Syria: Groups Call for ICC Referral

Statement by Civil Society Organizations on Need for Justice

Over one hundred civil society groups from around the world issued the following statement today to urge the United Nations Security Council to approve a resolution to refer the situation in  Syria to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court:

We, the undersigned civil society groups, urge United Nations Security Council members to approve a draft resolution supported by a broad coalition of countries that would refer the situation in Syria to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

More than three years into a conflict that has claimed well over 100, 000 lives, according to the United Nations, atrocity crimes are being committed with complete impunity by all sides in the conflict, with no end in sight.

Neither Syrian authorities nor the leaders of non-state armed groups have taken any meaningful steps to ensure accountability for past and ongoing grave human rights crimes. The failure to hold those responsible for these violations to account has only fueled further atrocities by all sides. Against this background, we believe the ICC is the forum most capable of effectively investigating and prosecuting the people who bear the greatest responsibility for serious crimes and of offering a measure of justice for victims in Syria.

The latest report from the UN’s Syria Commission of Inquiry, published on March 5, also found that all sides to the Syria conflict continued to commit serious crimes under international law and held that the Security Council was failing to take action to end the state of impunity. The commission, which has published seven in-depth reports since its establishment in August 2011, recommended that the Security Council give the ICC a mandate to investigate abuses in Syria.

The need for accountability in Syria through the ICC has likewise been supported by more than 60 UN member countries, representing all regions of world, including 10 of the current members of the Security Council. We urge all Security Council members to heed this call for justice. Other countries should publicly support the draft resolution and warn Russia and China against using their veto power to obstruct accountability for violations by all sides.

As a permanent international court with a mandate to prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity when national authorities are unable or unwilling to do so, the ICC was created to address exactly the type of situation that exists in Syria today. Though the court’s work can be only one piece of the larger accountability effort needed in Syria, it is a crucial first step.

We therefore strongly urge Security Council members to urgently act to fill the accountability gap in Syria. The people of Syria cannot afford further disappointment or delay.

Co-signing organizations in alphabetical order:

1.   Action des Chrétiens pour l’Abolition de la Torture, France

2.   Amnesty International, Benin

3.   Advocates for Public International Law, Uganda

4.   Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, Egypt

5.   Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, Australia

6.   Act for Peace, Australia

7.   Arab Coalition for Sudan, Sudan

8.   Arab Program for Human Rights Activists, Egypt

9.   Arab-European Center Of Human Rights And International Law, Norway

10. Arab Foundation for Development and Citizenship, United Kingdom

11. Andalus Institute for Tolerance and anti-Violence Studies, Egypt

12. Benin Coalition for the International Criminal Court, Benin

13. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Egypt

14. Campaña Colombiana Contra Minas, Colombia

15. Center for Media Studies and Peacebuilding, Liberia

16. Child Soldiers International, United Kingdom

17. Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Belgium

18. Club des Amis du Droit du Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo

19. Coalition Ivoirienne pour la Cour Penale Internationale, Cote d’Ivoire

20. Colombian Commission of Jurists, Colombia

21. Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, South Sudan

22. Conflict Monitoring Center, Pakistan

23. Congress of National Minorities of Ukraine, Ukraine

24. Comité Catholique Contre la Faim et Pour le Développement – Terre Solidaire, France

25. Comision Mexicana de Defensa y Promocion de los Derechos Humanos, Mexico

26. CSO Network, Western Kenya

27. Dawlaty Foundation, Lebanon

28. Democracia Global, Argentina

29. East Africa Law Society, Tanzania

30. Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, Egypt

31. Elman Peace and Human Rights Center, Somalia

32. Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network

33. FN-forbundet / Danish United Nations Association, Denmark

34. Franciscans International

35. Fundación de Antropología Forense, Guatemala

36. Georgian Young Lawyers Association, Georgia

37. Genocide Alert, Germany

38. Global Solutions.org, United States

39. Global Justice Center, United States

40. Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect,  United States

41. Gulf Centre for Human Rights, Denmark

42. Horiyat for Development and Human Rights, Libya

43. Humanist Institute for Development Cooperation, The Netherlands

44. Humanitarian Law Center Kosovo, Kosovo

45. Human Rights First, United States

46. Human Rights Watch