A new path towards accountability? an Analysis of the IIIM for Syria

Sammanfattning: The conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic is ongoing since more than ten years, and there is no end in sight. The conflict is deemed to be the most documented conflict of all time. Despite the longevity of the conflict, there has been a lack of criminal accountability for the crimes committed. The international community has through the use of international criminal law attempted to refer the conflict to typical international criminal law entities such as the International Criminal Court. However, every attempt to do so have failed, mainly due to a blocking by the United Nations Security Council and the lack of consent from the Syrian Arab Republic. Out of desperation and because of limitations to pursue traditional forms of international criminal law methods, the United Nations General Assembly created the International, Impartial Independent Mechanism to assist in the investigation and prosecution of persons responsible for the most serious crimes under international law committed in the Syrian Arab Republic since March 2011 (IIIM). The IIIM is a fact-finding organ and its mandate is to collect, consolidate, preserve and analyse evidence of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights violations in accordance with international law standards. The IIIM shall assist in preparing material that can be used to facilitate and expediate fair and international criminal proceedings for entities that may have jurisdiction over the committed crimes. This essay aims to shine a light on, how an organ such as the IIIM can pursue criminal accountability, especially when typical paths of international law fails to do so. The IIIM can work towards criminal accountability through the establishment of its archive, and its assistance to criminal judicial entities using universal jurisdictions. The IIIM has assisted criminal proceedings and states’ use of universal jurisdiction in cases that have led to convictions of Syrian war criminals. Furthermore, it is not possible to determine to what extent the IIIM is able to pursue criminal accountability due to the confidential nature of the IIIM. However, this essay finds that the IIIM still can play an important role in bridging the accountability gap in the Syrian conflict.