(MENAFN- Live Mint) During a just-finished visit to Damascus, the United Nations agency that is helping to investigate the most heinous crimes in Syria said Monday that the country's new authorities were "very receptive" to its request for collaboration and that it is getting ready to deploy.
Robert Petit, chairman of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria, led the visit, which was the first since the U.N. General Assembly created the group in 2016. Since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, it has been established to help with the collection of evidence and the prosecution of those suspected of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
Also Read | How Damascus is preparing for Christmas this time after Bashar Al-Assad's ouster
Petit emphasized the importance of saving records and other proof before they are destroyed.
Syrians' calls for the punishment of individuals guilty of the atrocities and massacres committed during President Bashar Assad's rule have increased after the rebels overthrew him and opened jails and detention centres.
“The fall of the Assad rule is a significant opportunity for us to fulfill our mandate on the ground,” Petit said.“Time is running out. There is a small window of opportunity to secure these sites and the material they hold.”
Also Read | Exiled Syrian ex-First Lady Asma al-Assad files for divorce from Bashar al-Assad
UN associate spokesperson Stephane Tremblay said Monday that the investigative team“is preparing for an operational deployment as early as possible and as soon as it is authorized to conduct activities on Syrian soil.”
The organization's spokesperson, known as the IIIM, who was on the trip with Petit, went further, telling The Associated Press:“We are preparing to deploy with the expectation that we will get authorization.”
“The representatives from the caretaker authorities were very receptive to our request for cooperation and are aware of the scale of the task ahead,” the spokesperson said, speaking on condition of not being named.“They emphasized that they will need the expertise to help safeguard the newly accessible documentation.”
The IIIM did not disclose which officials in the new government it met with or the site that Petit visited afterward.
“Even at one facility,” Petit said,“the mountains of government documentation reveal the chilling efficiency of systemizing the regime's atrocity crimes.”
Also Read | Syria: Freed prisoner identified as intelligence officer - all you need to know
He said that a collective effort by 'Syrians , civil society organizations and international partners will be needed, as a priority,“ to preserve evidence of the crimes committed, avoid duplication, and ensure that all victims are inclusively represented in the pursuit of justice.”
To find out what happened to over 130,000 people who went missing due to the conflict, the 193-member General Assembly also created an Independent Institution of Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic in June 2023.
MENAFN23122024007365015876ID1109025621
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.