For years, UN human rights our bodies have been documenting, monitoring and publishing reviews on abuses, and bringing Syria’s dire human rights report to the world’s consideration.
The autumn of Bashar al Assad in December 2024 was largely greeted with euphoria by the Syrian individuals, however pictures of lots of of individuals pouring into the infamous Sednaya Jail, desperately trying to find mates or kin, and testimony from former prisoners, recounting the sadism and torture they endured, was a vivid reminder of the atrocities dedicated below the previous regime.
Since 2016, the Worldwide Neutral and Impartial Mechanism (IIIM), has been amassing an unlimited assortment of proof, aiming to make sure that these accountable are ultimately held accountable.
Within the eight years since, constantly denied entry to Syria, they’ve needed to work from outdoors the nation.
Nevertheless, all the pieces modified after the speedy collapse of the regime. Simply days later the top of the IIIM, Robert Petit, was capable of journey to Syria the place he met members of the de facto authorities. Throughout this historic go to, he made a degree of emphasizing the significance of preserving proof earlier than it is misplaced ceaselessly.
UN Information interviewed Mr. Petit from his places of work in Geneva and started by asking him to explain the reactions of the Syrians he met throughout his go to.
This interview has been edited for readability and size.
Robert Petit: It was a sobering and emotional time. I skilled a mixture of hope and pleasure, in addition to concern and nervousness, and loads of unhappiness from the households of prisoners who had been killed.
However there was undoubtedly a way of change throughout the board. It is my private hope that the aspirations of Syrians will likely be totally realized with the assistance of the worldwide group.
UN Information: What was the aim of your go to, and was it profitable?
Robert Petit: As with a lot of the world, we have been shocked on the velocity with which the regime crumbled, though in hindsight we should always have realized that the foundations have been utterly eroding for years.
We needed to rapidly begin eager about tackle this new state of affairs: for the primary time in eight years, we’ve the prospect to essentially fulfill our mandate.
The principle goal of the go to was to start out participating diplomatically and clarify to the brand new authorities what our function is and what we want to do and get permission to take action. We discovered them to be receptive.
We formally requested permission to ship groups to work and discharge our mandate in Syria. That was again on December 21. We’re nonetheless ready for the reply. I’ve no cause to imagine that we’ll not be granted permission. I believe it is a matter of processes fairly than willingness, and we’re hoping that inside days we are going to get that permission after which we are going to deploy as quickly as we are able to.
UN Information: How exhausting was it to gather proof through the years that you just have been denied entry to the nation?
Robert Petit: Syrian civil society and Syrians normally have, since March 2011, been the most effective documenters of their very own victimization. They collected an infinite amount of proof of crimes, usually at nice threat the price of their very own lives.
Yearly since we have been created, we tried to entry Syria. We couldn’t get permission, however we developed shut relationships with a few of these civil society actors, media stakeholders and people who collected credible proof, as did different establishments.
We collected over 284 terabytes of knowledge over time to construct circumstances and help 16 totally different jurisdictions in prosecuting, investigating and prosecuting their very own circumstances.
Now we probably have entry to a wealth of recent proof of crimes, and we’re hoping to have the ability to exploit that chance very quickly.
UN Information: In the course of the Assad years, although, you had no assure that anybody could be delivered to justice.
Robert Petit: Our mandate has been very clear from the start: put together circumstances to help present and future jurisdiction. And that is what we have been doing. There was all the time a hope that there was going to be some type of tribunal, or complete justice for the crimes in Syria. In anticipation of that, we’ve been constructing circumstances and we hope to construct a wealth of understanding of the state of affairs and the proof that would help these circumstances.
On the similar time, we have been supporting 16 jurisdictions all around the world prosecuting these circumstances, and I am very pleased to say that we’ve been capable of help over virtually 250 of these investigations and prosecutions and can proceed to take action.
UN Information: Throughout your journey you stated there is a small window of alternative to safe websites and the fabric they maintain. Why?
Robert Petit: Syria’s state equipment functioned for years, so there will likely be loads of proof, however issues go lacking, they get destroyed and disappear. So, there’s a time challenge.
UN Information: Are the de facto authorities in Syria serving to you to safe proof?
Robert Petit: We had messaging from the caretaker authorities that they have been acutely aware of the significance of preserving all this proof. The actual fact is that they’ve been in management for barely six weeks, so there are clearly loads of competing priorities.
I believe the state of affairs in Damascus is comparatively good in that loads of the websites, the principle ones at the very least, are secured. Outdoors of Damascus, I believe the state of affairs is much more fluid and possibly worse.
UN Information: When Volker Türk, the UN Excessive Commissioner for Human Rights, visited Syria in January he known as for truthful, neutral justice within the wake of the top of the Assad regime. However he additionally stated that the extent of atrocity crimes “beggars perception”. Do you personally suppose that justice fairly than revenge, in a spot the place individuals have been so badly brutalized, is feasible or doubtless?
Robert Petit: That is for the Syrians to reply themselves and hopefully be heard and supported in what they’ll outline as justice for them and for what they’ve suffered.
If individuals are given the hope that there will likely be in place a system that may deal pretty and transparently with at the very least these most liable for the atrocities, it’s going to give them hope and persistence.
I believe it’s potential. I’ve labored in sufficient of those conditions to know that a wide range of issues might be achieved to deal with these very advanced conditions, but it surely have to be Syria-led, they usually will need to have the help of the worldwide group.
UN Information: Do you envisage that felony trials would happen in Syria at a nationwide stage or at a world stage, for instance on the Worldwide Felony Court docket?
Robert Petit: Once more, it’s going to rely upon what Syrians need. You are speaking about actually 1000’s of perpetrators, and a complete state equipment devoted to the fee of mass atrocities. It’s an unimaginable problem to outline what accountability means.
For my part, these most accountable, the architects of the system, have to be held criminally accountability. For everybody else, the methods a post-conflict society tackles the problem varies.
Rwanda, for instance, tried to make use of conventional types of dispute decision to strive 1.2 million perpetrators over a decade. Others, like Cambodia, merely attempt to bury the previous, and fake it by no means occurred.
The most effective answer is the one which Syrians will determine for themselves.
