The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic was set up by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on 22 August 2011 to investigate human rights violations during the Syrian Civil War, to establish the facts and circumstances that may amount to violations and crimes and, where possible, to identify those responsible so that they can be held accountable via prosecutions in courts of law.
[4] As of October 2023, the current commissioners are Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro (Brazil), Hanny Megally (Egypt) and Lynn Welchmann (UK).
[5] The former commissioners are Carla Del Ponte (Switzerland), Karen Koning AbuZayd (US), Vitit Muntarbhorn (Thailand) and Yakin Ertürk (Turkey).
[5] Shortly after the commission was established, Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Karen Koning AbuZayd and Yakin Erturk were appointed by the President of the UNHRC to serve as the Commissioners.
[3] Two new commissioners, Carla Del Ponte and Vitit Muntarbhorn, were appointed after the extension of the commission's mandate in September 2012.
[3] In 2016, Muntarbhorn stepped down when the UNHRC designated him the first United Nations Independent Expert on violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
"[7] She blamed Russia for vetoing action:[6] "Now a prosecutor should continue our work and bring the war criminals before a special court.
[11] The report said satellite imagery and forensic evidence implicated Syria's air force, and no Russian or coalition aircraft were in the area during the time of the attack.
[12] According to the report, the Syrian Air Force dropped barrel bombs from helicopters on a United Nations humanitarian aid convoy, then fired rockets from jets, and then strafed survivors with machine guns.
She stated, "We still have to deepen our investigation, verify and confirm (the findings) through new witness testimony, but according to what we have established so far, it is at the moment opponents of the regime who are using sarin gas.
"[20] On 6 May 2013, in an apparent reaction to Del Ponte’ comments the Commission issued a press release clarifying that it “has not reached conclusive findings as to the use of chemical weapons in Syria by any parties in the conflict”.
The report also indicated, based on "evidence available concerning the nature, quality and quantity of the agents used" that the perpetrators of the Al-Ghouta attack "likely had access to the chemical weapons stockpile of the Syrian military".
[23] In March 2017, the Commission documented violations including chemical attacks and civilian executions perpetrated between 21 July and 22 December 22, during the final period of the Battle of Aleppo (2012–2016).