UN diplomat urges aid access into Syria, repatriation of ISIS members

QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The Chair of the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, Paulo Pinheiro, called for urgent action to be taken to boost humanitarian aid access in Syria and to repatriate ISIS-linked members who are being held in camps and prisons in the northeast of the country.

The UN diplomat urged the extension of UN authorization which allows cross-border aid into “earthquake-devastated” northwest Syria through Turkey for another 12 months.

As for northeast Syria, Pinheiro said that over 50,000 people of ISIS-linked members, mostly women and children, remain detained in “appalling conditions” in Hawl and Roj camps. He called for countries with nationals in the camps to speed up repatriations, “given the conditions in the camps and the unlawfulness of the detention.”

He called for all parties to the conflict to take feasible measures to minimize harm to civilians, and for the Syrian government and other parties to cease torture and ill-treatment, including sexual and gender-based violence, in all places of detention.

Pinheiro also expressed concern about the increasing child enlistment by armed groups in Syria and the spike in discrimination against women and girls. He emphasized the need for voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable returns of refugees to Syria, with independent international verification on the ground to ensure their safety and adequate assistance to make their return sustainable.

Pinheiro welcomed the International Court of Justice’s proceedings to hold the Syrian government accountable for failing to adhere to its obligations under the UN Convention Against Torture. He also hailed the establishment of an international institution for the missing which “can at least provide some support, solace, and hope for the millions impacted by this phenomenon.”