Published : 27-06-2018
The Action Group - London
The Action Group for Palestinians of Syria, along with 54 Syrian rights organizations, sent a joint message to the United Nations about the victims of torture in Syria, directed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, High Commissioner for Human Rights Zaid Raad al-Hussein, President of the Human Rights Council Vojislav Šuc. The letter that was sent on 26th of June, to mark the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, stressed that thousands of unknown Syrian detainees continue to suffer torture and inhumane treatment in the secret and official detention camps and facilities across Syria. Among the defenders, are numerous human rights organizations who have made efforts to document disappearance, detention and torture – who are now victims of these very same practices.
The Group and the organizations that signed the letter demanded the international community today to shoulder its responsibilities towards the victims of torture and their families and to defend, care and support them in working to hold the perpetrators accountable and preserve their right to justice and compensation, ending all forms of torture in Syria.
The message stressed that the Syrian government continues to detain undetermined numbers of Syrians in inhumane conditions and to exercise institutional and systematic torture, with disregard to its responsibilities to end these unlawful practices and to hold those responsible to account. This is in clear and deliberate violation of all international humanitarian standards, as well as Syria’s legal obligations to international treaties and conventions to which it is a party, including the International Convention against Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. This represents a stark challenge to the international community and efforts to establish a world free of torture and impunity.
The group and the signatory organizations demanded that the Syrian authorities, as well as the rest of the authorities and the parties of conflict, be forced to take concrete steps towards their legal obligations to the international community by stressing the following:
1- Revealing the places of detention of all detainees and facilitate the access of all international humanitarian actors, in particular the International Committee of the Red Cross, to all such centers and prisons, whether confidential or public, on a regular basis.
2- Take responsibility for taking all necessary measures to stop brutal practices of torture, including rape and sexual practices, conduct the necessary investigations and subject those involved in such practices and those responsible to genuine accountability in accordance with international standards.
3- To disclose the fate of thousands of detainees who are believed to have died under torture, and to hand over the remains of those who prove dead to their parents and families in a humane manner that respects the sanctity of their bodies and the feelings of their relatives and religious rituals, without changing the fact that the Syrian government bears the legal responsibility for the practices that led to that fate, and the right of them and their families to justice and compensation.
4- The United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture takes the necessary steps to provide psychological, moral and material support to victims of torture in Syria and their families and to provide them with the necessary care.
5-No state or team is allowed to use this issue for political bargaining or negotiation. The United Nations should maintain the role of guarantor and neutral international mediator for negotiations in Syria and a key player in any process to address the issue of detainees to ensure neutrality and credibility.
6-The Government of Syria and the parties to the conflict are held fully responsible for the preservation of the remains of victims who have died under torture or other places believed to contain evidence that may contribute to the identification of their fate and the identity of the criminals.
The message also stressed the need for United Nations Member States to support victim initiatives in organizing themselves in pursuit of accountability and justice. We also call on Member States to activate international jurisdiction within their laws to enable victims of torture and their families to resort to their judicial systems to pursue their right to justice. We also stress the role of these States in safeguarding their rights and the rights of their victims, through all official and legal rights, especially in terms of psychological, social and moral support.
The message continues that efforts to resolve the conflict in Syria have now marked their seventh year, with no tangible progress at the political, humanitarian or human rights levels. Efforts to uphold of human rights and international conventions in Syria have proven futile to deter the daily occurrence of arbitrary arrests, torture or war crimes and crimes against humanity. As the veto continues to paralyze the Security Council, preventing it from meeting its obligations to protect civilians and hold accountable perpetrators of torture in Syria, and attempts are being made to kidnap the file of detention and torture centers by the parties of conflict, without any significant role for the United Nations; We, the signed organizations, call for the need for Member States to shoulder their responsibilities to combat impunity for these crimes and all other crimes by pushing for the establishment of an international criminal court for Syria by adopting a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly as a first step to underscore the commitment of the international community to achieve Justice and to hold the aggressors responsible for their crimes.
The Action Group for Palestinians of Syria has documented 1680 cases of arrests of Palestinian refugees in Syria, including 107 female refugees. The group has documented the death of 483 refugees under torture, in the prisons and branches of security and intelligence of the Syrian government, since 2011 until today.
The letter of the Action Group and the signatory organizations can be found here:
http://www.actionpal.org.uk/en/post/7344
The Action Group - London
The Action Group for Palestinians of Syria, along with 54 Syrian rights organizations, sent a joint message to the United Nations about the victims of torture in Syria, directed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, High Commissioner for Human Rights Zaid Raad al-Hussein, President of the Human Rights Council Vojislav Šuc. The letter that was sent on 26th of June, to mark the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, stressed that thousands of unknown Syrian detainees continue to suffer torture and inhumane treatment in the secret and official detention camps and facilities across Syria. Among the defenders, are numerous human rights organizations who have made efforts to document disappearance, detention and torture – who are now victims of these very same practices.
The Group and the organizations that signed the letter demanded the international community today to shoulder its responsibilities towards the victims of torture and their families and to defend, care and support them in working to hold the perpetrators accountable and preserve their right to justice and compensation, ending all forms of torture in Syria.
The message stressed that the Syrian government continues to detain undetermined numbers of Syrians in inhumane conditions and to exercise institutional and systematic torture, with disregard to its responsibilities to end these unlawful practices and to hold those responsible to account. This is in clear and deliberate violation of all international humanitarian standards, as well as Syria’s legal obligations to international treaties and conventions to which it is a party, including the International Convention against Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. This represents a stark challenge to the international community and efforts to establish a world free of torture and impunity.
The group and the signatory organizations demanded that the Syrian authorities, as well as the rest of the authorities and the parties of conflict, be forced to take concrete steps towards their legal obligations to the international community by stressing the following:
1- Revealing the places of detention of all detainees and facilitate the access of all international humanitarian actors, in particular the International Committee of the Red Cross, to all such centers and prisons, whether confidential or public, on a regular basis.
2- Take responsibility for taking all necessary measures to stop brutal practices of torture, including rape and sexual practices, conduct the necessary investigations and subject those involved in such practices and those responsible to genuine accountability in accordance with international standards.
3- To disclose the fate of thousands of detainees who are believed to have died under torture, and to hand over the remains of those who prove dead to their parents and families in a humane manner that respects the sanctity of their bodies and the feelings of their relatives and religious rituals, without changing the fact that the Syrian government bears the legal responsibility for the practices that led to that fate, and the right of them and their families to justice and compensation.
4- The United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture takes the necessary steps to provide psychological, moral and material support to victims of torture in Syria and their families and to provide them with the necessary care.
5-No state or team is allowed to use this issue for political bargaining or negotiation. The United Nations should maintain the role of guarantor and neutral international mediator for negotiations in Syria and a key player in any process to address the issue of detainees to ensure neutrality and credibility.
6-The Government of Syria and the parties to the conflict are held fully responsible for the preservation of the remains of victims who have died under torture or other places believed to contain evidence that may contribute to the identification of their fate and the identity of the criminals.
The message also stressed the need for United Nations Member States to support victim initiatives in organizing themselves in pursuit of accountability and justice. We also call on Member States to activate international jurisdiction within their laws to enable victims of torture and their families to resort to their judicial systems to pursue their right to justice. We also stress the role of these States in safeguarding their rights and the rights of their victims, through all official and legal rights, especially in terms of psychological, social and moral support.
The message continues that efforts to resolve the conflict in Syria have now marked their seventh year, with no tangible progress at the political, humanitarian or human rights levels. Efforts to uphold of human rights and international conventions in Syria have proven futile to deter the daily occurrence of arbitrary arrests, torture or war crimes and crimes against humanity. As the veto continues to paralyze the Security Council, preventing it from meeting its obligations to protect civilians and hold accountable perpetrators of torture in Syria, and attempts are being made to kidnap the file of detention and torture centers by the parties of conflict, without any significant role for the United Nations; We, the signed organizations, call for the need for Member States to shoulder their responsibilities to combat impunity for these crimes and all other crimes by pushing for the establishment of an international criminal court for Syria by adopting a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly as a first step to underscore the commitment of the international community to achieve Justice and to hold the aggressors responsible for their crimes.
The Action Group for Palestinians of Syria has documented 1680 cases of arrests of Palestinian refugees in Syria, including 107 female refugees. The group has documented the death of 483 refugees under torture, in the prisons and branches of security and intelligence of the Syrian government, since 2011 until today.
The letter of the Action Group and the signatory organizations can be found here:
http://www.actionpal.org.uk/en/post/7344
