Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic

MANDATE

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic was established on 22 August 2011 by the Human Rights Council through resolution S-17/1.The mandate of the Commission is to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law since March 2011 in the Syrian Arab Republic. The Human Rights Council also tasked the Commission with establishing the facts and circumstances that may amount to such violations and of the crimes perpetrated and, where possible, to identify those responsible with a view of ensuring that perpetrators of violations, including those that may constitute crimes against humanity, are held accountable. The Human Rights Council has repeatedly extended the Commission's mandate since then, most recently for an additional year through resolution 55/22, which was adopted on 4 April 2024. The Council requested the Commission of Inquiry to present an oral update during an interactive dialogue at its fifty-sixth session, and to present an updated report during an interactive dialogue at both the fifty-seventh and fifty-eight sessions of the Council.

In addition to the Commission’s general mandate, it has also been given special mandates to look into particular events in the Syrian Arab Republic. In 2012, the Human Rights Council requested that the Commission of Inquiry urgently conduct a special inquiry into the events in El-Houleh (resolution S/19-1), in 2016 into the events in Aleppo (resolution S-25/1), in 2018 into the events in eastern Ghouta (resolution 37/1); in 2020 into events in Idlib and its environs (resolution of 22 June 2020) and again in 2020 to prepare a special report on arbitrary imprisonment and detention (resolution 44/21 of 17 July 2020).”

See all Human Rights Council resolutions on the Commission of Inquiry here.