapons such as barrel bombs, executions, torture, sexual violence, sex slavery, and siege. Experts are calling for the international community to begin planning for revisions for Syrian civilians.
David Crane, Founding Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone and Project Leader for the Syrian Accountability Project states in the Huffington Post article that “there are four possible transitional justice mechanisms for Syria that could be organized by the U.N. outside the Security Council: a fully domestic Syrian court; an internationalized domestic court; a regional special court; or an international hybrid Special Court, similar to the Special Court for Sierra Leone.”
Crane notes that under international law, war crimes and crimes against humanity are covered under the 1998 Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court but Syria is not a signatory, thus the ICC has non direct jurisdiction. The U.N Security Council has attempted to adopt a resolution that would refer the situation in Syria to the ICC but this has been opposed by both Russia and China, permanent members with veto powers.
The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stated, “I repeat my call to the Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the International Crime Court.” He continued, ” In Syria as elsewhere, peace without justice is not sustainable.”
A student run project at Syracuse University College of Law, the Syrian Accountability Project, has been documenting atrocities that have occurred in Syria in preparation for whatever traditional justice mechanism is chosen by the Syrian people. On March 24,2016 SAP published a white paper titled “Looking Through the Window Darkly: A Snapshot Analysis of Rape in Syria, 2011-2015.”
For more information, please see:
The Los Angeles Times – Chronicling a Disaster: A Timeline of the Syrian Civil War – 15 March 2016
UNHCR – Syria Conflict at Five Years – 15 March 2016
United Nations News Centre – With Syrian Peace Talks Underway, UN Urges Support for Negotiations and Impacted Syrians – 15 March 2016
The Huffington Post – Five Years on, We Must Focus on the Victims of Syria’s Atrocities – 14 March 2016
