EU Statement – UN General Assembly: Debate on the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM)

 - AS DELIVERED -

Mr President,

Distinguished delegates,

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The Candidate Countries Türkiye, North Macedonia^*, Montenegro^*, Albania^*, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina^*, the potential candidate country Georgia, as well as Andorra, Monaco and San Marino align themselves with this statement.

We welcome today's important debate on the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria (IIIM) underlining the continued principled commitment by UN member states to justice for the most serious crimes committed in Syria.

We would like to thank the Head of the Mechanism, Catherine Marchi-Uhel, and her team for the latest report of the IIIM and for their leadership.  We are pleased to see the progress that the Mechanism has made in the reporting period, and the IIIM's continued efforts to engage and coordinate with all stakeholders and its willingness to assist in national investigations.  At the same time, we acknowledge that a lot of work remains to be done in this regard.

The Mechanism’s ninth report highlights the progress made to hold individuals criminally accountable for the atrocities committed in the Syrian context and to provide justice for some of the most serious crimes committed in the Syrian Arab Republic.

Prosecutions have been brought and final judgements have been obtained against perpetrators in several EU countries, and these efforts are being pursued in a number of jurisdictions. The Netherlands and Canada are engaged in an important initiative to hold Syria to account for breaching the UN Convention Against Torture. 

The EU remains convinced that accountability and justice for victims remain essential for a stable, peaceful Syria, based on a credible, inclusive and viable political solution in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254.

The EU continues to call upon the Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court.

The EU will remain at the forefront of the fight against impunity in Syria: all those responsible for war crimes or crimes against humanity must be held accountable. The EU will continue to support efforts to gather evidence into these atrocities, regardless of who may have committed them. There can be no shelter for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes under international law.

We will continue to support the IIIM, as well as the work of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry and the OPCW Investigation and Identification Team, member of the International Partnership against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons, in order to ensure the facts surrounding the crimes committed in the course of the conflict in Syria are documented, with a view to future legal action.  

It is now twelve years since peaceful protests began throughout Syria. Peaceful protests that were brutally repressed by the Assad regime, provoking a conflict, whose impact continues to this day.  Since then, the humanitarian situation in Syria has been dire, with millions of civilians in need of assistance – compounded by the devastating earthquakes of last February. 

It is crucial that the United Nations dedicates the energy and the resources required to pursue and to ensure accountability for these crimes. This is our common responsibility.

For our part, the EU is determined that the crimes perpetrated in the last twelve years will not go unpunished as the Syrian people deserve justice, dignity, and peace.

In closing, allow me to draw your attention to the Seventh Brussels Conference on supporting Syria and the region that the EU will host on 15 June in order to draw international attention to the need for a political solution to the conflict, and to generate pledges of humanitarian support for Syria and in support of Syrian refugees and their host communities in the region.  We are looking forward to welcoming the international community to this seventh Brussels conference and call on your unrelenting generosity and continued support.

We call on all States to cooperate with the IIIM.

I thank you.

* North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.