Author: sldp admin

We, a group of Syrian human rights, humanitarian and civil society organisations, associations and groups of victims and their families, and witnesses and survivors of chemical attacks in Syria.

Stemming from:

1. Having been directly exposed to deadly weapons that cause severe and long-term damage and suffering and dealing with their consequences on the ground and in international fora. We have responded, documented, advocated, litigated, and supported healing in possible cases;

2. Our belief that the continued impunity for chemical attacks undermines the absolute prohibition of chemical weapons and the deterrent effect of accountability. This increases the likelihood of future use, and destabilizes the international system and trust in the international organisations established to protect international peace and security.

And based on:

3. The prohibition of the use of chemical weapons under customary international law and international conventions;

4. The unprecedented and repeated violations of this universal norm in the Syrian conflict;

5. The accumulation of incontrovertible evidence collected by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) indicating the responsibility of the Syrian authorities for nine attacks and the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham for two attacks;

6. The existence of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism established by the international community to collect and build on such evidence, in the absence of the jurisdiction of any international criminal court that can adjudicate the matter;

7. The inability of the International Criminal Court to rule on this flagrant violation of international law because Syria is not a signatory to the law establishing the Court, and the attempt made by the United Nations Security Council to refer the case to the ICC having been vetoed in 2014;

8. The ability of states within their sovereign rights to collectively hold to account perpetrators, and the existence of relevant international conventions that support and encourage this;

9. The rigor of international resolutions from the United Nations Security Council and the United Nations General Assembly in the context of holding all individuals, entities and governments accountable for the use of chemical weapons, especially United Nations Security Council resolutions 2118, 2209, 2235, 2314, 2319 and General Assembly resolutions 68/182 (2013), 70/41 (2015), 71/69 (2016), 72/43 (2017), 182/73 (2018), 40/74 (2019), 169/74 (2019), 228/76 (2021).

Having since the first use of chemical weapons in Syria, as groups collectively and individually, taken the following steps:

10. Advocated towards holding all individuals or parties accountable for the use of chemical weapons;

11. Despite the legal, administrative and psychological difficulties experienced by the victims of chemical attacks, put intensive efforts into domestic courts using the principle of universal jurisdiction or other local laws that support the fight against impunity for war crimes and crimes against humanity, in countries hosting Syrian refugees, including those who have survived chemical attacks, one of which led to the issuance of arrest warrants for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher and two other senior officers before the French courts, which is an historical judicial precedent that deserves praise for the efforts and courage of victims and witnesses;

12. Initiated in-depth studies and discussions on what can be done to address the impunity gap at the international level, and advanced legal solutions that seek to overcome this situation;

13. Drafted a proposal for the establishment of an international tribunal, with the aim of realizing criminal accountability for established cases of chemical weapons use, which are not able to be tried by the ICC – a circumstance which applies to the Syrian case;

14. Conducted intensive consultations at the level of legal experts, government representatives at technical and political levels, and with relevant international institutions on this proposal to ensure supportive legal and policy grounds.

Based on the above, we come together on 30 November, the International Day of Remembrance of all Victims of Chemical Warfare:

To call on states to establish an Exceptional Chemical Weapons Tribunal for internationally prosecuting the use of chemical weapons where there is no recourse to existing judicial criminal fora, as in Syria.

For details visit:www.cwtribunal.org

CONFERENCE STATEMENT

November 23, 2023

Since the Syrian Arab Republic, represented by the Regime, ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) a decade ago, Syria has witnessed a series of abhorrent violations of the CWC. Since September 2013, more than 217 attacks using toxic gasses have been documented in Syria.1 Simultaneously, the regime has continued to develop chemical arsenals in Syria, in a flagrant violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2118 and a clear and fundamental violation of the CWC.

In light of the persistence of chemical weapon attacks, we, the Syrian civil society organizations, have borne the burden and toll of responding to the attacks in a context characterized by a lack of specialized expertise and equipment, and pre-existing vulnerabilities and a lack of infrastructure due to the impact of the war. In addition, the Syrian regime’s systematic siege on several cities, such as Eastern and Western Ghouta and the city of Aleppo, severely hampered organizations’ ability to respond to the attacks that occurred there.

Despite all this, over the past ten years, Syrian civil society organizations and survivors and victims groups played an essential role in cooperating with the various international investigative and documentation teams that investigated chemical attacks in Syria. We greatly appreciate the efforts of the OPCW investigation teams over the past ten years, despite the obstacles they have faced. We also strongly condemn the Syrian regime’s continued use of toxic gasses, development of the chemical arsenal, and obstruction of the work of international investigative teams including attempts to mislead investigators and prevent their access to targeted sites. The regime’s strategy also involved intimidating witnesses, destroying evidence and obscuring facts. The Regime also continues to shelter behind Russia’s continued diplomatic efforts to obstruct the course of justice, including a campaign to undermine the credibility of the OPCW and the investigative reports issued by its various teams.

As witnesses, survivors, families of victims and first responders, we have faced many challenges including disinformation and propaganda campaigns by the Syrian regime and its Russian ally, with the aim of undermining the truth and preventing witnesses and survivors from testifying, as well as the direct targeting of witnesses and victims’ families through systematic enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, and threats of violence or death. Some of these practices were clearly mentioned in the third report of the OPCW Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) concerning the Douma attack issued in January 2023.

Therefore, we reiterate our determination to exert all possible efforts to support investigations into the use of chemical weapons in Syria, and call to expand the investigative teams’ mandate and mechanisms to include the investigation of chemical attacks in additional locations throughout Syria. We also welcome the efforts made by the judicial bodies of several European countries to address individual cases of the use of chemical weapons through universal jurisdiction, and we call on the OPCW Member States to take the necessary measures to provide protection and support to witnesses, survivors, families of victims and Syrian civil society organizations, who play an important role in the response and documentation of these attacks.

We also stress that the only guarantee for a complete end to these violations and to prevent their recurrence around the world is to take joint and collective steps to hold accountable all parties that contributed both directly and indirectly to the ongoing violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention and other relevant international resolutions. As such, we call on OPCW Member States to take comprehensive, joint measures, in accordance with Article 12 of the CWC, to establish an international mechanism which can deliver justice for victims and their families and hold accountable all parties involved in the use of chemical weapons against civilians, and to end impunity for the use of chemical weapons.

The undersigned organizations stress the following:

1. States Parties should prioritize addressing the use of chemical weapons in Syria within UN and OPCW- related activities: lack of progress and compliance with OPCW Declaration from the Syrian authorities warrants further and increased scrutiny and accountability

The continued impunity for the use of chemical weapons in Syria and the lack of compliance of the Syrian government with its initial OPCW Declaration is a threat to the stability of any future peace for Syrians amidst Syria’s frozen conflict and undermines the international norms prohibiting their use. The lack of progress in addressing outstanding issues of the initial OPCW Declaration by the Syrian government and ongoing concealment of the truth warrants further and increased scrutiny, not the other way around.

2. State Parties should increase support for Syrian civil society’s documentation, accountability-driven activities and first response capacity, in a sustainable and long-term manner

Ten years since the first chemical attack in Syria, UN-affiliated and OPCW-established bodies have made important efforts to investigate violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention. These results relied heavily on efforts of Syrian civil society organizations, who have played an essential role in documenting multiple chemical attacks, collecting evidence and cooperating extensively with existing investigative processes. Over the past decade, Syrian humanitarian and medical CSOs have also invested in organizational readiness to respond to chemical attacks, despite the very difficult conditions.

3. State Parties should render illegitimate the Syrian authorities’ narrative on the use of chemical weapons in Syria, and take adequate actions to ensure this narrative is not perpetuated at the expense of survivors and victims

Although there is a trove of evidence of chemical weapons use, ongoing misinformation and denial campaigns have managed to distort the facts, endanger people’s lives and cause new, compounded suffering to the victims, amounting to a form of inhuman, degrading or cruel treatment. State Parties should refuse to give further space and attention to these revisionist attempts and take action to condemn denial and disinformation given its impact on victims and survivors. Most importantly, they should support ongoing and future efforts aimed at acknowledging and recognizing victims and survivors’ experiences and truth.

4. States Parties should ensure the full implementation of UNSC Resolution 2118 of 2013

Deeply outraged by the use of chemical weapons in Damascus in August 2013, the UNSC endorsed the expeditious destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons programme, calling for accountability for perpetrators of these atrocious crimes. Instead of leading to the end of the use of chemical weapons, the resolution resulted being only one of (too) many resolutions condemning the use of chemical weapons in Syria. After a decade from the first use of chemical weapons in Syria, time is due for serious state parties to take all actions needed to deliver on the 2118 UNSC Resolution, and the many UNSC and UNGA resolutions that the International Community have adopted calling for accountability for the use of chemical weapons, in accordance with the UN Charter.

5. In accordance with Article 12(3) of the Convention on Chemical Weapons, State Parties should take collective measures in response to the use of chemical weapons in Syria through the Conference of State Parties

Through the use of chemical weapons in Syria, the Syrian government has committed activities prohibited under the Chemical Weapons Convention. Ongoing impunity results in serious damage to the object and purpose of the Convention, originally intended to enforce the absolute prohibition of the use of Chemical Weapons and accountability for acts or omissions resulting in violations of the Convention. To avoid any further irreparable damage to the purpose of the Convention, State Parties should enforce Article 12(3) and undertake collective measures, in conformity with States’ obligations under international law.

6. State Parties should enforce the international arrest warrants issued by France for Bashar al-Assad, Maher al-Assad, and military generals Ghassan Abbas and Bassam al-Hassan over the use of banned chemical weapons

On November 15th, French criminal investigative judges issued arrest warrants for President Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad, and two other senior officials over the use of chemical weapons against civilians in Eastern Ghouta, in August 2013. The arrest warrants refer to the legal qualifications of complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes. State Parties should enforce the arrest warrants in accordance with the obligation to prosecute or extradite in accordance with Customary International Law in relation to alleged crimes against humanity.

7. In light of relevant UNSC and GA resolutions calling for accountability, and within the rights and obligations inherent in their Statehood and international instruments, States should collectively take active steps to ensure the international prosecution of all individuals responsible for the use of Chemical Weapons in Syria, and beyond.

Syrian civil society has relentlessly dedicated efforts to hold all individual perpetrators for use of chemical weapons in Syria. However, the need for justice of victims and survivors is greater than the capacity of existing mechanisms. There is the need for an international tool to hold all individuals accountable as confirmed by findings of the OPCW. Syrian civil society calls for collective multilateral efforts in which States, seriously committed to protecting the norm of absolute prohibition for the use of chemical weapons, find ways to prosecute the use of CW at the international level.

(1) Accountability Remains Absent on the Sixth Anniversary of the Worlds Largest Chemical Weapons Attack
Since The Chemical Weapons Convention, The Syrian Network for Human Rights, August 21, 2019, https://snhr.org/wpcontent/pdf/english/Accounting_remains_absent_on_the_sixth_anniversary_of_the_worlds_largest_chemical
_weapons_attack_after_the_Chemical_Weapons_Convention_en.pdf)

On the 10th anniversary of the 2013 chemical attacks on Ghouta in Syria, and in calling for accountability for ongoing war crimes in Ukraine emboldened by the impunity for past and ongoing crimes in Syria, a group of Syrian civil society representatives visited Kyiv for a series of high-level official meetings and discussions with civil society leaders that concluded with an engagement at the Third Summit of the Crimea Platform with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Members of the delegation:
• Attended the Third Summit of the Crimea Platform, where representatives of states from across the world, including heads of states, delivered messages of solidarity with Ukraine. Members of the delegation engaged with President Zelensky at the Summit, delivering a message of solidarity for the fight against
impunity in Ukraine and Syria. They affirmed that the free people of Syria stand against crimes committed in Ukraine and stand with its people, contrary to the Syrian regime’s support to Russia. The delegation presented President Zelensky with two gifts. The first symbolises forced displacement and the use of
chemical weapons in Syria using the colors of Ukrainian flag, which was hand made in Syria by artist and chemical weapons survivor, Akram Abo Alfoz. The second is a helmet of a fallen volunteer from the White Helmets who was killed in Syria, representing the sacrifice of Syrian heroes in the face of war crimes
committed by the Syrian regime in its Russian allies.

• Had an official meeting with Prosecutor General, Andriy Kostin, and his team responsible for different war crimes, international collaboration, and victims. Mr Kostin delivered strong messages of solidarity and recognition of the chemical attack. All members of the Syrian delegation shared their messages with Mr Kostin, expressing unwavering solidarity with Ukraine’s fight against impunity for crimes committed by Russia, by showcasing Russia’s propensity to commit such crimes as a policy using its actions in Syria as damning evidence. Technical and advocacy collaboration methods were discussed. The delegation presented Mr Kostin with a symbolic gift from Syria.

• Met with Tamila Tasheva, Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Ukraine, and Maria Tomak, the Head of the Crimea Platform Department. The meeting reasserted the solidarity between the two people and the call for freedom from authoritarian regimes.

• Met with Oleksandra Matviichuk,head of the 2022 Nobel Laureate Center for Civil Liberties. The delegation discussed efforts of civil society organisation in pursuing justice and accountability for both countries.

• Visited the large graveyard in the church of Bucha and met with the Father Andriy. The delegation paid tribute for the victims of the massacre that was committed by the Russian army in Bucha which led to the killing of around 458 civilians in February 2022. Father Andriy expressed his gratitude for the visit, recalling that Syrians know well what Ukrainians are going through.

• Visited the relocated Mariupol hospital in Kyiv. The doctors of this hospital miraculously escaped the occupation in Mariupol which had experienced the systematic attacks by Russian air and land forces. As kind of resistance this hospital was re-established in Kyiv to until they will be able to go back home. Doctors and members of the Syrian delegation who were subjected to the same Russian policy, and who advocate against the bombing of hospitals, stood with them side by side.

• Had a heartfelt exchange with families of forcibly disappeared persons and political prisoners kidnapped and detained by Russia. During which, personal experiences and learned lessons from Syria and Ukraine were shared as a basis for a joint solidarity campaign demanding justice for all political detainees around the world.

• Met with leading and award-winning Ukrainian Journalist Nataliya Gumenyuk from The Reckoning Project and Public Interest Journalist Lab. Ms Gumenyuk previously covered the Arab Spring, including the fall of Aleppo. The delegation exchanged views on building public solidarity between Syrians and Ukrainians. The delegation presented Ms Gumenyuk with a token of appreciation from Syria for her efforts in supporting the trip.

• Visited the Independence Square of Kyiv, which was a key location for Ukrainian’s resistance against past authoritarian regimes. The delegation renewed its commitment to continue the fight towards a democratic Syria, premised on the rule of law and human rights.

Raed Al Saleh, the head of the White Helmets, said: “Since its intervention in Syria to support the Assad regime, Russia has continued to violate the rules of international humanitarian law, targeting infrastructure and humanitarian workers, employing a policy of collective punishment, destroying and besieging cities, and pursuing a policy of disinformation. These brutal tactics are now being applied in Ukraine. Justice must be pursued with such insistent and unwavering determination that no dictator or nation believes they can escape consequences for committing atrocities and abuses without accountability.”

Taher Hijazi, a human rights defender and recipient of the Marianne award for human rights who survived and documented chemical attacks in Syria said: “Ten years ago, I was responding to and documenting the evidence of the Russian-supported chemical attack in Ghouta. Today, I am here to back the foremost efforts of our Ukrainian colleagues in holding Russia accountable for its continuous war crimes.”

Waad AlKateab, an award-winning Syrian film maker, said: “I’ve been documenting attacks on hospitals and health workers, which has been a Russian military strategy in Syria to destroy the resilience of the entire community; and the same strategy is being repeatedly used in Ukraine. We are here to prove that they have not won in breaking our will, and they won’t. We are here to keep fighting for justice and accountability”.

Fadel Abdlhgani, the head of the Syrian Human Rights Network, said: “In this visit, I handed a list of more than seven thousand of Syrian victims killed by Russian military. We are here to honour them and all Ukrainian victims through our support to the Ukrainians in their accountability efforts against Russia war crimes. Holding perpetrators accountable requires us to join efforts for justice.”

Afraa Hashem, campaigner at The Syria Campaign and a displaced activist from eastern Aleppo, said: “I am a human rights defender who was forcibly displaced with my 3 kids by the Syrian regime and its Russian allies. This crime, which I will never overcome its consequences, was presented by Russia as a process of humanitarian evacuation, when in fact it was one of their war tactics to control my city. I am here to support the Ukrainian families in their fight to reach justice and live safely in their homes.”

The visit was Syrian initiated, led, and funded. It was organised by Madaniya and the Syrian British Consortium at the initiative of Syrian British lawyer Ibrahim Olabi. It was made possible with the support of the White Helmets, the Syrian Network for Human Rights, the Syrian Legal Development Programme, the American Coalition for Syria, the Syria Campaign, the Syrian British Medical Society, Action for Sama, the Association of Victims of Chemical Weapons in Syria, and Don’t Suffocate the Truth Campaign. It was facilitated by kind support of the Office of the Prosecutor General Official Protocol in Ukraine and with the assistance of The Reckoning Project: Ukraine Testifies.

LIST OF DELEGATION

• Abdulkarim Ekzayez: Health system and health security specialist at King’s College London. He is the general secretary of the Syrian British Medical Society and the deputy chair of the Syrian Public Health Network. He established some of the first field hospitals in northern Syria where he witnessed attacks on hospitals.

• Afraa Hashim: Activist and human rights defender. Campaigner with the Rights group, The Syria Campaign, and a board member of Don’t Suffocate the Truth; an advocacy campaign for combating the denial of chemical attacks in Syria.

• Amneh Khoulani: Human rights defender, vice chair of Madaniya and co-founder of Families for Freedom. She is a recipient of International Women of Courage Award by the US Secretary of State.

• Fadel Abdulghani: Chair of the Syrian Network of Human Rights (SNHR). SNHR’s documentation is referenced in many state’s country reports and rigorously documented Russian abuses in Syria.

• Haytham Alhamwi: Chair of the Syrian British Consortium; a UK-based award-winning Syrian-led group advocating for democracy and accountability, including in relation to Russian war crimes in Syria. The SBC engages regularly with head of states and foreign ministers.

• Ibrahim Olabi (Head of Delegation): Chair of the Syrian Legal Development Programme and a board member of Madaniya and the Syrian British Consortium. He is the Chief Legal Counsel of The Reckoning Project: Ukraine Testifies, and a Barrister at Guernica 37.

• Mazen Gharibah: Executive Director of the award-winning Syrian British Consortium. He is a researcher at London School of Economics and a member of the UN-backed Syrian Constitutional Committee representing the civil society.

• Raed Al-Saleh: Head of the Syria Civil Defense (The White Helmets); A humanitarian organisation dedicated to helping communities in Syria, with more than 3,000 volunteers working to rescue civilians, provide essential services, help civilians settle down, and seek justice for them.

• Salim Namour: Forcibly displaced surgeon from Ghouta, and a survivor and documenter of its chemical attacks. He is the chief of the Association of Victims of Chemical Weapons in Syria. He was also the founder of the Cave Hospital and the Health Directorate in Ghouta.

• Sawsan Abou Zainedin: Chief Executive Officer of Madaniya; an umbrella of over 200 Syrian civil society organisations working across all sectors and geographies, inside Syria and in diaspora. Madaniya is aimed at enhancing the political agency of the Syrian civic space.

• Taher Hijazi: An award-winning human rights defender who received the Marianne award for human rights. He survived and documented the sarin gas attacks in 2013 and chlorine gas attacks in 2018 on Ghouta and co-founded the Association of Victims of Chemical Weapons in Syria.

• Waad AlKateab, A Syrian activist and filmmaker. Her first documentary, For Sama, received worldwide critical acclaim, winning numerous awards, including best Documentary at the BAFTAs and an OSCAR nomination at the 2020 Academy Awards. She was listed in the 2020 Time100 List of Most Influential People.

• Zaki Lababidi M.D., Chair of Foreign Affairs at the Syrian American Council; the largest Syrian American grassroots organisation in the U.S. and a board member of the American Coalition for Syria. Dr. Lababidi leads the organisation’s relations with regional partners and counterparts.