UN's Syria commission calls Assad regime's fall a historic beginning for people

ISTANBUL

The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria (CoI) described the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria as "a historic beginning" for the Syrian people, who have endured unspeakable violence and brutality for the past 14 years.

“Today marks a historic new beginning for the Syrian people who have suffered unspeakable violence and atrocities over the past 14 years,” the commission said in a statement issued on Sunday.

It is finally time to prioritize Syrians' aspirations and set the country on a path toward a stable, prosperous, and just future that ensures the human rights and dignity that its people have long been denied, the statement added.

The commission also noted that thousands of detainees who had been held for years were released in recent days after opposition forces quickly seized territories previously controlled by the Ba’ath Party regime.

“This should bring immense relief to the freed individuals and their families and offers hope to those still awaiting news of the tens of thousands of disappeared loved ones.”

The statement said Sednaya Prison and other detention centers have been synonymous with fear, loss, suffering, and cruelty for decades.

It pointed out that the cells where prisoners had been subjected to mistreatment, as well as the interrogation chambers, which the commission had documented as torture sites, were now open.

“The Commission calls on all parties in Syria to facilitate access for independent humanitarian and human rights actors, including the Commission, to the country, including detention facilities,” it said, stressing the importance of protecting all evidence.

“The Syrian people should be allowed to view this historical moment as the end of decades of state-organized repression,” said Commission Chair Paulo Sergio Pinheiro.

Pinheiro also highlighted that the release of people who had been arbitrarily detained in Sednaya Prison for decades was a scene unimaginable for millions of Syrians.

“It is incumbent on those now in charge to ensure that such atrocities are never again repeated within the walls of Sednaya or any other detention centre in Syria," he said.

After a period of relative calm, clashes between Assad regime forces and anti-regime groups reignited on Nov. 27 in rural areas west of Aleppo, a major city in northern Syria.

Over 10 days, opposition forces launched a lightning offensive, capturing key cities and then, on Sunday, the capital, Damascus. The rapid advance, supported by defecting military units, led to the collapse of the Assad regime after 13 years of civil war.