Paulo Sergio Pinheiro: The Syrian people have paid for the “crushing violence” used by the Assad regime

The head of the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, said on Thursday that the parties to the conflict in Syria have benefited from the weak and negligent intervention of the international community.

Pinheiro added that the Syrian people have paid the price for “overwhelming violence” that the Assad regime used to suppress dissent.

Committee member Karen Abu Zeid stressed the need to provide basic needs for all Syrians, such as food and health services.

This came as a comment on a report issued by the committee on the humanitarian situation in Syria from 2011 until October 24, 2020.

The committee said that the military solutions to end the Syrian crisis opened the way to a great tragedy and caused thousands of deaths and displacement.

In its report, the committee stressed the need to revitalize international efforts to end the war in Syria and bring peace and justice to it.

The report emphasized that crimes of violating human rights law, including the crime of genocide, were committed against the civilian population.
The report stated that the war in Syria has displaced more than half of the population, destroyed cities, and exposed civilians to chemical weapons attacks.

The report pointed out that the Syrians were exposed to starvation due to the “shameful” restrictions imposed on humanitarian aid, some of which were approved by the UN Security Council.
It is noteworthy that the report of the independent UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria will be presented to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on March 11th.