A/HRC/22/59 155. Government forces and affiliated militia have perpetrated the war crime of pillaging. They also deliberately burned and destroyed property believed to belong to opposition members or supporters, thereby committing destruction of property of an adversary. Human rights provisions relating to the right to privacy and home were violated. 2. Anti-Government armed groups 156. No first-hand accounts of anti-Government armed groups appropriating property for their own use were received. Second-hand accounts, reports from Governments, video footage and other materials provided evidence of looting. It was unclear whether the goods taken were for personal gain or to support the opposition’s war effort. Looting by individuals or gangs not party to the conflict was not investigated. 157. On 7 January 2013, the Permanent Mission of the Syrian Arab Republic provided a note verbale briefly describing looting by “armed gangs” in Aleppo (see annex I). Attempts to reach sources inside the Syrian Arab Republic to verify the allegations were unsuccessful. 158. No legal finding with respect to acts by anti-Government armed groups was possible owing to difficulties in determining whether the appropriations were by a party to the conflict or for personal gain. 3. Razing 159. The commission documented three instances of razing in urban locations in the Syrian Arab Republic. Typically, after shelling and bombarding an area, Government forces bulldozed civilian homes and shops. 160. In July 2012, 300 homes were destroyed by explosives and bulldozers in AlTadamon, Damascus. The razing followed shelling, which had caused the residents to flee. Anti-Government groups may have staged attacks from Al-Tadamon. Satellite imagery showed approximately 1,000 structures destroyed. Qaboon, north of Damascus, and Hey el Arbeen in Hama (October), experienced the same (see annex XIII, figures 1 and 2). 161. The Government justified the above-mentioned demolitions as pre-existing urban plans to remove illegal buildings. 162. Customary international humanitarian law obliges parties to a conflict to prevent displacement and to respect the right of displaced persons to return to their homes. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic may be violating these obligations with respect to the right of return of displaced persons. These issues require further investigation. V. Accountability22 163. In conferring the commission’s mandate, the Human Rights Council, in its resolution 21/26, sought to hold to account those responsible for violations and abuses of international law. 164. Crimes against humanity, breaches of international humanitarian law and gross human rights violations have been perpetrated in the Syrian Arab Republic. As noted in previous reports, States are responsible for violations of international human rights law attributable to its agents.23 Individuals may also bear criminal responsibility for perpetrating 22 23 GE.13-10627 See also annex XIV. See A/HRC/21/50, paras. 131–142. 23