Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic

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The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic was established on 22 August 2011 by the Human Rights Council through resolution S-17/1 adopted at its 17th special session with a mandate to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law since March 2011 in the Syrian Arab Republic.

The Commission was also tasked to establish the facts and circumstances that may amount to such violations and of the crimes perpetrated and, where possible, to identify those responsible with a view of ensuring that perpetrators of violations, including those that may constitute crimes against humanity, are held accountable.

Latest news

UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria: Urgent steps needed to prevent outright catastrophe in north-western Syria
9 May 2019
English | Arabic

UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria: Respect for the rule of law and fundamental rights must not be undermined for political expediency or sacrificed for security considerations
9 May 2019
English | Arabic

UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria: Continued hostilities and lawlessness countrywide render safe and sustainable returns impossible
28 February 2019
English | Arabic
Press Conference - English

UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria stresses the need to account for the fate and whereabouts of detained and missing individuals countrywide
28 November 2018
Arabic | English

UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria: Temporary Agreement on Idlib a welcome provisional step
21 September 2018
Arabic | English

Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syria Arab Republic A/HRC/39/65
12 September 2018
Arabic | English

Press release: UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria: Unparalleled numbers of Syrians displaced in under six months
12 September 2018
Arabic | English

Press statement on behalf of the Commission of Inquiry on Syria on the situation in Idlib
12 September 2018
Arabic | English

Webcast record of press conference
12 September 2018
English

All press releases...

Mandate

To investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law since March 2011 in the Syrian Arab Republic, and to establish the facts and circumstances that may amount to such violations and of the crimes perpetrated.
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Call for Submissions

Public hearings

Members

Current Commissioners:

Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro (Chairperson) (Brazil), Chair
Karen Koning AbuZayd (United States)
Hanny Megally (Egypt)

Former Commissioners:

Carla del Ponte (Switzerland)
Vitit Muntarbhorn (Thailand)
Yakin Erturk (Turkey)

Documentation

Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic
Arabic | English
28 February 2019

Death Notifications in the Syrian Arab Republic
Arabic | English
28 November 2018

Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syria Arab Republic A/HRC/39/65
Arabic | English
Release date: 12 September 2018

"The siege and recapture of eastern Ghouta"
20 June 2018

Conference Room Paper (A/HRC/38/CRP.3)
English

Sieges as a weapon of war: Encircle, starve, surrender, evacuate
Arabic | English
29 May 2018

“I lost my dignity”: Sexual and gender-based violence in the Syrian Arab Republic
15 March 2018
Conference Room Paper (A/HRC/37/CRP.3)
Arabic | English
Infographic

Detention in the Syrian Arab Republic: A Way Forward
English
8 March 2018

All documents…

Press Releases

UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria: Temporary Agreement on Idlib a welcome provisional step
21 September 2018
Arabic | English

Press release: UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria: Unparalleled numbers of Syrians displaced in under six months
12 September 2018
Arabic | English

Press statement on behalf of the Commission of Inquiry on Syria on the situation in Idlib
12 September 2018
Arabic | English

Webcast record of press conference
12 September 2018

Press Statement on presentation of oral report to the Human Rights Council
26 June 2018
Arabic | English

All press releases...

Statements

Statement by Mr. Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic at the 41st Session of the UN Human Rights Council
English
2 July 2019

UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria: Urgent steps needed to prevent outright catastrophe in north-western Syria
English | Arabic
9 May 2019

UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria: Respect for the rule of law and fundamental rights must not be undermined for political expediency or sacrificed for security considerations
English | Arabic
9 May 2019

Statement at Human Rights Council, 40th session
English
12 March 2019

Statement at Human Rights Council, 39th session
English
17 September 2018

Statement at Human Rights Council, 37th session
English
13 March 2017

Statement at Human Rights Council, 36th session
English
18 September 2017

Statement at Human Rights Council, 35th session
English
14 June 2017

Syria worst man-made disaster since World War II - Zeid
English
14 March 2017

All statements…

Feature Stories

A Syrian man stands carrying a child in a camp for displaced people in Kafr Lusin, Idlib province, April 2018. © Ibrahim Yasouf/AFP

Displaced and afraid in Idlib, Syria
Warring parties in Idlib have given little consideration for civilian lives and have caused massive displacements. UN experts propose recommendations to address the situation of the displaced.
2 October 2018

Syrian women react as they flee their homes in the village of Tal Aswad, 5km north of the town of Afrin. © Credit Nazeer al-Khatib/AFP

Report: No one unaffected by sexual and gender-based violence in Syrian conflict
“It is utterly repugnant that brutal acts of sexual and gender-based violence have been perpetrated throughout Syria for over six and a half years,” said Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chair of the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic. He made his remarks during an event launching a report that looked into the pervasiveness of the issue in the Syrian conflict.
28 March 2018

A group of children gather near a UN car in rebel-held Douma, Syria, 15 March 2018. ©EPA-EFE/MOHAMMED BADRA

Syria: the most dangerous place for children?
Civil society actors give the Human Rights Council information on violations of children’s rights in Syria and recommendations on how to protect rights of these children.
16 March 2018

A child injured from fighting in rebel-held Barzeh, Syria, is treated at a Barzeh field hospital, 18 Feb 2017 ©EPA/STR

UN human rights investigators decry targeting of civilians in Syria
“The only way to end civilian suffering is to end this war,” the Commission of Inquiry on Syria told the Human Rights Council, as the conflict rages into its seventh year.
16 June 2017

(Women carry photos of loved ones being held in detention ion Syria. © Credit EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

Protecting the rights of detainees in Syria
Protection of detainees and the disappeared in Syria was the focus of a recent panel discussion held during the Human Rights Council in Geneva. The discussion focused on the experiences of former detainees as well as providing some ways forward.
11 April 2017