A/HRC/31/68 I. Introduction 1. In the present report, submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 22/24, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic presents its findings based on investigations conducted from 10 July 2015 to 10 January 2016.1 The present report should be read in conjunction with previous reports of the Commission (see S-17/2/Add.1, A/HRC/19/69, A/HRC/21/50, A/HRC/22/59, A/HRC/23/58, A/HRC/24/46, A/HRC/25/65, A/HRC/27/60 and A/HRC/30/48). A. Challenges 2. The Commission’s investigations remain curtailed by the denial of access to the Syrian Arab Republic (see annex I). B. Methodology 3. The methodology employed by the Commission was based on standard practices of commissions of inquiry and human rights investigations. The Commission relied primarily on first-hand accounts. 4. The information contained herein is based on 415 interviews conducted in the region and from Geneva. 5. Photographs, video recordings, imagery provided by UNOSAT and medical records were collected and analysed. Reports from Governments and non-governmental sources, academic analyses and United Nations reports formed part of the investigation. 6. The standard of proof is met when the Commission has reasonable grounds to believe that incidents occurred as described. II. Political context 7. Recent months have presented rare opportunities for reaching a political solution to the Syrian crisis, most notably through the latest Vienna talks. Increased regional and international involvement in the internal Syrian dynamic has created opportunities but also underscored serious challenges to the achievement of a lasting political solution. 8. The first series of the Vienna talks, attended by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of 17 States, was held on 30 October.2 In the declaration adopted at the end of the talks, the participants notably called for “inclusive, non-sectarian governance followed by […] elections”, and stressed that the ensuing political process should be “Syrian-led and Syrianowned”. They also called for, in conjunction with the political process, a ceasefire 1 2 The commissioners are Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro (Chairperson), Karen Koning AbuZayd, Vitit Muntarbhorn and Carla Del Ponte. The States represented included the United States of America, the Russian Federation, China, France, Turkey, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates. The talks were also attended by representatives of the European Union and the United Nations. 3