NEW YORK: A top Saudi representative to the UN warned on Tuesday that there would be “no peace without justice” in the long-running Syrian conflict.
Dr. Khaled Manzlawiy, deputy permanent representative of the permanent mission of Ƶ to the UN in New York, took part in talks on ways to protect the human rights of Syrian victims of the country’s war.
He was part of a permanent delegation to the UN representing the Kingdom at a meeting of the organization’s General Assembly on the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) in Syria, held at UN headquarters in New York.
The IIIM aims to assist in the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the most serious crimes under international law committed in Syria since March 2011.
Manzlawiy said the meeting’s discussions aimed to establish justice for the oppressed and he praised the role of IIIM head, former French judge Catherine Marchi-Uhel, in collecting information and evidence about human rights violations by the Syrian authorities.
“The road to reconciliation is not easy, but there is no peace without justice and no sustainable peace in Syria without accountability,” Manzlawiy said.
The Saudi official noted that the IIIM had been set up as a result of the UN Security Council’s inability to lay the foundations for international peace and justice, and the failure of previous decisions on human rights in Syria regarding the protection of displaced people and the preservation of life.
However, Manzlawiy stressed that Ƶ believed in the ability of the international community and its institutions to protect and guarantee human rights in all parts of the world where they were threatened by terrorism, intolerance, or political arrogance.
“The road to justice is long and hard and must be paved by sound and fair steps,” he added. “Justice can only be established through transparency and holding accountable those who murdered the Syrian people.”
