NEW YORK, MARCH 2ND- “The tragedy that has been unfolding in Syria for almost a decade has taken an exceptionally heavy toll on the Syrian people, in terms of loss of lives, systematic violations of human rights, vast destruction of its livelihood and infrastructure and massive displacement of millions of civilians. This enormous suffering is now further aggravated by the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis… All the perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity and those who are profiting from the war must be held accountable and duly prosecuted. Italy will continue to support all international actions to fight impunity and to gather evidence with a view to future legal action, including by the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria and the Commission of Inquiry”, the Italian Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Stefano Stefanile, said during a General Assembly’s high-level panel on the human rights situation in Syria.
Speaking at UN Headquarters, Stefanile reaffirmed the centrality of the Security Council Resolution 2254 ” which outlines the main features of any credible political solution. Without a Syrian-led, Syrian-owned, UN-facilitated political process, we cannot hope to bring about a durable peace, curb regional instability, and prevent the resurgence of the terrorist threat. We commend the efforts by the UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen to give new momentum to the Constitutional Committee… to foster dialogue between key players, both inside and outside the Country, to pave the way to a mutual understanding and a reconciliation”.
Stefanile also focused on the need to ensure full humanitarian access to all Syrian territory, through the renewal and expansion of the resolution on cross-border crossings, which will be discussed by the Security Council next July.
Today, a UN investigation reported that thousands of civilians are still “missing” in Syria, after being arbitrarily detained since 2011, when the armed violence began. Thousands more have been tortured or killed in prison. Victims and witnesses described “unimaginable suffering,” including the rape of girls and boys as young as 11, to the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, formed ten years ago under a mandate from the Human Rights Council. In ten years of war, an estimated 380,000 to 500,000 people have died in Syria, while about half of the 20 million inhabitants of 2011 had to leave their homes, and are now internally displaced persons or refugees in other countries. (@OnuItalia)
