Ambassador Ala: Reports of int’l commission of inquiry on situation in Syria biased

Syria’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Ambassador Hussam Eddin Ala stressed Syria’s rejection of the biased and unilateral approach of the international commission of inquiry’s reports in terms of its politicized tackling of the situation in Syria.

In a speech delivered at the 39th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva about the report of the international commission of inquiry on the situation in Syria, Ambassador Ala said on Monday that the proposed report marks a new precedent in the adoption of double standards blatantly in the commission’s investigations and conflates political assessment with professional work as it is also replete with false figures and information, illogical judgments and accusations in contrast to its presentation of the results of the commission’s investigations carried out away from scenes of events.

“In this context, the Syrian Arab Republic deplores the politicized report’s approach to the war crimes and violations of international law committed by the Turkish regime and its mercenaries in northern Syrian and the crimes of the illegal US-led international coalition forces, its allies and mercenaries in northeastern Syria,” said the Ambassador.

The Ambassador pointed out that the crimes of the Turkish invading forces and mercenaries covered by the report in Afrin area are violations of international humanitarian law and war crimes, but the report seems confined to political narratives and evades legal designation and assigning blame, instead marketing the Turkish justifications that violate international law and UN Charter and goes as far as adopting the Turkish justifications.

The Ambassador explained that this approach is similar to the policy of manipulation characterizing the commission’s reports which ignore war crimes committed by the US-led illegal international coalition on the Syrian territory which destroyed the city of Raqqa amid the silence of the commission.

“The Syrian Arab Republic deplores the reports of the commission regarding the deliberate targeting of populated areas and their attempts to justify the deliberate premeditated shelling of residential neighborhoods in Damascus by terrorist groups, and calls upon it to stop relying on the accounts of biased parties and governments hostile to the Syrian government,” the Ambassador said.

He added that Damascus is surprised at the insistence of the authors of the committee ‘s reports on accusing the Syrian government of not taking the necessary precautions to protect civilians while the Syrian government has worked to establish arrangements for calm and cessation of hostilities, preferring the option of national reconciliation and giving the militants the opportunity to lay down their arms and settle their status in order to preserve civilians’ lives in the areas of their presence.

“The government of the Syrian Arab Republic has repeatedly affirmed its commitment to the rules of international humanitarian law in all operations carried out by the Syrian armed forces and has taken all possible measures to protect civilians during the liberation of their areas from the domination of armed terrorist groups in Eastern Ghouta, southern Syria and other areas,” the Ambassador said.

Commenting on the situation in Idleb, the Ambassador said that the Syrian state is determined to liberate it from Jabhat al-Nusra, which is classified as a terrorist entity by the UN Security Council and its affiliated organizations, and to restore the authority of the state in response to the calls of the Syrian people, who demand the state to intervene to protect them from terrorist crimes.

He said that in contrary to the campaign of distortion promoted by some countries supporting terrorism and some UN staff, the protection of civilians is at the core of the Syrian government’s keenness to adopt the approach of reconciliations and make all necessary preparations to provide safe corridors and provide civilians with basic needs in cooperation with UN humanitarian agencies.

The Ambassador continued as saying that the Syrian Arab Republic has repeatedly asserted that it does not possess chemical weapons and condemns the use of chemical weapons in any place or any time and under any pretext and consider using it an an unethical act.

“Damascus categorically denies in this context the allegations made by the authors of the report on the responsibility of the Syrian government for the use of chemical weapons and deplores commission’s continued promotion of unjust accusations,” he added.

He stressed that the Syrian Arab Republic is keen on the return of all its citizens who have been forced by the conditions created by terrorism and unilateral coercive measures away from their homeland as it is committed to provide facilitations for their return with dignity to their country.

He concluded the statement by saying “the committee churning reports in a manner that is at odds with the principles of neutrality and objectivity and its insistence on politicizing its accusations in a way that distorts facts and adopts the directives of the parties and the sponsors of terrorism does not contribute to the promotion of a political settlement climate. Rather, it encourages terrorist groups and sponsors to continue their crimes and prolong the war.”