Statement by Paulo Pinheiro, Chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic at the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly Third Committee

79^th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
Third Committee - New York

Mr. President,

Syria today is being pulled into the catastrophic conflict that is engulfing the region. 

As a result of the dramatic escalation in Lebanon, over 300,000 Syrian refugees have been displaced yet again, this time fleeing Israeli bombardments in Lebanon and going back into Syria. Alongside more than 100,000 Lebanese nationals, they are fleeing into a war-torn and devastated country that remains hugely insecure and continues to sink deeper into humanitarian and economic crisis.

That Syrians who have a well-founded fear of persecution in their home country are fleeing back underscores the impossible choices that they are facing: Do they risk their lives to bombs in Lebanon or go back to a place where they may also face deadly threats? 

Before this current crisis, only 1.7% of refugees expressed an intention to return to Syria in the short term, citing concerns about safety and security inside Syria as key obstacles. 

Due to the ever-present fear of arbitrary arrest, conscription or forced recruitment of men of military age, many women and children have embarked alone on perilous journeys into Syria. Male adult family members have either stayed behind or resorted to alternative but equally risky travel, relying on smugglers. 

We are also deeply concerned by reports of some displaced Syrians being abused, arrested or falling victim to extortion by predatory armed actors at checkpoints throughout the country. We call on all authorities – State and non-State – to urgently rein in such abuses by their forces. Now is the time to commit publicly to guaranteeing respect for the rights of those fleeing, regardless of their origin – and to instill confidence in such promises by providing access for international humanitarian and human rights actors who can help ensure that these promises are lived up to. 

We note with some hope that the positive signs the Syrian government has shown to UNHCR being involved in facilitating and accompanying those fleeing Lebanon are a recognition that those fleeing deserve to be protected and assisted. This includes the Government’s temporary suspension of the requirement for Syrian citizens to exchange $100 at the border crossings upon entering Syria.

The barriers impeding voluntary and safe return are many. As documented in our recent report to the Human Rights Council, the Government of Syria continues to torture and disappear detainees in its custody, despite the International Court of Justice’s order last November to take all measures within its power to prevent such violations. 

But it is not just Government-held areas that are unsafe. A significant share of Syrian territory is controlled by non-State armed groups. There, civilians are also at risk of violence and multiple layers of predation by the UN designated terrorist entity Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, by factions of the Syrian National Army and by the Syrian Democratic Forces. 

Activists and protestors in both government-held and other areas who stand up against such abuse, online or in the streets, have continued to be arbitrarily detained over the past year. 

In addition, during the past two months, fighting has intensified along multiple front lines across Syria. 

Increased Israeli airstrikes (over 50 reported since July alone) have largely targeted militias and Iranian officials, including in densely populated areas, killing and injuring civilians, while US forces and Iran-backed militias are also conducting mutual attacks. 

Da’esh increasingly menaces central Syria, with its attacks on track to double in 2024. We also see a rise in armed attacks, kidnapping and use of IEDs in this area. 

Violence between government-backed tribal fighters and the US-backed SDF is resurfacing in Deir-Ez-Zawr, while further west, mutual shelling between the SDF and Turkish-backed SNA fighters has resumed in northern Aleppo province.

And alarmingly, pro-government forces have increased land and aerial attacks in and around the Idlib pocket, killing and injuring at least 120 civilians these past weeks and displacing hundreds of families. 

Such risks to life, limb and liberty are compounded by continuing unchecked appropriation and destruction of refugees’ and IDP’s housing, land and property - and an ever-deepening economic and social rights abyss. Humanitarian needs were at their highest in Syria even before this latest stage of the crisis. It is scandalous that only a quarter of the UN’s 2024 humanitarian response plan for Syria is funded, and we urge Member States to step up. Over 13 million people now desperately need food and other life-saving humanitarian assistance, alongside those who recently arrived from Lebanon. 

Syrians cannot sustain further economic misery. We are concerned that sanctions, particularly sectoral sanctions, further aggravate already dire living conditions: Humanitarian actors face challenges in ensuring adequate and reliable access to financial services due to unilateral coercive measures, and we reiterate our call for States to conduct an urgent review of sanctions and their impact on the population and humanitarian actors, including as a result of over-compliance. 

Today, Syrian civilians, who have persevered despite the almost complete impunity for the crimes and violations perpetrated against them for more than a decade, are losing hope. 

We echo the calls by the UN Special Envoy on Syria and the Secretary-General for immediate ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon, given the grave implications for Syria and Syrians of escalating regional conflict. Today, as the Secretary-General has said, it is more important than ever to reaffirm the Charter, respect international law, implement decisions of international courts, and reinforce human rights in the world. 

International silence and acquiescence, and the near impunity these have brought, have normalized the disregard for international law and the decisions of international courts that we see from warring parties, both Governments and non-State actors. No State can say it did not know. These legal frameworks were developed because nations acknowledged that all people are entitled to dignity and fundamental rights and that armed conflicts should no longer be waged unchecked. These are dangerous times, especially for civilians, and we call on you, Member States, to do everything you can to ensure full respect for international law. We also call on you to cease providing support and assistance to all parties who are perpetrating gruesome international crimes.  

I thank you.