Press release:
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) states in its statement released today that it signed Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of the United States of America to contribute to the investigation and accountability processes.
As the statement states, the MoU signed in October 2019 provided for the establishment of a coordination and cooperation mechanism to share information and data documented by SNHR on human rights violations in Syria and on those involved in such violations in order to participate in the investigations carried out by the Government of the United States of America into some of these violations, and to place the greatest possible number of those involved in these violations on the lists of economic and political sanctions; this will constitute a major impediment to any effort to rehabilitate the Syrian regime in all its organs, and serve as an important form of accountability that’s previously been unavailable.
The statement notes that the investigation carried out by the SNHR into the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons in al Kbaina village in Latakia suburbs has contributed to reinforcing the U.S. Department of State’s investigation, which proved the Syrian regime’s responsibility for this chemical attack.
The statement states that on February 26, 2019, the SNHR signed another Memorandum of Understanding, this time with the United Nations’ International Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) to assist in the investigation and prosecution of persons responsible, according to international law, for the most serious crimes committed in the Syrian Arab Republic since March 2011. The IIIM has received a large quantity of data extracted from the SNHR database.
The statement reveals that the SNHR has also entered into discussions with several European countries in order to sign similar agreements aimed at sharing data to be used in justice and accountability cases, exposing the perpetrators of violations and obstructing the rehabilitation of the Syrian regime, tens of thousands of whose officials and members are directly involved in committing crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The statement notes that since 2011, the SNHR has provided the United Nations with data on numerous incidents of violations, with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reliant on this data as one of the most prominent sources of information in all its analyses, including in calculating the death toll of conflict victims in Syria, which continued until its last analysis issued in April 2014. The statement also notes that the SNHR has been actively cooperating with the Independent International Commission of Inquiry, with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, with the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, as well as with a number of special rapporteurs such as the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on torture.
As the statement states, the Syrian Network for Human Rights places all its capabilities and data at the disposal of any international, judicial or economic body in order to contribute to the imposition of any form of accountability and punishment against the Syrian regime and its allies, and against all perpetrators of violations in Syria.
The statement calls on all the countries of the world to do everything in their power to ensure that no government or regime violates the Geneva Conventions and that every effort is made to hold those which do so accountable; such efforts would also contribute significantly to deterring any regime from considering following the example of the Syrian regime by allying with Russia or China to protect it in the UN Security Council and thus being granted impunity to continue to commit crimes indefinitely.