Bombed Ministry of Defense building in Damascus (July 2025) Syria: Independent Commission warns of renewed violence in country Human rights
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry into the Syrian Arab Republic today warned that renewed violence is undermining hopes for stability following the fall of Syria’s former government last year.
Human Rights Violations
The Commission expressed deep concern that continued massacres and human rights violations, including those reportedly committed by members of the interim government’s security forces, could drag the country back into conflict.
Speaking at a meeting of the UN General Assembly in New York, Commission Chairman Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro called on the interim Syrian authorities and UN member states to address the root causes of the recent violence and prevent its recurrence.
“Syria’s future hangs in the balance, and the country urgently requires assistance that goes far beyond the humanitarian plan, which itself remains catastrophic underfunded,” Pinheiro said.
Return of refugees
Since December 2024, more than a million Syrian refugees have returned home, “ridden by an unprecedented wave of optimism,” the Commission said in a statement. This progress was made possible by the creation of a new transitional justice body and a National Authority for Missing Persons, which experts called “crucial steps towards justice for victims.”
In addition, the interim authorities provided members of the Commission with full access to various regions of the country, including Latakia, Tartus, Suwayda and surrounding areas areas.
However, according to Pinheiro, “despite the positive steps taken by the government towards nation-building, repeated outbreaks of violence are alarming and call into question the ability of the interim authorities to end the entrenched cycles of violence in Syria.”
Massive reprisals
In March, an estimated 1,400 men, women and children were killed in massacres in Latakia, Tartus and Hama governorates, some involving members of the interim government security forces.
A new cycle of violence began after coordinated attacks by forces loyal to the former government. Armed personnel filmed gross human rights violations against the Alawite population, including executions, as well as bodies of people killed and burned in the streets.
“It is alarming that the Commission continues to receive reports of extrajudicial killings, torture, ill-treatment and forced displacement of Alawite citizens in Damascus and the western governorates,” Pinheiro said. displaced communities, including Druze and Bedouin, are enormous and require urgent action ahead of winter.
Violence against women
Pinheiro also expressed growing concern about incidents of violence and discrimination against women, citing numerous reports of abductions of women and girls by unknown armed groups. Some were reportedly subjected to sexual violence and forced marriages. The families claim that local authorities are not taking any steps to investigate these disappearances.
Bringing those responsible to justice
Further decisive and concrete steps must be taken to bring the perpetrators to justice and restore trust between the state and the affected communities, according to the Chairman of the Commission. This includes combating incitement, both online and offline, that fuels violence along the coast, in Suwayda and other areas. Such hateful rhetoric, coupled with a sense of impunity following repeated massacres, raises serious concerns: there is a risk of a new surge in violence unless reform and prevention are urgently taken.
“The interim authorities are facing enormous challenges, and addressing them requires the attention, support and resources of Member States,” Pinheiro stressed.
External Intervention
The Commission also expressed serious concern about external interference, calling on Member States to take urgent measures to prevent forced displacement and arbitrary detention of civilians as a result of Israel’s advance into southern Syria last December, as well as ongoing Israeli airstrikes. “Such actions by third parties could further escalate the conflict and deepen the suffering of the Syrian people,” the statement said.
Tensions also remain in northeast Syria, where clashes were reported in the city of Aleppo and at the Tishreen Dam in early October.
Effective institutions
“A safe, rights-respecting Syria, reflecting the country’s rich mosaic of religious and ethnic communities, requires strong, inclusive and effective government institutions based on human rights and the rule of law,” Pinheiro said.