– As delivered –
Remarks by H.E. Mr. Volkan Bozkir, President of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly
21 April 2021
Assistant Secretary-General Catherine Marchi-Uhel, Head of the Mechanism,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and gentlemen,
This year marks a decade of conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic. This ten-year period has been marred by the most heinous attacks and acts including torture, forced disappearances, sexual violence, attacks on civilians, and the use of chemical weapons.
We have heard first-hand accounts of horror and suffering from Syrian representatives of civil society here in this General Assembly, and on the 30th of March we were briefed by the Secretary-General, on the dire situation in Syria at present.
I myself recently visited Hatay province in Turkey, which borders the hardest hit North-West region of Syria. Hatay hosts 450,000 Syrian refugees, and at Boynuyoğun Temporary Accommodation Center I met with Syrian children who have never known a true home of their own; and women who, despite years of hardship, are resilient in their determination, to re-build a good life.
From the Bükülmez border post I could see Atme Tent City, where over 170,000 internally displaced Syrians have sought shelter. In that moment I hoped that these Syrians, which include 100,000 children and youths, alongside 39,000 women, would benefit from the vital supplies that had surrounded me during my visit to the UN trans-shipment hub in Reyhanlı.
It is shameful that, after 10 years, we are still advocating for humanitarian access. I am hopeful that the critical UN cross-border aid operation, which is a lifeline for millions of Syrians in the northeast, will continue uninterrupted. I hereby call on the relevant Member States, to ensure this mandate is extended beyond July.
The Syrian people deserve more than this.
They deserve peace.
They deserve the freedom to life, a life of their choosing.
They deserve justice.
It is shameful that, after 10 years, we are still advocating for humanitarian access. I am hopeful that the critical UN cross-border aid operation, which is a lifeline for millions of Syrians in the northeast, will continue uninterrupted. I hereby call on the relevant Member States, to ensure this mandate is extended beyond July.
Excellencies,
Dear Colleagues,
Today we will hear the report of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism, to Assist in the Investigation and Prosecution of Persons, Responsible for the Most Serious Crimes, under International Law, Committed in the Syrian Arab Republic, since March 2011, known as the IIIM.
This Mechanism, which was created in 2016, through General Assembly resolution 71/248, is a testament to the innovation and agility of the Assembly in response to the needs of the people we serve.
The IIIM is mandated to collect, consolidate, preserve and analyse, evidence of violations of international humanitarian law, and human rights violations and abuses; and to prepare files, in order to facilitate and expedite, fair and independent criminal proceedings, in national, regional or international courts, or tribunals, that have or may in the future, have jurisdiction over these crimes. I am pleased to note that, requests have been coming in and, having paved the path toward justice, the first steps are being taken.
This is not an easy journey, it is a triggering one, which has the capacity to re-traumatize survivors. To this end, I commend the Mechanism, for adopting a victim/survivor-centred approach. Furthermore, as an International Gender Champion, I welcome the Mechanism’s gender strategy, and efforts to develop practical guidance for interviewing victims of sexual violence in the Syrian context, and integrate gender perspectives into its substantive work.
I also commend the Mechanism, for its close cooperation with a range of stakeholders including the United Nations, other international organizations, States and civil society. We cannot underestimate the importance civil society engagement in this matter is, as the Mechanism seeks, to fully implement its mandate, and facilitate justice.
Excellencies,
It is essential that, the Mechanism is sufficiently funded.
I ask all Member States, to continue supporting the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism.
Let us not forget that accountability and impartial and inclusive justice are among the preconditions for further reconciliation and political processes in the country.
We cannot change the past, but we can take action today to ensure that we uphold the rights and dignity of the Syrian people into the future.
I thank you.
