The head of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria said Wednesday that “now is the moment” for the Syrian government to provide information on thousands of detained and missing people — not after the seven-year conflict ends. British Deputy Ambassador to the United Nation Jonathan Allen addresses the UNSC during a United Nations Security Council meeting on Ukraine Nov. 26 at the United Nations in New York. Article Continued BelowThe commission called on Syrian authorities not only to provide information on the fate of the missing and how people perished but to “promptly, thoroughly, transparently, and independently” investigate all deaths in custody or resulting from summary or extrajudicial executions. Pinheiro told reporters that more than at any time in the commission’s seven years of work, “it’s crucial to have access to the country, because these issues must be discussed with the Syrian authorities concerned.” He said several members of the Security Council “have different aspects of leverage” to help. Britain’s deputy U.N. ambassador, Jonathan Allen, who presided at the meeting, called on Syrian authorities “to release information to long-suffering agonized families about the fate of their loved ones, and to do so as quickly as possible.”Read more about:

Source: thestar November 29, 2018 03:00 UTC