Qatar envoy calls for accountability for war criminals in Syria

The Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations Sheikha Alya Ahmed Saif Al Thani yesterday reiterated her country’s support for a neutral and independent international mechanism to hold accountable those accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria, local media reported.

Al Thani made the remarks at the UN General Assembly meeting on the report of the “International Impartial and Independent Mechanism to Assist in the Investigation and Prosecution of Persons Responsible for the Most Serious Crimes under International Law Committed in the Syrian Arab Republic since March 2011”.

She explained that this position is in line with Qatar’s firm policy to promote human rights at the international and regional levels in cooperation with the United Nations and international partners.

She stressed on the importance of international efforts to activate the mechanism in light of the clear manifestations and attempts to distort facts about the use of chemical weapons and other crimes.

The Qatari official also stressed the need to fund the mechanism from the United Nations regular budget starting in 2020 to ensure its neutrality and independence.

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