5th Report of the independent international commission of inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic

Summary

The conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic has reached new levels of brutality. In the present report, the commission of inquiry documents, for the first time, the systematic imposition of sieges, the use of chemical agents and cases of forcible displacement. War crimes, crimes against humanity and gross human rights violations continue apace. Referral to justice remains paramount.
The present report, submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 22/24, covers the period from 15 January to 15 May 2013. The findings are based on 430 interviews and other collected evidence.
Government forces and affiliated militia have committed murder, torture, rape, forcible displacement, enforced disappearance and other inhumane acts. Many of these crimes were perpetrated as part of widespread or systematic attacks against civilian populations and constitute crimes against humanity. War crimes and gross violations of international human rights law – including summary execution, arbitrary arrest and detention, unlawful attack, attacking protected objects, and pillaging and destruction of property – have also been committed. The tragedy of 4.25 million internally displaced persons in the Syrian Arab Republic is compounded by recent incidents of these persons being targeted and forcibly displaced.
Anti-government armed groups have also committed war crimes, including murder, sentencing and execution without due process, torture, hostage-taking and pillage. They continue to endanger the civilian population by positioning military objectives in civilian areas. The violations and abuses committed by anti-government armed groups did not, however, reach the intensity and scale of those committed by government forces and affiliated militia.
There are reasonable grounds to believe that chemical agents have been used as weapons. The precise agents, delivery systems or perpetrators could not be identified.
The parties to the conflict are using dangerous rhetoric that enflames sectarian tensions and risks inciting mass, indiscriminate violence, particularly against vulnerable communities.
War crimes and crimes against humanity have become a daily reality in the country, where the harrowing accounts of victims have seared themselves onto the conscience of the members of the commission.
There is a human cost to the increased availability of weapons. Transfers of arms heighten the risk of violations, leading to more civilian deaths and injuries.
A diplomatic surge is the only path to a political settlement. Negotiations must be inclusive and represent all facets of the cultural mosaic making up the Syrian Arab Republic.