Step up trials of alleged Syrian war criminals, UN rights chief says | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Friday
June 13, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 2025
Step up trials of alleged Syrian war criminals, UN rights chief says

World+Biz

Reuters
11 March, 2021, 05:10 pm
Last modified: 11 March, 2021, 05:12 pm

Related News

  • Angelina’s call for aid amid personal challenges
  • 26 killed as Syrian Turkish-backed groups attack Kurdish-held area in north
  • First Hasina, now Assad: A super year of elections turn into a year of fleeing for both
  • Crowds of Syrians celebrate the fall of Assad's regime
  • Who are the rebels in Syria?

Step up trials of alleged Syrian war criminals, UN rights chief says

Attempts to refer atrocities in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague for prosecution have failed, Michelle Bachelet said

Reuters
11 March, 2021, 05:10 pm
Last modified: 11 March, 2021, 05:12 pm
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet. Photo: Collected
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet. Photo: Collected

The United Nations human rights chief on Thursday urged countries to step up trials in their national courts against suspected war criminals in Syria as the conflict marks its 10th anniversary.

Attempts to refer atrocities in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague for prosecution have failed, Michelle Bachelet said.

Only one person has been convicted in a foreign court for crimes against humanity or war crimes in a conflict that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives, many of them civilians.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

Bachelet also called for increased efforts to trace tens of thousands of missing, whom she said included people held in jails run by government forces across Syria.

Pro-democracy protests against President Bashar al-Assad's authoritarian family rule erupted in March 2011 in southern Syria and were met by a crackdown. But they spread quickly across the country and developed into a multi-sided war that in addition to the numerous casualties has forced more than 11 million from their homes, around half the pre-war population.

Assad's forces, backed by Iran and Russia, have recaptured many areas once held by rebel factions and Islamist militants, but the war grinds on in some corners of Syria.

"We owe it to the victims to ensure the next decade is one of accountability and remedy, with their rights and needs addressed so they can rebuild their lives," Bachelet said in a statement.

It is thought that many possible war criminals have relocated overseas.

A German court sentenced a former member of President Bashar al-Assad's security services to 4-1/2 years in prison last month for abetting the torture of civilians, the first such verdict for crimes against humanity in the Syrian war.

"It remains vital that national courts continue to conduct fair, public and transparent trials and reduce the accountability gap for such serious crimes," Bachelet said, calling the conviction "an important step forward on the path to justice".

Assad's government has denied many previous UN accusations of war crimes and says it does not torture prisoners.

UN panel member Hanny Megally said it had been approached by 60 jurisdictions seeking information and it had provided information in about 300 ongoing cases.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visits prisoners in central prisons in Syria but does not have access to unofficial sites. Its findings are confidential.

"Clearly detention is one of these central issues and every day we try to first, improve the conditions of detention and two, enlarge our access," Fabrizio Carboni, ICRC regional director for the Middle East, told Reuters on Tuesday.

Top News

Syria Conflict / Michelle Bachelet

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • BNP Acting Chairperson Tarique Rahman and Chief Adviser  Muhammad Yunus meet at Dorchester Hotel in London, UK on 13 June 2025. Photo: CA Press Wing
    Tarique arrives at Dorchester Hotel for meeting with Yunus
  • Rescuers work at the scene of a damaged building in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
    Israel hits Iran nuclear facilities, missile factories; Tehran launches 100 drones in retaliation
  • Energy adviser Fouzul Kabir Khan with other government officials during a visit to Sylhet gas field on 13 June 2025. Photo: TBS
    I would disconnect gas supply to every home in Dhaka if I could: Energy adviser

MOST VIEWED

  • Wreckage of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner showing part of its registration "VT-ANB" in Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Amit Dave
    Air India Dreamliner crashes into Ahmedabad college hostel, kills over 290
  • File Photo of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus: UNB
    Prof Yunus to receive Harmony Award from King Charles today
  • Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur. TBS Sketch
    Bangladesh mulls settlements with tycoons over offshore wealth: BB governor tells FT
  • Railway seeks Tk2,000cr foreign loans to revive coach assembly, modernise workshops
    Railway seeks Tk2,000cr foreign loans to revive coach assembly, modernise workshops
  • UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus
    Disclosure of unconfirmed Yunus-Starmer meeting shows ‘diplomatic imprudence’: Analysts
  • Brother sues Latifur's daughter, widow over alleged forgery to seize control of Transcom
    Brother sues Latifur's daughter, widow over alleged forgery to seize control of Transcom

Related News

  • Angelina’s call for aid amid personal challenges
  • 26 killed as Syrian Turkish-backed groups attack Kurdish-held area in north
  • First Hasina, now Assad: A super year of elections turn into a year of fleeing for both
  • Crowds of Syrians celebrate the fall of Assad's regime
  • Who are the rebels in Syria?

Features

Among pet birds in the country, lovebirds are the most common, and they are also the most numerous in the haat. Photo: Junayet Rashel

Where feathers meet fortune: How a small pigeon stall became Dhaka’s premiere bird market

1d | Panorama
Illustration: Duniya Jahan/ TBS

Forget Katy Perry, here’s Bangladesh’s Ruthba Yasmin shooting for the moon

2d | Features
File photo of Eid holidaymakers returning to the capital from their country homes/Rajib Dhar

Dhaka: The city we never want to return to, but always do

4d | Features
Photo collage shows political posters in Bagerhat. Photos: Jannatul Naym Pieal

From Sheikh Dynasty to sibling rivalry: Bagerhat signals a turning tide in local politics

5d | Bangladesh

More Videos from TBS

Global oil prices soar

Global oil prices soar

42m | TBS World
What did Iran say in response to the Israeli attack?

What did Iran say in response to the Israeli attack?

1h | TBS World
Israel strikes Iran nuclear facilities

Israel strikes Iran nuclear facilities

1h | TBS World
Extended Eid holidays may reduce remittance inflows, expatriates turn to unofficial channels

Extended Eid holidays may reduce remittance inflows, expatriates turn to unofficial channels

12m | TBS Insight
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net