A/HRC/22/59 81. The whereabouts of many victims remain unknown. In cases where the relative was returned to his family, those interviewed indicated that the relative had been tortured, and in one case raped, while detained. In three cases, families later received the bodies of their relatives. 82. Government forces have engaged in enforced disappearance in violation of their international legal obligations. Where committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population, such disappearances constitute crimes against humanity. 83. There was insufficient information to make a finding with regard to affiliated militia. Investigations are ongoing. 2. Anti-Government armed groups 84. One person reported that an anti-Government armed group had perpetrated an act of enforced disappearance. Families whose relatives had been arrested or abducted by armed groups have likely remained in the Syrian Arab Republic. While interviews are conducted by means of telephone and Skype, contacting families inside the country remains a challenge. 85. Although anti-Government armed groups are per se not a party to the Convention, their actions may be assessed against customary international legal principles, and they are subject to criminal liability for enforced disappearance amounting to a crime against humanity. 86. There was insufficient information to make a finding with regard to antiGovernment armed groups and enforced disappearance. Investigations are ongoing. E. Torture and other forms of ill-treatment15 87. Under international human rights and humanitarian law, torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment are prohibited. Such conduct is a war crime. Torture and other inhumane acts may also constitute crimes against humanity. 1. Government forces and affiliated militia 88. Numerous reports were received of the use of torture and other forms of ill-treatment by Government forces and affiliated militia. The majority described abuses during interrogations by intelligence agencies. 89. Many reporting torture and other forms of ill-treatment in official detention centres were detained in intelligence agencies in Damascus and Aleppo. Several described being tortured in Military Security Branch 235, also known as “Palestine branch”, in Damascus. Almost all those who detailed torture in Aleppo governorate indicated that their relatives were held at the Air Force Intelligence branch in Aleppo city. 90. Others described torture at the military security facility in Izra, Dara’a, and in Homs city; at Military Security Branch 215, in Damascus; the political intelligence facility in Hama; and the Military Security and Air Force Intelligence branch in Latakia city. Some had undergone multiple interrogations and assaults while being transferred between detention centres and governorates. 15 GE.13-10627 See also annex VIII. 15