UN investigators in Geneva raise concerns over Israeli detentions in Syria

UN investigators accuse Israel of war crimes in Syria Keystone-SDA

UN investigators say Israel detained dozens of Syrians inside Syrian territory before reportedly transferring them to Israel. Speaking in Geneva on Tuesday, they said the actions could amount to war crimes.

At the end of June, 49 people, including two children, were being held by the Israeli military after being arrested in Syrian territory, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, a member of the International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, told the Human Rights Council. They were then reportedly taken to Israel.

“The whereabouts and condition of these people remain largely unknown,” Ní Aoláin told reporters, adding that Israel has denied access to the detainees. Following a visit to the area in July with fellow commissioner Monia Ammar, she also condemned Israel’s establishment of a network of temporary checkpoints and military positions.

This approach “has significantly affected Syrian civilians”, Ní Aoláin said. Although she does not speak on behalf of the UN, she has been mandated by the Human Rights Council. She said hundreds of people have been questioned and detained. The commission is also raising concerns about the expansion of Israel’s occupation in Syria. Israeli military activity has been “increasing” over the past two years and is now “sustained” and “entrenched”, she said, adding that homes had been destroyed.

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She renewed her criticism of the Syrian authorities, saying they must review the legality of the detention of thousands of people accused of links to the ousted regime of Bashar al-Assad. Damascus said thousands of investigations or prosecutions were underway. “There are immense challenges in establishing a credible rule of law,” Ní Aoláin said.

The two investigators also expressed concern about the lack of information on people reported missing or detained following last year’s violence in Suwayda, in which more than 1,500 people were killed. In March, the commission concluded that acts amounting to war crimes had been committed.

Investigators also criticise the US

Despite government efforts, serious human rights concerns continue to “fuel insecurity” in the region, Ní Aoláin said. Thousands of Druze remain displaced. She added that there was a “continuing deadlock” between local and national authorities over the situation.

Accountability has yet to be established for the clashes between pro-regime militias and Alawite groups in western Syria, the commissioner said. More than 1,000 people were killed.

The Commission also continues to criticise the detention of more than 2,000 people, mainly women and children, in the Roj camp in north-eastern Syria because of alleged links to jihadist groups. Ní Aoláin said the detentions amounted to “the largest-scale arbitrary detention on security grounds” currently taking place anywhere in the world. More than 100 children are being held in military sites, she added.

Earlier this year, nearly 5,800 men and children from 60 countries were forcibly transferred to Iraq as part of a US-led operation. The commission said the move could constitute a “massive” breach of the principle of non-refoulement and that it would investigate the matter. It said the transfers were part of a wider pattern of forced removals from Syria since 2019.

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Translated from French, reviewed by an English Department journalist.