ICC’s Karim Khan makes unannounced visit to Damascus for talks on ‘accountability for alleged crimes’.
The International Criminal Court’s (ICC’s) chief prosecutor has made an unannounced visit to Syria to meet with Ahmad al-Sharaa, the leader of Syria’s new de facto government, to discuss how to ensure accountability for alleged crimes committed in the country.
Prosecutor Karim Khan met al-Sharaa and Syria’s foreign minister on Friday to discuss options for justice at the ICC for victims of the country’s 13-year war.
A statement from Khan’s office said he “travelled to Damascus at the invitation of the Syrian Transitional Government”.
It said the visit aimed to discuss how the office “can offer its partnership in support of the efforts of Syrian authorities towards accountability for alleged crimes committed in the country”.
The ICC, which has 125 member states, is the world’s permanent court to prosecute individuals for alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and aggression.
Opposition fighters with al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led a lightning offensive that toppled President Bashar al-Assad last month, and the group has become the de facto ruling party in the country.
Al-Assad, who fled to Russia in December, waged an oppressive campaign against opponents during his more than two decades in power.
Human rights groups estimated that tens of thousands of people went missing after antigovernment protests began in 2011 with many disappearing into al-Assad’s prison network. Many of them were likely killed, either in mass executions or from torture and prison conditions. The exact number remains unknown.
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the global chemical weapons watchdog, found Syrian forces were responsible for multiple attacks using chlorine gas and other banned substances against civilians.
Other groups have also been accused of human rights violations and war crimes during the country’s war.
The new authorities have called for members of al-Assad’s regime to be brought to justice. It is unclear how exactly that would work at this stage.
Syria is not a member of the ICC, which has left the court without the ability to investigate the war. In 2014, Russia and China blocked a referral by the United Nations Security Council that would have given the court jurisdiction. Similar referrals were made for Sudan and Libya.
Khan’s visit comes after a trip to Damascus last month by the UN organisation assisting in investigating the most serious crimes in Syria.
The International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria was created to assist in evidence-gathering and prosecution of individuals responsible for possible war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide since Syria’s war began in 2011.
More than half a million people were killed in the war and more than six million others fled the country.