Speech

UN Human Rights Council 46: Interactive Dialogue with UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria

The UK's Ambassador to the WTO and UN in Geneva, Julian Braithwaite, delivered this statement during the Interactive Dialogue with UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria.

• From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and Julian Braithwaite
• Published: 11 March 2021

This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government

• Location: Geneva, Switzerland
• Delivered on: 11 March 2021 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

Thank you, Madam President,

The UK strongly supports the work of the Commission of Inquiry, and we thank them for their latest reports. This month, sadly, marks the tenth anniversary of the conflict, and the Commission’s report is a devastating reminder of the scale of violations and abuses that individual Syrian women, men and children have endured for a decade. We condemn all violations and abuses that have taken place.

Ultimately, it is the Syrian regime and their allies that bear the primary responsibility for this devastation. We thank the Commission for their clear articulation of the appalling war crimes and crimes against humanity that have taken place, including the indiscriminate bombarding of civilian-populated areas, and the deliberate targeting of protected objects including hospitals and medical facilities by regime and Russian forces. All those responsible for such crimes must be held accountable.

The Commission’s report bleakly articulates the impact of this conflict – over 11.5 million individuals have been displaced, many being forced to flee internally, or to seek asylum abroad, as a result of multiple war crimes and breaches of international humanitarian law. We thank the Commission for their clear statements on these issues.

Commissioners,

What do you think are the current blocks to advancing accountability efforts?

Thank you.

Published 11 March 2021