The United Nations agency that helps investigate Syria's worst crimes said Monday that the country's new authorities were "very open" to a request for cooperation during a just-concluded visit to Damascus and that it is preparing to was placed on the ground.
The visit, led by Robert Petit, head of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria, was the first since the organization was created by the UN General Assembly in 2016.
The mechanism was created to help gather evidence and prosecute individuals responsible for possible war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide since the Syrian civil war began in 2011.
Petit emphasized the urgency of preserving documents and other evidence before they are lost.
Following the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by rebels and the opening of prisons and detention centers, demands by Syrians for the prosecution of those responsible for atrocities and killings during his time in power have increased.
"The fall of the Assad regime is an important opportunity for us to fulfill our mandate on the ground," Petit said.
"Time is running out. There is a small window of opportunity to secure these sites and the materials they contain," Petit said, reports the Associated Press news agency.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Tremblay said Monday that the investigative team "is preparing for an operational deployment as soon as possible and as soon as it is authorized to carry out activities on Syrian soil."
In June 2023, the 193-member General Assembly also established an Independent Institution for Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic to clarify the fate and whereabouts of more than 130,000 people who have disappeared as a result of the conflict./ REL (A2 Televizion)
A2 CNN Livestream
MUND TE LEXONI GJITHASHTU
