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EU to allocate 1.5 million euros for investigation of war crimes in Syria

19 July 2017 [17:41] - TODAY.AZ

By Azernews


By Kamila Aliyeva

The European Union (EU) will allocate 1.5 million euro for the work of an independent commission created by the decision of the UN General Assembly to investigate war crimes in Syria, statement issued by the European Commission on July 19 said.

"As the European Union, we reaffirm our commitment and support to the Syrian people, as well as the political process under the auspices of the United Nations, aimed at political settlement of the crisis," TASS quoted EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogerini.

The so-called international, impartial and independent mechanism to facilitate investigations into those responsible for the most serious crimes committed in Syria since March 2011 was established by the decision of the General Assembly in December 2016.

In accordance with the resolution adopted by the General Assembly, the commission is charged with collecting and analyzing evidence of offenses, as well as preparing materials to "facilitate and accelerate" the conduct of "unbiased and independent criminal trials" in national, regional or international courts.

A number of countries, including Russia, had originally spoken against the creation of a commission headed by the French judge Catherine Marchi-Uhel.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov called the investigation mechanism to be illegal.

"The decision to create such a body goes beyond the powers of the UN General Assembly and contradicts the Charter of an international organization," he stressed.

The civil war in Syria between the government and opposition with various terrorist groups involved, including Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL), began back in March 2011.

Syrian President Bashar Assad managed to turn the tide of war in his favor after Russia started an air campaign in September 2015, while Iran is an uncompromising supporter of the Syrian leader.

According to a report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.

Since the beginning of the war in Syria, a large number of violations of human rights and rules of warfare were recorded. This includes the use of chemical weapons, the deliberate killing of civilians, including children, executions, bombing of hospitals.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/regions/163350.html

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