[Istanbul: Monday, September 25] On the invitation of the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, SNHR gave an extensive lecture on the most recent Commission of Inquiry Report on Syria, which was addressed at the Human Rights Council last week. The report contains a special investigation on the Syrian regime’s use of sarin gas against Khan Sheikhoun city residents.
Fadel Abdul Ghany, chairman of SNHR, covered three main points:
The first was the nature of the Commission of Inquiry, its working mechanism, and why it is important to cooperate with it. Then, Mr. Abdul Ghany briefed attendants on the report, shedding light on the Syrian regime’s and its Russian alliance’s violation, as well as extremist Islamic groups with focusing on the dangerous repercussions of joining or working with these groups. Additionally, the lecture touched upon the international coalition’s violations, as well as Syrian Democratic Forces and some of the armed opposition factions, before talking about the Syrian regime’s history with chemical weapons use in Syria, the U.N. organs concerned with the matter, and the Security Council Resolutions in that regard. The third and last portion of the lecture briefly covered accountability mechanisms and trials, and emphasized the importance of cooperating with the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism, which was established by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2016.