UN war crimes panel on Syria seeks access to refugees in Europe

UN war crimes investigators today called on European countries to let them interview more newly-arrived Syrian refugees to document fresh violations, saying it had become increasingly difficult.

The panel, set up five years ago, says it has compiled a confidential list of suspects on all sides of the conflict that have carried out war crimes or crimes against humanity. It has repeatedly called for major powers to refer Syria to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

“We are appealing to countries inside Europe hosting newly arrived Syrian refugees to grant us access and remove any barriers to our work,” Paulo Pinheiro, chairman of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

“Time is of the essence, particularly if the commission is to continue preparing well-documented reports on the current situation in the country, rather than reports of a historical nature,” Pinheiro said.

The Syrian government had recently disclosed information to the United Nations which the panel was examining in the context of its investigations into crimes committed by Daesh and mass graves found in Palmyra, he added.

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The panel said earlier this month that it has a database of some 5,000 detailed interviews and information, some of which is being shared with national jurisdictions seeking to prosecute their nationals serving as foreign fighters.

A 20-truck aid convoy destined for eastern Aleppo with enough supplies to feed tens of thousands is still stuck in Turkey, the UN aid chief said today, hours after a seven-day ceasefire in Syria expired.

“The politicisation of humanitarian assistance by any party to the conflict must not be allowed. For, as we have witnessed time and again, roadblocks made of red tape are just effective as roadblocks made of weapons of war,” Pinheiro said.