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A United Nations expert has confirmed that torture operations are still ongoing in Syria, despite the International Court of Justice’s order to the regime to end torture seven months ago.
Alice Jill Edwards, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, expressed her concern over reports confirming that torture is still widely practiced in Syria. Edwards stated in a press release published on the Human Rights Council’s website on July 2, 2024, that there is no indication of addressing the issue of torture in Syria, despite the clarity of the International Court of Justice’s order to end torture “without delay.”
According to the UN expert, available information indicates that torture continues to be “widely practiced in Syria,” in blatant disregard for the lives and physical and mental health of thousands of people held in detention centers run by the regime, as she described.
On November 16, 2023, the International Court of Justice issued “urgent provisional measures” to the Syrian regime, obliging it to stop acts of torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment in its prisons after both the Netherlands and Canada filed a case against the Syrian government’s violations.
The Netherlands and Canada asked the International Court of Justice to ascertain the occurrence of violations, including the use of chemical weapons, which have caused deaths, injuries, and serious physical and mental harm.
The court demanded that the Syrian regime take effective measures to prevent the destruction of, and ensure the preservation of, all evidence related to torture.
Torture is a crime under international law, absolutely prohibited by all relevant instruments, and cannot be justified under any circumstances. This rule is considered a part of widely accepted international law, meaning every state must adhere to it, even if they have not agreed to specific treaties prohibiting torture. Additionally, the systematic and widespread practice of torture constitutes a “crime against humanity,” according to the United Nations.
“Same Justice” organization demands the cessation of all torture and enforced disappearances in Syria. It emphasizes the necessity of emptying all political prisons and enforcing internationally established human rights principles, including arrests only by judicial warrants, providing the accused with the right to a fair defense, and protecting them from all forms of psychological and physical torture—an objective difficult to achieve given the current political conditions and governance in Syria.
