Published : 01-07-2022
Deputy U.S. Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Richard Mills has called for further information on the Assad regime’s April 30 amnesty decree, saying the regime has only released a few hundred prisoners – a small fraction of those who remain detained by the regime.
This came in remarks at a UN Security Council briefing in New York on the political situation in Syria on June 29.
“We were reminded yesterday of the stark realities of the horror of the Syrian conflict by a number that was released by the UN: 306,887. This is the number of civilians who have been killed since the beginning of the uprising in March 2011 and the end of March 2021”, said Mills.
“It is, of course, more than a sobering statistic for all of us. These people had hopes, they had dreams, they had hobbies, they had families, and they had many, many loved ones, as we just heard. The human scale of the conflict should shock us all and, of course, we all should be compelled to redouble our efforts to find a solution to the crisis”, said the ambassador.
Mills called for enhanced efforts towards the implementation of all aspects of Resolution 2254, including addressing the issue of arbitrarily detained and missing persons.
“We do take note of the Assad regime’s April 30 amnesty decree”, said the US diplomat. “But to be clear, to date, the regime has only released a few hundred prisoners – a small fraction of those who remain detained by the regime.”
“We urge the Assad regime to fully, transparently, and effectively implement this decree so that a much larger proportion of detainees can be released. We also urge the regime to coordinate directly with the International Committee of the Red Cross and other NGOs in ensuring these efforts are humane and transparent”, he said.
“The amnesty should not be used to justify or encourage refugee returns before there are real conditions in place that facilitate the safe, voluntary, and dignified return of refugees”, added Mills. “Safety and security, including concerns over the rule of law, such as the ones we see today, remain major obstacles to any potential returns, and, of course, I think, explain the statistic that the Special Envoy shared with us about the percentage of returnee refugees who want to return”.
Mills further stated that the Assad regime continues to stall the chance for any fruitful dialogue through its intransigence and stressed that the United States looks forward to working collaboratively together with other Security Council members in the coming days to reauthorize and expand the mandate for the UN cross-border humanitarian assistance mechanism into Syria.
Only 14 Palestinian refugees, including four women, have been released from the time the pardon has entered into force in May.
Thousands of Palestinians and Syrians have been jailed on terror charges for peaceful opposition to Assad’s government since the 2011 Arab Spring protests and subsequent war.
Thousands of Syrians were discovered killed under torture when a defector leaked nearly 50,000 photographs in 2014, showing the bodies of some 7,000 detainees mutilated by torture.
Over 1,900 Palestinian refugees are believed to be languishing in Syria’s prisons, many of them have spent nearly a decade in prison while scores of others died under torture behind prison bars.
Deputy U.S. Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Richard Mills has called for further information on the Assad regime’s April 30 amnesty decree, saying the regime has only released a few hundred prisoners – a small fraction of those who remain detained by the regime.
This came in remarks at a UN Security Council briefing in New York on the political situation in Syria on June 29.
“We were reminded yesterday of the stark realities of the horror of the Syrian conflict by a number that was released by the UN: 306,887. This is the number of civilians who have been killed since the beginning of the uprising in March 2011 and the end of March 2021”, said Mills.
“It is, of course, more than a sobering statistic for all of us. These people had hopes, they had dreams, they had hobbies, they had families, and they had many, many loved ones, as we just heard. The human scale of the conflict should shock us all and, of course, we all should be compelled to redouble our efforts to find a solution to the crisis”, said the ambassador.
Mills called for enhanced efforts towards the implementation of all aspects of Resolution 2254, including addressing the issue of arbitrarily detained and missing persons.
“We do take note of the Assad regime’s April 30 amnesty decree”, said the US diplomat. “But to be clear, to date, the regime has only released a few hundred prisoners – a small fraction of those who remain detained by the regime.”
“We urge the Assad regime to fully, transparently, and effectively implement this decree so that a much larger proportion of detainees can be released. We also urge the regime to coordinate directly with the International Committee of the Red Cross and other NGOs in ensuring these efforts are humane and transparent”, he said.
“The amnesty should not be used to justify or encourage refugee returns before there are real conditions in place that facilitate the safe, voluntary, and dignified return of refugees”, added Mills. “Safety and security, including concerns over the rule of law, such as the ones we see today, remain major obstacles to any potential returns, and, of course, I think, explain the statistic that the Special Envoy shared with us about the percentage of returnee refugees who want to return”.
Mills further stated that the Assad regime continues to stall the chance for any fruitful dialogue through its intransigence and stressed that the United States looks forward to working collaboratively together with other Security Council members in the coming days to reauthorize and expand the mandate for the UN cross-border humanitarian assistance mechanism into Syria.
Only 14 Palestinian refugees, including four women, have been released from the time the pardon has entered into force in May.
Thousands of Palestinians and Syrians have been jailed on terror charges for peaceful opposition to Assad’s government since the 2011 Arab Spring protests and subsequent war.
Thousands of Syrians were discovered killed under torture when a defector leaked nearly 50,000 photographs in 2014, showing the bodies of some 7,000 detainees mutilated by torture.
Over 1,900 Palestinian refugees are believed to be languishing in Syria’s prisons, many of them have spent nearly a decade in prison while scores of others died under torture behind prison bars.
