A/HRC/21/50 140. The commission is unaware of efforts that meet international standards made by either the Government or anti-Government armed groups to prevent or punish crimes documented in the present report. 141. The Government‘s National Independent Legal Commission has reportedly been investigating some allegations of violations. 28 The Government also set up a special inquiry into the events of Al-Houla. The investigation reports received on Tremseh, Al Qubeir and Al-Houla were considered by the commission. The commission was unable to identify any case of successful prosecution of any military or security force commanders or civilian superiors who bore responsibility for crimes against humanity, war crimes or gross human rights violations committed since March 2011. 142. No credible information has been received about anti-Government armed groups investigating, prosecuting and punishing members of their groups alleged to have committed crimes and abuses identified. V. Conclusions and recommendations 143. The human rights crisis has escalated significantly in the context of unrestrained hostilities, which have evolved into a non-international armed conflict. The civilian population across all communities bears the brunt of this conflict, thousands having lost their lives in the spiral of violence. 144. The socioeconomic and humanitarian situation has further deteriorated, leaving the majority of the population in a state of disarray. The commission maintains that sanctions result in a denial of the most basic human rights of the Syrian people. 145. The commission concludes that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Government forces and the Shabbiha committed crimes against humanity, war crimes and violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law. There are also reasonable grounds to believe that anti-Government armed groups committed war crimes and abuses of international human rights law and international humanitarian law. Both parties violated the rights of children. 146. Human rights violations and abuses must be thoroughly investigated. Evidence of violations and abuses, including international crimes, must be systematically collected to facilitate the process of holding perpetrators accountable. Access must be accorded to the commission so that it may investigate such violations impartially and in situ. 147. The commission believes that the large-scale operations during which the most serious violations were committed were conducted with the knowledge, or at the behest, of the highest levels of Government. Responsibility therefore rests with those who either ordered or planned the acts or, in the case of those in effective command and control, those who failed to prevent or punish the perpetrators. The consistent identification of the Shabbiha as perpetrators of many of the crimes does not relieve the Government of its responsibility, as international law recognizes the responsibility of States that commit violations through proxies. 28 On 25 June, the commission chairperson met the head of the National Independent Legal Commission in Damascus. The Commission is represented in the capital and governorates. It reportedly received 6,500 complaints, most of which refer to deaths and missing persons, levelled against the army, police and anti-Government armed groups. 23