A/HRC/30/48 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 January to 10 July 2015. 1 This report should be read in conjunction with previous reports of the Commission. 2 A. Challenges 2. The Commission’s investigations remain curtailed by the denial of access to the Syrian Arab Republic. 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 335 interviews conducted in the region and from Geneva. Since September 2011, 3,840 interviews have been conducted by the Commission. 5. Photographs, video recordings, satellite imagery 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. Conflict dynamics 7. With no end in sight, the Syrian conflict has continued to intensify across an increasing number of complex and often unpredictable frontlines. Benefitting from support provided by a variety of external backers, including States and individuals, warring parties have battled vehemently to expand geographically. This has repeatedly brought chaos and destruction to new localities hosting local communities and internally displaced persons (IDPs). Simultaneously, sporadic but persistent fighting and bombardment also occurred in multiple low-scale and static battlefields, where involved actors lack the necessary manpower and supplies to break the stalemate. 8. None of the belligerents seem either close to collapse or positioned to secure an outright military triumph. After more than four years of fighting, all have secured sufficient support channels, territorial gains and operational capabilities to sustain them for several more years. Without stronger efforts to bring parties to the peace table, ready to compromise, current trends suggest that the Syrian conflict – and the killing and destruction it wreaks – will continue for the foreseeable future. 1 2 The commissioners are Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro (Chair), Karen Koning AbuZayd, Vitit Muntarbhorn and Carla Del Ponte. A/HRC/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 and A/HRC/27/60. 3