Estonia is holding a UN Security Council meeting on accountability for brutal crimes in Syria

Today 29 November, the UN Security Council is holding a meeting on Estonia's initiative to highlight the prevailing impunity in Syria with regard to past and continued serious crimes, including war crimes and crimes against humanity. Estonia's Ambassador to the UN Sven Jürgenson will chair the meeting.

One the priorities of Estonia during its UN Security Council membership has been fighting impunity and standing up for human rights and human dignity. "Our credibility in the Security Council depends on consistently responding to brutal crimes, including crimes against humanity and war crimes," Ambassador Jürgenson said. "We are talking about an entity that has the responsibility to take steps to ensure international peace and security. It is regrettable but not too surprising that there has not been a meaningful response from the Council. We hope that today's meeting can reiterate the need for more active action by the Council," the ambassador added.

UN member states will be briefed by Catherine Marchi-Uhel, Head of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria (IIIM)); Claus Kress, Professor of Criminal Law and Public International Law at the University of Cologne; Waad Al-Kateab, Syrian refugee and film director, and Omar Alshogre, refugee and civil society representative.

The Estonia-led meeting is co-sponsored by UN Security Council members France, the United Kingdom and the United States, with additional co-sponsors Belgium, Canada, Germany, Georgia, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Qatar, Sweden and Turkey.

The meeting can be watched at 22.00 (Estonian time) via UN Web TV. The recording of the meeting will be made available for subsequent viewing.

Additional information:

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia
Communication Department
[email protected]