Independent Int’l Commission of Inquiry: Syria Still Unsafe for Return of Refugees

Members of the regime's army load a cannon on one of the northern fronts (Reuters)
Members of the regime's army load a cannon on one of the northern fronts (Reuters)
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Independent Int’l Commission of Inquiry: Syria Still Unsafe for Return of Refugees

Members of the regime's army load a cannon on one of the northern fronts (Reuters)
Members of the regime's army load a cannon on one of the northern fronts (Reuters)

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria released its twenty-sixth report on Wednesday, with the commission submitting the report to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) on September 22.

The report documents serious violations of fundamental human rights and international humanitarian law across Syria.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) has reviewed the 50-page report, and the following is a summary of the main points the report addressed.

The report addressed the persistent nature of various forms of violations by the parties to the conflict and controlling forces in Syria.

It described the current year 2022 as the worst since the outbreak of the popular uprising in terms of the economic and humanitarian situation, indicating that about 14.6 million people are currently in need of humanitarian assistance.

The report noted that insecurity continues to plague all areas under the Syrian regime’s control, further revealing that the regime security forces and affiliated local and foreign militias who control checkpoints and detention centers abuse their powers, and extort money from citizens.

The report also stressed the continuation of arbitrary arrests, forced disappearances and death due to torture against citizens, including refugees and displaced persons returning to areas controlled by the Syrian regime.

It also touched on other types of violations that are reportedly obstacles to the safe, dignified and sustainable return of refugees, such as the arbitrary use of security clearances imposed by the Syrian regime with the aim of restricting freedoms, which are a prerequisite for obtaining basic property and housing rights.

In this context, the report stressed that the voluntary and safe return of the refugees must be secured and that this must not entail any physical harm or violation of their fundamental human rights.

In regard to the military operations in areas under the control of the other parties to the conflict, the report said that the Syrian regime continued to target civilians in areas of northwestern Syria, with the support of Russia.

It also referred to the observation of Russian warplanes concurrent with raids targeting civilian objects.

“At the same time, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham both intervened in public life and the provision of services, including fuel, exacerbating civilian suffering amidst widespread poverty. In formalizing restrictions that limit civic space, the group continued to arrest journalists, activists and other individuals who criticized its rule, in a discernible pattern previously identified by the Commission,” the report added.

The Commission “has reasonable grounds to believe that elements of the Syrian National Army have arbitrarily deprived persons of their liberty. Some cases have been tantamount to enforced disappearances.”

It added, “Consistent with an established pattern, elements of the Syrian National Army may have committed torture, cruel treatment and outrages upon personal dignity, including through forms of sexual violence, which constitute war crimes.”

“Nearly 58,000 individuals, including some 17,000 women and 37,000 children, remain unlawfully held in the al-Hol and Rawj camps. Humanitarian conditions in the camps have plummeted. There is no regular water supply, insufficient sanitation, lack of adequate nutrition, health care and housing.”

“There are reasonable grounds to believe that the Syrian Democratic Forces are violating the obligation to treat humanely all individuals who do not – or no longer – take part in hostilities… Democratic Forces may have perpetrated acts tantamount to enforced disappearances,” revealed the report.

The Commission called on the parties to the conflict “to respect international humanitarian law, to cease, in particular, all indiscriminate and direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects,” and “to conduct independent, impartial and credible investigations into incidents entailing civilian casualties in which their forces are implicated to ensure that those responsible for violations are held accountable and to ensure non-repetition and to make their findings public.”

The Commission stressed the need to “cease torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including sexual and gender-based violence, in all places of detention, cease all forms of incommunicado detention and other infringements on the due process of law, release those arbitrarily detained and ensure that perpetrators of such violations are held accountable through fair trials.”

It further demanded to cease “all enforced disappearances and take all feasible measures, in line with Security Council resolution 2474 (2019), to locate all those detained and/or disappeared, establish their fate or whereabouts and ensure communication with their families.”

For its part, the SNHR welcomed the report’s outcomes and recommendations.



War Shakes Middle East Airports, Passengers Held Hostage

Passengers wait at Beirut airport amid disruptions caused by Israeli-Iranian conflict (EPA)
Passengers wait at Beirut airport amid disruptions caused by Israeli-Iranian conflict (EPA)
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War Shakes Middle East Airports, Passengers Held Hostage

Passengers wait at Beirut airport amid disruptions caused by Israeli-Iranian conflict (EPA)
Passengers wait at Beirut airport amid disruptions caused by Israeli-Iranian conflict (EPA)

The Israeli-Iranian war has severely disrupted air traffic across the Middle East, causing widespread airport closures and forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights.

Travelers have been left stranded or forced to reroute their journeys amid altered takeoff and landing schedules, with many airports affected by military use of their airspace by both Tel Aviv and Tehran for warplanes, missiles, and drones.

Thousands of passengers have had to substitute flights with land or sea travel to avoid danger or endure long waits for alternate air transport.

Since the Israeli airstrikes on Iran that began in the early hours of last Friday, followed by Iran’s retaliatory drone and missile attacks, the airspace over Israel, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq has been closed.

Aviation sources reported that more than 650 flights bound for Europe were canceled. Gulf and European carriers have suspended flights to countries caught in the conflict zone.

Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that airlines are now using safer flight routes, deliberately avoiding Iraqi, Syrian, Jordanian, and Lebanese airspace, as well as the fully closed skies of Israel and Iran.

Some carriers operating emergency flights to Beirut, Amman, and Egypt are following strict safety protocols.

Flights departing Beirut airport are routed westward over the Mediterranean Sea toward Cyprus and then Greece, before continuing to Europe or the Gulf, deliberately avoiding Lebanese, Syrian, and Iraqi airspace—a sharp contrast to pre-conflict routes.

Several Arab and European airlines, including Emirates, flydubai, Etihad, Air France, Transavia, Lufthansa, Ethiopian Airlines, Turkish Airlines, and Pegasus, continue to suspend flights to the region. The disruption has hit operations at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport, which experienced chaos in the initial days of the war and widespread passenger panic.

However, the airport has since begun stabilizing. Amin Jaber, Director General of Civil Aviation at Rafic Hariri Airport, said the facility “has overcome the initial disruption quickly by implementing swift solutions for stranded travelers.”

He added that a newly formed crisis management committee is closely monitoring risks hour by hour to keep flights clear of security threats.

Jaber confirmed that the conflict “has forced the crisis committee to adopt multiple flight paths for arrivals and departures at Rafic Hariri Airport.”

“Due to security concerns, we rely on the western runway, which is the safest, and use Cypriot airspace to steer aircraft away from missile threats. Whenever missile launches are detected, Lebanese airspace is immediately closed to all flights,” Jaber added.

The disruptions seen at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport mirror the wider chaos across the region’s airports. Jaber said all airlines operating arrivals and departures at Beirut have comprehensive risk assessments in place.

Beirut airport experienced significant turmoil during the first two days of the conflict, with hundreds of passengers forced to wait indefinitely after numerous flight cancellations and schedule changes.

Many opted to leave the airport and return to the city amid the uncertainty. Jaber noted that conditions have since improved both at Beirut and other airports that have partially suspended operations.

Before any civilian aircraft takes off or lands, airport authorities and airlines ensure no immediate threats jeopardize the safety of planes or passengers.

Former Middle East Airlines (MEA) pilot Mohammad Aziz told Asharq Al-Awsat that flight safety responsibility rests not with pilots alone, but with the risk assessment committees, civil aviation authorities, airport management, and air traffic control towers guiding pilots during flight.

Aziz revealed that planes are equipped with large fuel reserves allowing extended flight time to accommodate emergencies requiring route changes or longer airborne holding patterns.

Currently serving as a safety and security advisor to MEA’s chairman, Captain Aziz highlighted that Rafic Hariri Airport is among the least vulnerable to missile threats because its flight paths are directed west and north. He warned, however, that the greatest danger lies in flights over Syrian territory.

“Despite this,” Aziz said, “Beirut airport management exercises the utmost caution. The control tower and airport authorities remain on high alert, maintaining constant communication with pilots to reroute or divert flights to alternate airports if evolving conditions threaten aircraft and passengers.”