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STORY: UN / SYRIA COI
TRT: 2:30
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 09 MAY 2019, NEW YORK CITY
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, UNHQ exterior
09 MAY 2019, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, press room
3. Wide shot, dais
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chairperson, Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic:
“The current aerial and ground offensive by the Syrian Government and its allies is a serious escalation that has resulted in scores of civilian casualties, including children. Within the span of one week over 150,000 women and children, and men have been displaced. Given Idlib’s particularly vulnerable population and its location, an all-out conflict could generate an unimaginable human rights and humanitarian catastrophe, one in which the patterns of violations we have documented would very likely be amplified on a massive scale.”
5. Wide shot, journalists
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chairperson, Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic:
“The commission is particularly alarmed by the situation of children who are vulnerable to being left without a nationality. Stripping parents of their nationality will also have direct consequences on these children. Offers by states to repatriate without their mothers, moreover, may run counter to the principal of the best interest of the child.”
7. Med shot, journalist asking question
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chairperson, Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic:
“We note that several thousand detainees, mainly men and boys of fighting age including hundreds of foreign fighters from nearly 60 countries, are being held incommunicado. As we have stated in the past, incommunicado detention risks creating an environment where torture and ill-treatment can be perpetrated with impunity. We urge SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) to allow all detainees to be visited by an independent international humanitarian organization and human rights monitors.”
9. Wide shot, dais
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Hanny Megally, Member, Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic:
“Our own view is that all parties in the Syria conflict have been guilty of grave violations of human rights, war crimes, etcetera. So, it’s not that we are being soft on a particular party. We’re appalled actually that all parties have ignored international safeguards, have ignored protection of civilians for political gain or for military gain in this war that’s going on in Syria.”
11. Wide shot, press room
The International Commission of Inquiry on Syria said an all-out conflict in Idlib “could generate an unimaginable human rights and humanitarian catastrophe.”
Speaking to reporters in New York today (09 May), the Commission’s chairperson Paulo Pinheiro expressed his concern over the recent military escalation in Idlib and northern Hama. He said since the bringing of the year, the Commission of Inquiry (COI) had investigated deadly attacks by the Syrian Government and its allies, which impacted medical facilities, markets, schools, and other civilian infrastructure. He added that the Commission also investigated shelling by armed groups, including Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, which resulted in scores of deaths and injuries.
SOUNDBITE (English) Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chairperson, Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic:
“The current aerial and ground offensive by the Syrian Government and its allies is a serious escalation that has resulted in scores of civilian casualties, including children. Within the span of one week over 150,000 women and children, and men have been displaced. Given Idlib’s particularly vulnerable population and its location, an all-out conflict could generate an unimaginable human rights and humanitarian catastrophe, one in which the patterns of violations we have documented would very likely be amplified on a massive scale.”
Pinheiro also expressed concern over the situation of some 73,000 people in Al Hol camp, mostly women and children, 15 percent of which are foreign nationals. He noted that many of their countries of origin were refusing to repatriate them and some sought to strip them of their nationalities.
SOUNDBITE (English) Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chairperson, Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic:
“The commission is particularly alarmed by the situation of children who are vulnerable to being left without a nationality. Stripping parents of their nationality will also have direct consequences on these children. Offers by states to repatriate without their mothers, moreover, may run counter to the principal of the best interest of the child.”
Pinheiro reminded States that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states clearly that no person shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter their country of origin. He stressed that States should at least respect their nationals’ right to a hearing and an appeal before stripping them of their citizenships.
Pinheiro also noted that several thousand detainees, “mainly men and boys of fighting age including hundreds of foreign fighters from nearly 60 countries, are being held incommunicado” by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). He underscored that incommunicado detention “risks creating an environment where torture and ill-treatment can be perpetrated with impunity.” He urged the SDF to “allow all detainees to be visited by an independent international humanitarian organization and human rights monitors.”
Responding to a question, COI Member Hanny Megally said the Commission could not yet attribute responsibility for particular attacks in Idlib and as such preferred to use the broader term ‘Syria and its allies’ but noted that Russian and Syrian jets controlled the skies. He said, “Our own view is that all parties in the Syria conflict have been guilty of grave violations of human rights, war crimes, etcetera. So, it’s not that we are being soft on a particular party. We’re appalled actually that all parties have ignored international safeguards, have ignored protection of civilians for political gain or for military gain in this war that’s going on in Syria.”
