Damascus has so far failed to meet its pledge to respect the rights of detainees, members of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria said on Wednesday after spending early July speaking with victims, government officials and civil society groups.
The members, who visited Homs and Quneitra, said that while there was “Welcomed progress” on ensuring transitional justice with the trials of those allegedly involved in the rights violations committed during the Assad regime, there were still notable failings to bring Syria’s criminal code into line with international standards.
Despite Damascus’s pledge, the members noted that families still struggle to find relatives held in custody and many detainees face long periods of detention without judicial review.
In one detention in the Roj camp, a detention center in northeastern Syria for those affiliated with ISIS, more than six in 10 of those held are children, the UN release noted, calling on countries to repatriate their nationals and free those held “arbitrarily.”
The members also pressed Damascus on the fate of the roughly 3,500 Syrians, including children, reportedly transferred to Iraq in January. Human Rights Watch at the time reported that those transferred were at risk of enforced disappearance, unfair trials, torture, ill-treatment, and violations of the right to life.
Investigators denied access to Syrian detention facilities
The investigators also noted that the whereabouts of 800 fighters, mostly those from the formerly US-backed Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces captured by the Syrian Arab Army in Hassakeh, are still unknown.
Notably, the investigators were denied access to detention facilities in Raqqa and Hassakeh, despite being allowed access to some in other locations.
Additionally, there have been barriers placed, particularly among households led by women, for families to reclaim their properties seized by Damascus during the conflict.
Concerns were also voiced on the growing issue of vigilante attacks in Homs, where individuals accused of having served the Assad regime have been attacked without a fair trial. The investigators urged that all calls for killings and attacks be properly investigated by Damascus.