GENEVA, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- "Widespread violations and lawlessness paint a stark reality for civilians" in Syria, despite a general winding-down of the 7-year-long conflict, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry said on Thursday in a report.
In its 20-page report, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria described how the ongoing hostilities and related violations exert a negative effect on the safe and sustainable return of millions of internally displaced persons and refugees.
"First and foremost, hostilities remain ongoing with little to no regard for the laws of war, human rights law, or basic human compassion for those suffering its effects," said commission chair Paulo Pinheiro at a press conference at the UN here.
"Attacks by pro-government forces in Idlib and western Aleppo, as well as those carried out by Syrian Democratic Forces and the international coalition in Dayr al-Zawr, continue to cause scores of civilian casualties," he said.
Between July 2018 and January 2019, intense fighting continued in both northwest and eastern Syria with civilians bearing the brunt, the report notes.
War crimes and crimes against humanity marked the situation, including indiscriminate attacks, deliberately attacked protected objects, pillaging and persecution, including by armed groups.
Beyond the clashes, seven years of prolonged hostilities have generated numerous security vacuums.
These have elevated the risk of continued violence in many areas and impunity for serious human rights violations.
"Ongoing violations by all sides -- coupled with the destruction of vital infrastructure, lack of effective service provision and civil documentation -- have created conditions that render the possibility for safe und sustainable return completely illusory," said Commissioner Karen AbuZayd.
Over the last six months, as pro-government forces have consolidated vast swathes of territorial control, hundreds of thousands of Syrian men, women and children transitioned into a new grim reality.
"In recently retaken areas -- Douma, Dara'a and northern Homs, for example -- government forces engendered a climate of fear through a campaign of arbitrary arrests and detentions in the aftermath of bombardments," said Commissioner Hanny Megally.
After years living under siege, Syrian women, men and children in areas recently retaken by government forces further faced numerous legal and administrative challenges to access key rights, including vital civil documentation, education, medical care and adequate housing, particularly affecting women.
In areas under the control of Syrian Democratic Forces, thousands of women, men and children continue to be unlawfully interned in makeshift camps in Raqqah, Dayr al-Zawr and Hasakah, and denied the possibility to leave, the report finds.
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic comprises Chair Paulo Pinheiro, Karen Koning AbuZayd and Hanny Megally. It is mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate and record all violations of international law since March 2011 in Syria.
