Where is Justice?
On the second anniversary of our modern era, residents and victims’ families in Al Ghouta are still waiting for the moment when perpetrators who committed this massacre are brought to justice. Unfortunately, our reality is the complete opposite, especially when the perpetrators retain full impunity, at least for now.
Maybe one of the most powerful evidence we have is the UNSC resolution 2118 issued on 27 September 2013 that stated:
“In the event of non-compliance with this resolution, including unauthorized transfer of chemical weapons, or any use of chemical weapons by anyone in the Syrian Arab Republic, to impose measures under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter”, and “the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic constitutes a threat to international peace and security.”
Despite that the Independent International Inquiry Committee in its eighth and ninth reports indicated that the Syrian Government used toxic Chlorine gas, the government’s use of this gas has surged significantly after the resolutions were issued. In SNHR, we recorded not less than 125 breaches for resolution 2118, including 56 breaches for resolution 2209.
The Syrian community, who lost its faith in the Security Council and its resolutions, since they remained mere dead letters, continues to ask: “When enough is enough? When the Syrian government will be stopped from killing its own people? For how long this bloodshed is going to continue?”
We have never known a current ruling government who offended the UN Security Council and its resolutions like the Syrian government did. And since the Security Council is politically divided, the Syrian regime will remain comfortable killing its own people while the Security Council expresses its “grave concern and utmost condemnation”.