The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic presented its report on human rights violations in Syria between March and July 2017 to 36th session of the Human Rights Council. The Commission listed major violations and called the Security Council to intervene for peace in Syria.

The 32-page report was on Human Rights Council’s agenda on Monday afternoon. The report outlined the continuing violence throughout Syria and said that the civilians continue to be the worst affected group from the conflict.

SYRIAN ARMY USES CHEMICAL WEAPONS

The commission held ISIS responsible for a number of attacks that deliberately targeted civilians and said the group is responsible for killing of hundreds of civilians including women and children.

Syrian government was accused of using chemical weapons in the report. The commission said multiple chemical attacks by Syrian army were carried out in rebel held areas.

The commission also stated that failure of Astana and Geneva talks resulted an increase of violence in Syria and called to create an effective enforcement mechanism. The Commission called for “an inclusive political process and for a nationwide ceasefire beyond localized agreements.”

UN: ADVANCES BY SYRIAN DEMOCRATIC FORCES ARE SIGNIFICANT

The Raqqa operation was also mentioned in the report. “The past few months have also witnessed significant advances by the Syrian Democratic Forces against ISIL in Ar-Raqqah, the terrorist group’s self-proclaimed capital city. The Syrian Democratic Forces, comprising Kurdish forces, namely the People’s Protection Units (YPG), alongside affiliated groups, including the Free Syrian Army and tribal elements, have gained control over portions of Ar-Raqqah city and are effectively besieging it. Tens of thousands of civilians are reportedly trapped as street-to-street battles between the Syrian Democratic Forces and ISIL continue to intensify. Nearly 200,000 internally displaced persons have fled the city towards territory controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces. The Commission is concerned about the fate of 50,000 to 60,000 civilians who remain trapped in Ar-Raqqah city” the report read.

LIFE IN BESIEGED AREAS

The commission said about 600 thousand people are struggling to live in besieged areas and the civilians are living under life-threatening conditions.

The report also underlined sectarian violence in Syria cost many lives. “Like government forces, armed groups have galvanized bases of support throughout the conflict, manifesting in heightened religious tensions and leading to violence with sectarian undertones carried out against civilians. The emergence of terrorist and extremist armed groups further fuelled such tensions. During the reporting period, terrorist and armed groups continued previously documented patterns of carrying out intentional attacks against civilians, many of them women and children, belonging to minority religious groups, and using other religious minorities as hostages” the report said.

In the report the commission recommended the following:

* Civilians throughout the country continue to comprise the overwhelming majority of casualties in the Syrian conflict, while children and internally displaced persons remain among the most vulnerable to violence. The de-escalation agreement reached in Astana in May led to a discernible reduction in hostilities and, in turn, a reduction in civilian casualties, first in Idlib and western Aleppo, and more recently in the southern provinces of Dar’a, Qunaytirah and Suwayda’. While this reduction provides the basis for a broader ceasefire, implementation modalities must be promptly agreed upon and effectively applied; as demonstrated by previous ceasefire arrangements, delay in implementation undermines the sustainability of any such agreement and further risks placing civilians back in harm’s way.

* Across the Syrian Arab Republic, warring parties continued to lay sieges and instrumentalize humanitarian aid to compel surrender. Local truces in Fu’ah and Kafraya, in Madaya and Zabadani, and in Barza, Qabun and Tishreen have incorporated evacuation agreements that have resulted in the forced displacement of civilians from these areas.

* Throughout the reporting period, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, ISIL and armed group fighters targeted religious minorities using car and suicide bombings, snipers and hostage-taking. In Al-Rashidin, a car bomb targeted internally displaced persons from the previously besieged Shia Muslim towns of Fu’ah and Kafraya, killing 96 persons, including 68 children. Following the attack, dozens of people went missing, with armed groups taking at least 17 civilians hostage.

* Government forces used illegal chemical weapons on at least four occasions. In the gravest incident, the Syrian air force used sarin in Khan Shaykhun, killing dozens of civilians, the majority of whom were women and children. As the result of an aerial campaign by pro-Government forces in the area surrounding Khan Shaykhun, many medical facilities were destroyed, which compounded the suffering of victims of the sarin attack. In Idlib, Hamah and eastern Ghouta, Syrian forces also used weaponized chlorine.

* In ISIL-held areas, civilians remain acutely vulnerable to violence. In Ar-Raqqah, the ongoing offensive by the Syrian Democratic Forces and the international coalition to repel ISIL has rapidly overtaken numerous neighbourhoods in Ar-Raqqah city. Air strikes have reportedly resulted in significant numbers of civilians killed and injured. The offensive has also displaced 190,000 persons, many of whom are now living in perilous conditions. Investigations are ongoing.

The commision recommended the following on its report:

* In addition to the recommendations made below, the Commission reiterates the recommendations made in its previous reports.

* The Commission recommends that all warring parties:

 (a) Immediately lift all sieges and cease strategies aimed at compelling surrender that primarily affect civilians, including starvation and denial of access to humanitarian aid, food, water and medicine;

 (b) Conduct evacuations from besieged areas in line with international humanitarian law and Security Council resolution 2328 (2016), which require that evacuations of civilians be voluntary and to final destinations of their choice, and protect all civilians evacuated, including by treating them with dignity and preventing fear of harm;

 (c) Refrain from future evacuation agreements that result in the forced displacement of civilian populations for political gains;

 (d) Ensure adequate protection for all internally displaced persons and safeguard the right to return for internally displaced persons and refugees, including by guaranteeing their safety and property rights;

 (e) Refrain from attacking cultural and historic sites when not used for military purposes and proactively assist in the safeguarding of such sites;

 (f) Effectively ban the recruitment of children and their use in hostilities, and guarantee effective protection of child rights, including access to education;

 (g) Take all feasible precautions to minimize harm to the civilian population when undertaking operations in civilian-populated areas, in particular during the offensive in Ar-Raqqah city and ISIL-controlled areas;

 (h) Undertake investigations into the conduct of their forces and make their findings public.

* The Commission recommends that the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic:

 (a) Immediately cease using chemical weapons, including weaponized chlorine and sarin, which by design cause superfluous injury and unnecessary suffering;

 (b) In accordance with its obligations under customary international humanitarian law and Security Council resolution 2286 (2016), cease attacks on medical facilities, personnel and transport;

 (c) Ensure that existing and future legislation concerning legal and administrative matters for individual civilians, including in relation to property rights, complies with international human rights law, refugee law and international humanitarian law, and is equally accessible for all Syrians, with particular consideration for all internally displaced persons and refugees;

 (d) Grant the Commission access to the country.

* The Commission recommends that anti-Government armed groups:

 (a) Comply with customary international humanitarian law and cease intentional attacks against civilians, including members of religious minorities;

 (b) Refrain from kidnappings and hostage-taking, and conduct akin to enforced disappearance;

 (c) Take urgent measures to discipline or dismiss individuals under their command responsible for such acts.

* The Commission recommends that the international community:

(a) In compliance with their obligations to respect and ensure respect for the Geneva Conventions relating to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts, refrain from providing arms, funding or other forms of support to parties to the conflict when there is an expectation that such support may be used to perpetrate violations of international humanitarian law, and ratify treaties that promote respect for international humanitarian law and international human rights law when transferring arms, in particular the Arms Trade Treaty;

 (b) Refrain from adopting or implementing any unilateral sanctions (unilateral coercive measures) that are unlawful and impede the full realization of human rights by the Syrian people, in compliance with General Assembly resolution 68/162 (2013), and ensure that any lawful sanctions are strictly tailored, with appropriate exemptions, to minimize their impact on humanitarian assistance;

 (c) Encourage efforts to promote accountability, including by actively supporting the establishment of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism to Assist in the Investigation and Prosecution of Persons Responsible for the Most Serious Crimes under International Law Committed in the Syrian Arab Republic since March 2011, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 71/248;

* The Commission recommends that the Human Rights Council support the recommendations made, including by transmitting the present report to the Secretary-General for the attention of the Security Council in order that appropriate action may be taken, and through a formal reporting process to the General Assembly and to the Security Council.

* The Commission recommends that the General Assembly support its recommendations and enable the Commission to offer regular briefings.

* The Commission recommends that the Security Council:

 (a) Support its recommendations;

 (b) Include regular briefings by the Commission as part of the formal agenda of the Security Council;

 (c) Use its influence with all relevant actors and stakeholders to ensure a comprehensive and all-inclusive peace process that maintains due respect for human rights and international humanitarian law.