Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, in his report noted that the Syrian conflict was in its sixth year. Mr Pinheiro’s Report outlined how the actions of all parties had wreaked havoc on the Syrian mosaic. Aerial bombardment had resulted in the destruction of ‘the structures of civilian life-houses, business, schools, parks, markets, and hospitals among them’. There were attacks on medical care, education, and public spaces, cutting of electricity and water and the wanton destruction of cultural heritage. The very conditions responsible for the ‘basic conditions of life’ were being destroyed. Hand in hand with this physical destruction was a destruction of the social fabric of Syria with deliberate and targeted attacks on religious groupings including Sunnis by the government and Alawaites, Yazidis, Shias and Kurds by Daesh and Jabhat Al Nusra.
It is in the middle of this war on the social fabric of Syria that the deliberate and targeted killing of sexual minorities needs to be located.
The Report noted that
Civilians have been deliberately killed in attacks where the belligerents have conflated a community’s ethnic and/or religious backgrounds and its perceived political loyalties. In some cases, there has been intentional targeting of various ethnic, religious and professional communities, as well as sexual minorities. The backing of external actors, including foreign fighters on all sides, has exacerbated ethno-sectarian tensions on the ground.
ISIS continues to target sexual minorities for execution. In August, the terrorist group released a video showing two men being thrown from a building in Tadmur as punishment for allegedly committing homosexual acts.
In September, fighters from Jabhat al-Nusra and anti-government armed groups executed seven men in Rastan city (Homs) on accusations of homosexuality. An unauthorized court, functioning on behalf of all armed groups from the area, ordered the executions.
Mr. Pinheiro in the interactive dialogue noted that five long years had passed since the war in Syria started, with the toll of victims going far beyond anything imagined. There were more than five million Syrian refugees, and hundreds of thousands of children who belonged to a “lost generation”. The ongoing political dialogue must encompass a discussion on transitional justice options. The Commission strongly supported credible proceedings to fight impunity.
The relentless efforts of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria and the International Syria Support Group had resulted in the most comprehensive cessation of hostilities to date as part of the Munich agreement. This had led to a significant decrease of armed violence, and to a return to normalcy in large parts of the country. The cessation of hostilities had also created the conditions to move forward with the next round of the Geneva talks, paving the way for the implementation of Security Council resolutions 2254 and 2258. The Commission also joined its voice to resolution 2268 stressing the urgency for all parties to work constructively and in good faith towards political transition.
The shift (from the time of the previous report of the Commission) which is visible in the statement of Mr. Pinheiro is that the conversation has shifted to the possibility of the ceasefire holding and there being set in motion a process which would make accountable those responsible for these horrific violations.
Czech Republic reiterated the role of the International Criminal Court in holding accountable those responsible for flagrant violations and abuses of human rights.
Netherlands said that the current cessation of hostilities presented a glimmer of hope, adding that all parties had to provide humanitarian access and release detainees, particularly women and children. The Commission was asked how accountability could be enhanced alongside the Geneva process.
Ireland said the work of the Commission had been the principal instrument for recording the multiple atrocities inflicted on the Syrian population for the five years that the conflict had endured. Ireland reiterated its call for the referral of the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court, and urged the Security Council to fulfill its duties to uphold international law under the Charter of the United Nations.
Allied Rainbow Communities International, in a joint statement with MantiQitna, said that the report had demonstrated how extremist groups such as Daesh and the Jabhat al-Nusra systematically aimed to eliminate the very existence of many diverse groups, including lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, and intersex persons. The atrocities committed by Daesh and al-Nusra or other factions must not divert attention from the multiple discriminations Syrians experience in the countries where they seek refuge or apply for asylum. Many LGBTIQ persons constantly speak of, but cannot properly report, physical and verbal violence as well as more subtle forms of discrimination, be it at workplaces, hospitals, police stations or other venues. The cooperation of the countries where LGBTIQ populations seek asylum as well as the countries of resettlement is thus key to ensuring that the creation of “protection space for asylum-seekers and refugees” goes beyond the resettlement scheme into ensuring that they have access to full rights as guaranteed by international law. The UNHCR as well as states were urged to understand the specificity of the violations that LGBTIQ Syrians refugees face and to address them in a sensitive and timely manner thereby ensuring that their rights are protected.
Alliance Defending Freedom said that religious minorities had been targeted specifically on the grounds of their actual or perceived religion by “ISIS/Daesh” with intent to destroy the groups in whole or in part. Those atrocities amounted to genocide under Article II of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
Since the conversation around Syria has shifted towards the question of accountability for crimes committed, it is vital that the targeted killing of LGBTI persons and violence inflicted on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity be expressly articulated in any mechanism for accountability, which tries the crimes committed by all parties in Syria.