A/HRC/45/31 I. Mandate and methodology 1. Pursuant to its established methodology, which is based on standard practices of commissions of inquiry and human rights investigations, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic 1 relied primarily on 538 interviews, conducted in person in the region as well as from Geneva, in producing the present report. 2 Official documents, reports, photographs, videos and satellite imagery were collected and analysed from multiple sources, including following the Commission’s call for submissions. 3 The standard of proof was considered met when the Commission had reasonable grounds to believe that incidents had occurred as described, and, where possible, that violations had been committed by the warring party identified. 2. The Commission’s investigations remain curtailed by the denial of access to the country and protection concerns in relation to interviewees. In all cases, the Commission remained guided by the principle of “do no harm”. 3. The Commission thanks all who provided information, in particular victims and witnesses. II. Political and military developments 4. Notwithstanding a relative reduction in large-scale hostilities in recent months due to general conflict dynamics and the impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), there were regular spikes in violence and continuous violations of human rights across the Syrian Arab Republic. Idlib Governorate and surrounding areas remained the epicentre of confrontation 4 between pro-government forces5 and opposition armed groups during the first half of 2020. While the ceasefire starting on 5 March offered respite, sporadic fighting between progovernment forces and terrorist groups6 resumed in May and intensified in June, including around the Ghab plain and Jabal al-Zawiya, in the southern countryside of Idlib Governorate. 5. In the north-east of the country, while joint Turkish-Russian military patrols resumed7 along the Syrian-Turkish border, periodic clashes between the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, the Syrian National Army 8 and Turkish military forces continued. Car bomb attacks, such as the one on 9 January in Ra’s al-Ayn that killed four Turkish soldiers, or the market attack in Afrin on 28 April that caused over 100 casualties (see para. 42 below), further destabilized the region. The security situation also deteriorated in Dayr alZawr, where the Syrian Democratic Forces9 increased raids and arrests of civilians with alleged links to Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Between March and May, two major riots in the Syrian Democratic Forces-run Ghweran and Hasakah prisons erupted, allowing the escape of several prisoners. In June, reports of fighting between Turkish- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2 The commissioners are Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro (Chair), Karen Koning AbuZayd and Hanny Megally. In view of the travel limitations related to COVID-19, the majority of the interviews were undertaken remotely. See www.ohchr.org/coisyria. See A/HRC/44/61. See A/HRC/31/68, footnote 3. The Commission continues to regard Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Hay’at Tahrir alSham, Hurras al-Din and other Al-Qaida-aligned groups as terrorist entities, as designated by the Security Council pursuant to its resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011), 2170 (2014) and 2253 (2015). Joint patrols temporarily halted at the height of the Government’s campaign in the north-west of the Syrian Arab Republic in January and February 2020. A/HRC/43/57, footnote 3. A/HRC/31/68, para. 11. The People’s Protection Units (Kurdish People’s Protection Units/Women’s Protection Units) operate under the effective command and control of the Syrian Democratic Forces; see https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/2019/07/syrian-democratic-forces-sign-action-plan-toend-and-prevent-the-recruitment-and-use-of-children/.