Commission of Inquiry on Syria - Press Conference: Update on the human rights situation
Press Conferences
Date: 8 September 2026
Language: English
Transcript: https://transcripts.un.org/en/asset/k15/k15j66jbxm
Transcripts available through this tool are created by using automatic speech recognition and are not official records nor official documents of the United Nations. Official records and official documents are available on the Official Document System of the United Nations.

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Moderator [0:00]:

Okay. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us here at this press conference in Geneva with the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic. The Commission presented its latest findings to the Human Rights Council this morning and is here now to answer any questions you may have. With us today are Commissioner to my right, Commissioner Fionnuala Ni Ahlainn, and to her right is Commissioner Monia Ammar. So with that, we'll begin, and the chair-- or sorry, the commissioner to my right will give some opening remarks, and then we'll open the floor to your questions. Thank you.


COI · Commissioner · Fionnuala Ni Ahlainn [0:34]:

Good afternoon, everyone, and many thanks for joining the Commission of Inquiry. Commissioner Ammar and I are delighted to present some joint comments this morning. The first comments will be in English, and then we'll have some remarks in Arabic, which track the statement that we issued today. And the Commissioners would acknowledge that as we approach the two-year anniversary of the fall of the former government, Syria continues to undergo significant transformation despite what all of us would agree are immense challenges. Both Commissioners have seen these challenges firsthand in our visits to Damascus and other parts of the Syrian Arab Republic in the last several months. And positively, I think we know that we've seen the establishment of a People's Assembly, and that gives an enormous prospect for independent and representative legislature, something that is important to the Syrian people as a whole. Millions of Syrians have returned. Sometimes we meet them on planes as we travel and our teams travel to Damascus. We meet them as they make the journey back. And that journey is enormously important because it's a journey towards return to home, but it's also a journey towards reconstruction. And we see that, again, as an important part of the recovery of the Syrian Arab Republic and the hopes of its people. And we are also seeing integration efforts advancing with the Syrian Democratic Forces, the SDF, announcing their dissolution and what we're seeing as an ongoing integration process within state forces. So we, I think the Commissioners, have always been clear that we commend Syria for its achievements, we acknowledge the work that's done, but we are also deeply mindful of the challenges. There are huge challenges in building a legitimate and accountable rule of law state and legitimate and accountable institutions. And of course, at the heart of everything that the Commission of Inquiry has done since 2011 is addressing the legacies of atrocities suffered by the Syrian people over a decade, and to prevent the recurrence of those kinds of atrocities and systematic human rights violations again. And we are the Commission was renewed. We think that renewal is evidence of a trust and commitment to the work of the Commission of Inquiry and the value that we as a Commission have brought to the challenges of Syria and bring to this transitional moment. And we have been all over Syria. So our commissioners, but also our extraordinary team of investigators and our staff have been in Damascus, they've been in Rif Damascus, they've been in Quneitra, Daraa, Sweida, Aleppo, Homs, Raqqa, Hasakah, and we have plenty of frequent flyer miles on getting us in and out of Syria. And what that has done is given us an extraordinary access to the situation on the ground, but also a chance to meet with the Syrian people and to talk to them about their aspirations, their needs, and their experiences. Let me briefly talk about some of the things we shared with member states today and some of the areas where we have both particularly have concerns. And I'll start with perhaps the one that we opened with this morning, which is our alarm, Commissioner's alarm, about continued Israeli violations on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic. The Commission and Commissioners, we were ourselves in Quneitra and Daraa earlier this summer in July, and we saw firsthand the impact on communities. who honestly reported more than anything else their bewilderment, their utter bewilderment at Israeli actions while they are trying to rebuild their lives and while Syrians are trying to rebuild their state. Israeli military activity in south Syria is increasing, it's sustained, and it's entrenched. And what we observed also firsthand were recurring ground incursions, patrols, raids, and searches. We heard about that from people who experienced them on the ground. What we saw was an establishment by Israel of a network of temporary checkpoints and fixed military infrastructures on Syrian territory, and this has affected Syrian civilians significantly. Israel has also interrogated and detained hundreds of residents, including minors. And as of July 2026, the Commission has identified 49 individuals, including two children, who have been detained by the IDF on Syrian territory and then presumably rendered across the border into Israel. Such acts, in our view, may amount to war crimes. The Commission is deeply concerned that Israel's belligerent occupation has expanded and that it has expanded its presence further and concurs with the Secretary General, who also visited Syria this summer. that, quote, violations of Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity are unacceptable and must cease. There are several other issues we brought to the attention of Member States today. One is our continued attention to the transitional justice process in Syria. And I think the one we have much to say about that, but I think the bottom line that the Commissioner Ammar and I would like to stress today, it is absolutely critical that the transitional justice process in Syria treats all perpetrators of violations equally. And that also means treating all victims of violations equally, ensuring that everyone has the right to accountability. We are concerned and would warn that selective accountability breaches international law. And more than that, that selective accountability will renew grievances and undermine reconciliation. The third issue we've addressed is what we spent a lot of time looking at last year, were the violations in the coast and in Soweta. And we would simply say that there are many unresolved issues from our recommendations, which were accepted by the government in the last, when we were last here at the council in March. We have unresolved issues, including insecurity in Sueda, displacement of thousands of Druze and Bedouin family, the missing and detained, and also we are particularly concerned, both as mothers and as people who care about education, that we have thousands of students who simply have not been able to take their exams. And this is a failure to ensure that the most basic rights for children are observed. Now, that lack of progress is complex, and we recognize that. There's A standoff between local authorities and the national authorities, but we're also clearly aware of the continued interference by Israel in Syria, including in Sweita. Fourth, I think the Commission would highlight that we continue to watch detention closely in Syria. We know, and all of us, I think, who've studied Syria for a long time know, the history of detention in Syria is complex and challenging. We are committed to and encourage the government to ensure that we address deaths and treatment of persons in custody. And we are particularly keen to ensure that persons who are detained have fair trial guarantees, including thousands of persons who've been detained for alleged links to Assad-era security regimes. I'll close by saying that the Commission has also addressed the situation in northeast Syria, and we've had much to say about that. We continue to investigate the conduct of hostilities in January. But I particularly want to highlight, as we've done in our report to the Council today, the ongoing situation of women and children who have alleged ties to Daesh and underscore how urgently that situation must be resolved. It is, in our view, absolutely deplorable that over 2,000 family members, these are mostly women and children, and most of these kids are under the age of 12 years old, remain detained in Raj camp in northeast Syria. This is the single largest place of detention for women women and children on security grounds anywhere in the world. And it is absolutely intolerable that it still exists. None of these people, none of them, not a single child, not a single adult, has had access to due process or determination of anything relating to the grounds of their detention. Member states whose nationals are held in this camp have a responsibility to repatriate and rehabilitate. And we particularly highlight our concern about the situation of 100 foreign children who are arbitrarily held in military detention, again, without any modicum of due process. I turn to my colleague, who is also going to address some of these issues in Arabic and underscore that we have a lot to say and are glad to take questions, too. Thanks.


COI · Commissioner · Monia Ammar [9:07]:

Thanks, Fiona. I'll speak in Arabic. I'll add to what my colleague said, that the situation in Syria, despite all the efforts that were mentioned and others, is still complicated. The complexity comes from the fact that the inheritance was very heavy. That the that the that the that the that the that the that the that the that's the that's the that's the that's the that's the that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that's the that's the that's the that's the that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's the that's the that's the that's the that's And let's not the one that has been shown here, and the most of the in Syria, what can I know how much more and I'm in the Suleiman, the Syrian, the. the doors and before the this dialogue with us in many issues and the truth is that as I said that the Syrian government is not only important for the civil society but also for the committee and the committee had a big relationship with the civil society inside and outside Syria considering the basic source despite all the danger that can be And, you know, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, Also, the community, and we are also, and we are also, and we are also, and we are, and we are, and we are, and we are, and Or the letter, the bar, the letter, the letter, the letter, the letter, the letter, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, Now, we are trying to focus on the fact that the building and the reform of the institutions is also through the process of revealing the truth. Of course, the committee has achieved many violations, and we are cooperating with other mechanisms of the United Nations, and we are ready to cooperate as well. the hudud al-mumkinah ma'a sulutata as-suriya fi majal al-muhakmat, muhakmat kul murtaqibi al-al-al-al-al-al-al-al-al-al-al-al-al-al-al-alalalalalalalalalalalalalalalal. Alalalalalalalalalalalalalalal. in this context, I would say that we rely heavily on the support of the Syrian civil society to continue this journey. The mission has not yet ended, and we have a lot of issues that we need to continue working on. We are a committee of investigation, but we also provide advice, and this is after the change. the committee last year, and adding this important task, the task of giving advice and suggestions, I think there is an open dialogue between us and the Syrian government now, especially in this transitional period, and I emphasize that Syria is still in a transitional period. La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la. Okay, thank you very much. Now we will open the floor to questions.


Moderator [14:54]:

We'll start with the room if we have any from the room. We can start with Nick from The New York Times. Please go ahead.


Journalist · Nick [15:07]:

Yeah, actually I've got loads of questions, but I'll start with one. You talk about increasing Israeli military activity. Increasing to what end? Are they expanding the territorial area that they control in the security belt? You've talked about the destruction, the aerial spraying of croplands. What's the objective here? Is it to create a depopulated buffer zone, do you think? And to what extent is Israeli action still stoking tensions between the minorities? Thank you.


COI · Commissioner · Fionnuala Ni Ahlainn [15:49]:

Yeah, I think one of the things to stress is the Commission of Inquiry has long monitored the human rights violations by third states on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, so I want to make clear that there's no special treatment for any state. One state is not being singled out over any other state. This is consistent with our long and standing practice of monitoring the activities of all states who tread on the territorial sovereignty and integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic. So just to be clear, this has been longstanding practice for the COI in relation to observation of Israeli occupation. We are we do believe in the report we've issued, the longer statement we've issued today has, I think, made clear that Israeli activities have intensified. They've intensified because there are several things happening at once. They're combining military incursions, intelligence operations, detention activities, aerial strikes, territorial entrenchment, and political pressure, which is clearly aimed at Two things. One, I think, at shaping Syria's post-Assad security environment. It is also, I think, not unconnected to its broader practices of occupation on the Golan Heights and the extension of those activities. But also, I think, Uh, and this, I think we would say firsthand from having met with people in the territory, is really intended about undermining the security of individuals in the trans- transformation and transition in Syria. And it is true, I mean, it's worth noting that for a long period of time, that 74 demarcation line was quiet. I mean, it was a, and we certainly have heard that, that there was a status quo. There's clearly concerns about encroachment, but things were at a status quo. That status quo has certainly changed after December 2024. It's changing on the ground. It has changed the core, the sort of well-established international agreement separation zone, particularly in Khanatara and Western Daraa. And I think what's also really clear is the engagement of Israeli forces with the civilian population has intensified and increased. We saw that in destroyed homes. We're seeing it in-- this is largely a pastoral, agricultural community. It is not a very-- these are not cities. They're small places where people live. And they are finding it impossible to live a daily dignified life. They're finding it impossible because their agricultural lands are being sprayed and are unusable. Their trees are being cut down. Their houses are being destroyed. And their children and young men are being taken into custody, some of them. And others cannot literally move around the territory without the prospect of being detained and subject to interrogation and other harms. And so clearly, I think the Commission's longer statement today articulates what's happening on the ground, our concern about that. It is a change. There is a distinct change in practice since December and the change of government in Syria. And the effect-- and I think what we've been clear is that the activities that we're concerned about, particularly the detention and rendering of persons across border, may constitute a war crime under international law. And states should be aware that the issues, these broader issues, are not of course, we're following them closely in other places like Lebanon, but the Commission of Inquiry has a singular mandate to investigate violations of human rights and humanitarian law happening on Syrian territory. And these violations by the IDF, by Israel, are happening on Syrian territory and are markedly different from what has been happening before.


COI · Commissioner · Monia Ammar [19:47]:

When I talk about the Israeli violations, I always refer to the citizens and residents there. When we hear from citizens that they cannot access their land to harvest their fruit, And they consider themselves as if they are stealing something. And some of them have been exposed to threats, and even to the fact that they have been trying to steal them, just because they are trying to reach the fruits that they live from. Of course, to the side of all the violations that my colleague mentioned. So, but the wasul, the, you know, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, On the way to the area that is supposed to be under his jurisdiction, so all this shows the real effect of this violation on the rights of the citizens and their daily life and dignity.


Moderator [21:22]:

Thank you. Did you have something to add?


COI · Commissioner · Fionnuala Ni Ahlainn [21:24]:

No, I've seen Nick. to ask another question, but it's okay, we'll come back.


Moderator [21:29]:

Okay, let's take a- Can we take a follow-up?


Journalist · Nick [21:31]:

Sorry, a follow-up question.


Moderator [21:35]:

Nick, we'll circle back to you. We'll take a question from the front row, and then we'll take a few online, and we'll come back to you.


AFP · Journalist · Alexandre Bois [21:42]:

Okay, thank you. Thank you so much for this briefing. Alexandre Bois, AFP. Regarding the violations committed by Israel, you're stating that some actions by the Israel army could be considered war crimes. You mentioned the detention of civilians. But can you tell us, is there other actions that may be classified as such?


COI · Commissioner · Fionnuala Ni Ahlainn [22:09]:

So I want to stress that our investigations are ongoing and we will have a fuller report on all of those investigations presented to the Council in the next session. So I don't want to preempt findings. We have We have investigative teams who have been working hard on several issues. The one issue we've clearly identified today, which reaches the threshold that we're concerned may be a war crime, which is the transfer of a person from an occupied territory into the territory of the occupying or belligerent power. That is a finding we have made before. This isn't the first time, but I think more let's just say there's more notice being paid to it now. And other issues, as you know, the Commission's methodology is to all of the issues that we've So whether we're talking about interrogation, detention, destruction of homes, environmental destruction, destruction of property, many of these things are expressly, for those of you who know your Hague regulations and Geneva Conventions, are expressly prohibited in occupied territory or can only be done on the basis of imperative military necessity, which is demonstrated. We would also underscore that an occupying power has very clear legal obligations. to protect the civilian population. And protection is not what we are seeing in southern Syria. In fact, we are seeing precisely the opposite as far as the civilian population is concerned. Destruction of livelihood, lack of access to medical attention, inability to have a livelihood, and literally to get to your home when you have the creation of barriers and barricades to the free movement of people just to get to their lands, their homes, their families are a broader set of legal issues. I can comfort everyone that we will be coming back to the Council on these issues and making determinations on the law and the facts in the spring.


Moderator [24:10]:

Okay, thank you. Let's take a question online. The first one is from Laurent Siero from the Swiss news agency. Laurent, please go ahead.


Journalist · Laurent Siero [24:19]:

Yeah, thanks for the press conference. Two quick questions. The first one, when you say these 49 people were presumably rendered across the border, do you have any indication what their status is currently, where they are detained in Israel now? And secondly, you mentioned further investigations on these 5,000, more than 5,700 forced transfers from from people from northeast Syria to Iraq. So do you plan to travel to Iraq to assess that? And do you have any further indication that other states might have, than the U.S., might have also conducted similar presumed forced transfers? Thank you.


COI · Commissioner · Fionnuala Ni Ahlainn [25:12]:

So, look, in relation to the 49 rendered, or we believe to be rendered, we have no information. Syria, of course, does not have access to Israeli territory. Syria does not conduct, as I should stress, neither has the ICRC had access to any places of detention. And so the fate of these individuals remains largely unknown. And of course, again, we have not made a determination, but when someone is taken across a border and cannot be found and is presumably held in state custody, I would suggest that we're probably in the land of an enforced disappearance. We do not know where these people are. And of course, I should note that the Syrian government itself, and in this regard, the Commission has echoed the concerns of the Syrian government in relation to the concerns the Syrian government has articulated about its nationals who are not in their territory and are under the control of a belligerent power and who we're not clear what their fate is. In relation to the forced transfers, I think the Commission, as you know, in our longer statement today, identifies what we found to be a chaotic and hastily organized transfers of thousands of individuals, including minors, but also including Syrian nationals, from Syria into Iraq. I should stress we are the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, not the Commission of Inquiry on Iraq. The terms of our mandate are really clearly within the scope of Syrian territory, and that is where we can and do make findings. However, of course, as we have done, we have articulated a concern about mass non-refoulement. I mean, bear in mind that these people who were transferred were being held by a non-state armed group with the support of several states. indefinitely and arbitrarily without any legal process for years before, a matter that the Syrian Commission has meticulously documented. So this isn't a transfer of people who were in a regular legal process. This is a transfer of people who were not subject to any process, and then mass transfer hastily to another country. So we have clear concerns within the scope of our mandate on non-refoulement. It is not, of course, the role of the Syrian of the COI to investigate on the territory of Iraq, but I am aware that we have many journalists and many other non-NGOs who have articulated their profound concern about the conditions of confinement in Iraq, the detention of children in Iraq, and from the Syrian perspective, the fact that we have thousands of Syrian nationals currently detained in Iraq is a matter of grave concern because we have a particular responsibility under our mandate to the Syrian nationals who are now in Iraq. Thanks.


COI · Commissioner · Monia Ammar [28:15]:

I'm going to add that, finally, Some of the, but the, but the, but the, but the, but the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, the, the, the, the, the, the, but the, but the, but the, but the, and the, and the, and the, and the, but the, but the, but the, but the, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that. Ilah de masala, I think the no, Samana, no, fee, likayat, bina, sulatat, suriya, wazara, ta'adl, bilkhusus, wa, sulatat, al-iraqiya, wa, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. protect the rights of the Syrians who were transferred to Iraq without their consent, and find solutions that satisfy their families and those who return, while protecting as much of their rights as possible.


COI · Commissioner · Fionnuala Ni Ahlainn [29:16]:

And I just think maybe a footnote, it's worth noting that The estimate is of 5,700 men and boys from 60 countries who've been, so we are talking about multiple nationalities. And also to say that since 2019, this process of transfer, so this transfer is not new, and the Commission is also concerned that we have up to 7,000 people, so we have this transfer, but also it's part of a wider pattern of transfer, which raised the same issues of non-refoulement since 2019. Thanks.


Moderator [29:52]:

Okay, thank you, Commissioner. Next, we'll go to Reuters. We have a question from Olivia Lipotovan.


Reuters · Journalist · Olivia Lipotovan [30:01]:

Good afternoon. Thank you very much. I'm aware that the Commission is looking into various concerns, and forgive me if this one is not in your area of inquiry, but just curious to ask it. And we're aware of Syrians, especially rights monitors, who have expressed worries about the planned repurposing of the Mazar airport just outside Damascus into a private airport. And there are reportedly several mass graves expected to be on airport grounds. And there's concerns among Syrians that crucial evidence could be removed or disrupted, obviously crucial as they're looking still for their relatives. I'm just wondering if you've been following that issue at all, if it's on your radar, and if more broadly, how worried you are about evidence of Assad-era crimes being overlooked and possibly even destroyed as these kind of large-scale development projects occur.


COI · Commissioner · Fionnuala Ni Ahlainn [31:04]:

Let me just get this on. So thanks for the question. And yeah, I think it's also actually, I want to clarify, the Commission has always addressed issues of land, housing, and property rights. In fact, some of our most compelling work over the past decade plus, it's not just, but Of course, we've addressed issues of mass atrocity, but the addressing of claims around violations related to socioeconomic rights, but also the question of land, housing, and property rights is central to the work of the COI. And we've long had, I think, led the global discussion on issues of pillage and looting and unfair appropriation in the Syrian context. In that regard, I think one of the things you'll notice in our longer statement, although we don't specifically address the Massey Airport question, so I want to just, for now, because we have investigations ongoing, not address that directly. But I would say that we do have, and we have articulated, genuine concerns about these, what we might call real estate or private development projects that are being carried out with a high degree of opacity. So it's really not clear what the rights of individuals who have access to that property is. And I think what, so one clear point is that in relation to development, there has to be a respect for the rights of individual property owners and their rights to property and clear legal process for the development of new projects, which are consistent with the right to property under international law, but also respect the complexity of property taking by the previous regime. The second thing we would say is we acknowledge that the legal terrain of, we want to say, Assad-era repressive law, including on property, has left a really heavy burden on individuals to be able to address violations or lack of clarity or unfairness in property issues. And in the Commission's broader, we have a really positive and good relationship of dialogue with this government. We've particularly emphasized the need to address repressive laws, including laws that are related to land, housing, and property rights for individuals. And maybe finally I would say that we as Commission, the core of our work since 2011 has been the investigation of Assad-era crimes, and we remain profoundly committed to that work and to the victims of those crimes. And I think one of the things I would stress, and Munia I think would also, it is critical that individuals have the right to the bodies of the persons who have been killed or disappeared. At the most fundamental human level, people have to know what happened to their loved ones and be able to access those bodies, conduct burial and grieving and the mourning that comes with the disappeared or the lost. And on mass graves, ensuring that mass graves are protected so that that fundamental dignity can be brought back to families and to the persons who were killed in those circumstances is essential. Now, we recognize Syria needs economic development, but economic development cannot come at the expense of individuals who have lost loved ones in circumstances that they simply don't know what happened to them. And of course, to preserve that evidence so that we can have trials is critical. So at the general level, I think that's what I would want to say about The question of land, housing, and


COI · Commissioner · Monia Ammar [34:42]:

property. And we are, and the back to school to give you an example, and I'm not gonna let you struggle, but in the court, I mean, what a, it's the bad, the one in the, but the one in the other, what you take from the, and the court, what the court, what the court, and the other, and the court, and the court, and the court, and the court, and And, no, it's the government's story, and I'm not going to be able to focus on the people, and I'm not going to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be. But the change of the reality and the change of the laws requires efforts, requires a sincere will to do that. And as I said, our role in this field is a big role that we can do if the will is available again. Because building institutions and re-examining these laws requires also respecting the international standards and respecting the the laws, the comparison, and others, in order to preserve rights and to limit the violations that occurred before 2024 and after.


Moderator [36:33]:

Okay, thank you very much. Now we can circle back to the New York Times. Please go ahead.


Journalist · Nick [36:39]:

Yeah, thank you. I had a question relating to the deaths in custody. I wondered to what extent you'd been able to identify who was involved. And were these kind of revenge killings of Assad-era security officials? Was it minority tensions? Does it point to some sort of systemic continuation of really abusive detention? And to what extent, more generally speaking, are you seeing the development of a judicial apparatus that's capable of dealing with this large number of cases of all forms, civil and criminal and political, that I would need to deal with? Thank you.


COI · Commissioner · Fionnuala Ni Ahlainn [37:24]:

So I think you'll notice in our longest statement, we do address detention as a key area of concern for the Commission of Inquiry. And that's not out of-- obviously, no one who knows our work for the last decade-plus would be surprised by that. We Meticulously, our investigators with profound commitment to the victims who were detained in Syria have been engaged in some of the most difficult investigations of places of detention anywhere in the world over the past decade. And so the weighty history of the abuse, the systemic abuse of violations of persons detained in Syria sits heavily on the shoulders of a transitional government. It sits heavily on the shoulders of the Syrian people. and systematic lack of due process, persons detained, disappeared, persons tortured indiscriminately, and of course, conditions of confinement that met the conditions for torture and war crimes practiced by the previous regime. So it's not surprising that we're paying close attention to detention, because getting detention right is really important for this transitional government. And we do want to acknowledge that there have been serious efforts made by this government to address conditions of detention. And it is fair and right to say that there have been significant improvements in many parts of the detention systems, not least because I think those who are, the government recognizes, some of them very personally, that the conditions of confinement have to be better and that they have to do better. That said, I think we have concerns, and we've identified them in this report, about detention deaths, including, as we've noted, the death of a former humanitarian worker in custody this year. We know it's really hard to eliminate these practices. I mean, part of the reality in a transitional society is that many of the structures have stayed the same. This is not de-Ba'athification as in Iraq. The structure of government, the structure of institutions haven't changed overnight. They're going to take time. Now, that doesn't mean that there's tolerance for torture. There's a zero-tolerance policy for torture. But it is to recognize the complexity of the transition and getting it right. We are, I think, particularly concerned about ensuring that detention practices are right. And there's reason to make that, that's critical for several reasons. One, we've had several thousand individuals who've been arrested for Assad-era affiliation or responsibility and are currently in detention in Syria. So that's a very large prison population. And it's really important that prison population is treated well, that they have rights of access to lawyers, that their conditions of confinement are consistent with international law, that they are not tortured, and if they have not committed any crime, that they are released, and that they are subject to fair judicial process. We have also made clear that there is need for a domestic preventative mechanism, an oversight mechanism to prevent torture. And that's a matter of urgency given the history, I think, and that we all know. And the third issue is like signing the OPCAT. There's some human rights treaties on this that we think it would be a good idea to get on board with because that then triggers a set of domestic obligations that can help you, really help you get things right. And so it is a file that we're watching very closely, Nick. It's a file that's a really important file for both historic and contemporary reasons. And it's a file that's really important to get right because of the history and people's memories of what happened in prison in Syria and the importance that in a new Syria, people know that when they are detained, they are going to be treated fairly, that they are not going to disappear into a black hole and never be heard from again. And that part of the sort of change is experienced, you know, it's often easy to treat the people who operate within the law well. That's not a measure of whether we're doing well or not. Often the measure of whether a society is moving towards rule of law is actually to treat those that you have the most concerns about or that you're charging with a crime or that you're taking into custody. Treating those people well is going to be a really important measure of where we are in the new Syria.


COI · Commissioner · Monia Ammar [41:57]:

Thanks, Fiorella. A problem with the application of the law, respect for the law, and respect for human rights with regard to the detainees is also a problem related to tradition. تراكمات خلال السنوات الاخيره ونعتقد ولفتنا النظر لهذا الموضوع وتحدثنا في العديد من التقارير على مشكله الموقوفين والمعاملات السيئه والتعذيب الذي يتعرض له لكن كما تفضلت زميلتي رغم المجهودات الحاليه وكنا بدعم من اللجنه طلبنا بتكثيف دورات التدريب للمكلفين in the law, but I think the problem is deeper than training, because changing the mindsets requires also work and care for the education of human rights and the dissemination of human rights culture among the rights holders, the Syrians and the Syrians, and also among the duty holders. And this is what we are trying to work on with the the Syrian government, to avoid the repetition of these behaviors. And I'm a bit, yeah, listen to look at the policy, the government, the Syrian, but can he, I've done, need to, a clear meaning, need to, come out, to look at, to look at, to look at, to look at, to the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and. Okay, thank you very much.


Moderator [44:02]:

Any follow-up questions from the room?


Journalist · Nick [44:05]:

Yeah, just one. In relation to the 2,000 kids who were left in Roj camp, Do you have a breakdown of the nationalities involved there? And are you aware of any kind of process that looks like actually reducing that population any time soon, or are these kids who look like essentially they're stuck for indefinite future? Thanks.


COI · Commissioner · Fionnuala Ni Ahlainn [44:29]:

Yeah, I mean, I think we're not in a position at this moment to identify by nationality, but that is it's certainly something that where we can, we are tracking and This is a camp that's made-up largely of third country nationals, and I think there are several things to say. It's the idea that, to note the obvious, we had another camp called Al-Hol camp, which states insisted they needed to keep hundreds, tens of thousands of people. At one point, Al-Hol camp was at 74,000 individuals, all of whom were held without trial. And that camp essentially extinguished overnight. So we had over several years of justification for maintaining people indefinitely and arbitrarily without trial, and then it literally disappears overnight. And now we have this camp, but also other places of detention in northeast Syria that remain in the hands of a non-state actor. Part of this story is the unwillingness of states of nationality to return their nationals. It is an absolute and unfair burden to place on the Syrian government the responsibility for addressing this population when their own governments will not take them back. These children are the children of multiple countries, European, North African, American, they are from all over the world. And the idea that we are more safe and more secure by locking up children with no access to health, to education, to the basic dignity in life, that that is somehow going to make us safer in the long run is a myth that should by now be well clear to everyone simply is not true. So the obligation to address what's happening in Al-Raj, of course, the territorial state has the primary obligation for the enforcement of rights. But this is a complex situation involving a non-state actor, which also has obligations as a matter of international law, and states of nationality. who must be activated to help the Syrian government solve this problem. And as we note in our report, the remedy to arbitrary detention is release. And the commission has made clear that the solution to this problem is release of persons who are arbitrarily detained, primarily children. And there's no negotiation on that as a matter of human rights law. If you are arbitrarily detained, The remedy is release, and it is crucial, both for human rights and security reasons, that the issue of Al-Rajh is dealt with speedily, and that those children have the right and the capacity to live a dignified life, something that is clearly being denied to them.


Journalist · Nick [47:28]:

But do you get the sense that anybody is going to deal with this in a speedy manner, or is it just something that's sitting in various back trays of a large festum?


COI · Commissioner · Fionnuala Ni Ahlainn [47:41]:

I mean, I would make, the Commission has made several observations. One, we've recognized and commended states who've made the decision to bring back their nationals. And there are several such states who are in process of doing so. And I think that demonstrates that it is both politically and legally possible to solve the problem. The second, I think we would note that there are multiple legal proceedings in play in multiple countries and at regional courts, which address the obligations of states and may require them to return their nationals. And the third, obviously a commission of inquiry, a human rights body, can only tell states what their human rights obligations are. There's no army standing behind the two commissioners here to enforce states' human rights obligations. But you know, when you create a precedent of mass arbitrary detention of children, then it's going to happen again. Because states, if we do not actually draw lines and implement fundamental obligations, we create precedents. And those precedents are profoundly dangerous. So we may not want our nationals back, whoever the we may be, but the consequence is that we create permission for states to hold children without trial indefinitely. The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most widely ratified treaty in the world. There's only one country that hasn't ratified it. And we have states every day in this chamber tell us how much they observe and care about children's rights. Well, these are your children. And we don't get to pick and choose which children we like, which children have rights, and which children don't have rights. All of these children have rights. And the fundamental obligations of states is to bring their children home and treat them as dignified human beings. And that is, it's human rights, but frankly, anyone who is interested in the long-term security of this region will understand that leaving children in this situation is a dire predicament for the securities that follow, because this is not a solution. This will not help bring security to this part of Syria. It will probably do the opposite. Ms.


COI · Commissioner · Monia Ammar [49:53]:

SHUKRAN Children live like others and enjoy all the rights of the child. I think it is also clear that these children do not have an identity. Many mothers of these children face many problems. The committee has been interested in this topic and has prepared a paper about the problems and challenges that these mothers face. The committee has been interested in this topic and has prepared a paper Okay, thank you very much.


Moderator [51:04]:

Do we have any more questions from the room or online? Any follow-ups? Okay, any final statements from you?


COI · Commissioner · Fionnuala Ni Ahlainn [51:14]:

We'd just like to thank our teams. Munya and I exist only by the product of the work that's done by the extraordinary staff of the Commissioner of Inquiries, so thanks.


Moderator [51:24]:

Okay, thank you, everyone. Thanks for attending this press conference, and have a good day. Thank you.