GENEVA, MARCH 18 – The Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations in Geneva, Ambassador Gian Lorenzo Cornado, took the floor today at the Interactive dialogue with the Commission of Inquiry on Syria, chaired by Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, during the 49th Session of the Human Rights Council.
Ambassador Cornado recalled how the Syrian people has been suffering human rights violations on a systematic scale and he condemned the attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure perpetrated in breach of international humanitarian law. He said that Italy remains deeply concerned about the large number of extrajudicial executions and missing or illegally detained persons, as well as about torture and gender-based violence cases occurred in detention centres. He therefore urged all actors on the ground to disclose the fate of those who have disappeared or are still missing and called on them to engage meaningfully with relevant international mechanisms in this regard.
Ambassador Cornado underlined the need to fight against impunity and hold accountable all the perpetrators of gross human rights violations. Lastly, while expressing continuous support for the work of the Commission of Inquiry and the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism on Syria, he reiterated that accountability is a prerequisite of a sustainable, inclusive, and peaceful conclusion to the conflict. (@OnuItalia)
