Statement at the Arria-Formula Meeting on Accountability in the Syrian Arab Republic

Thank you for giving me the floor.

I thank the Permanent Mission of Estonia and the co-sponsors of this meeting for convening us today.

Kenya's overriding interest in the situation in Syria has been premised on supporting actions that will concretely offer support, relief and a semblance of hope and promise to the people of Syria who have endured a dreadful decade long conflict. Kenya has categorically continued to condemn the unrelenting destruction of human lives, livelihoods and civilian infrastructure as a result of protracted violence and insecurity as we have seen through ground and air attacks.

No one can forget the depredations and evil visited on innocent lives by ISIS/ISIL and other forms of extensive and inhumane violence. We vividly recall the caravans of refugee families fleeing for their safety from homes and regions that the Government could not protect.

Excellencies,

Accountability and the delivery of justice are critical elements in the search for durable peace in Syria. They are also key markers for the trust a people have in their government.

The accountability of serious violations including crimes against humanity and war crimes, perpetrated in Syria is therefore not only pertinent, it is just. The victims deserve justice.

It is for this conviction that Kenya deems it opportune for the following:

Firstly, the effectiveness of national judicial and prosecutorial institutions is critical to the exercise of sovereignty. As such, Kenya calls for the critical need to strengthen national institutions and mechanisms to be able to respond to the demand for justice and accountability. In addition, Kenya calls for the strict adherence to the principle of complementarity with regard to regional and international judicial instruments.

Secondly, there is even more need to revitalize and re-double efforts that will ensure accountability through UN mandated bodies and mechanisms such as the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism on Syria (IIIM) established by the UN General Assembly, the UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da'esh/ISIL (UNITAD) and the Board of Inquiry established by the Secretary General to review and investigate incidents, among others.

In this regard, the international community's resolve to ensure that perpetrators are held to account is paramount in a manner that refrains from the politicisation of international instruments and that sustainably provides financial support to such mechanisms.

Thirdly, multiple actors and the internationalised nature of the conflict in Syria has reinforced political allegiances and calculations that only serves vested interests as opposed to prioritising the most vulnerable. This must desist. Parties, with political interests in Syria must therefore shift their terms of engagement.

Finally, we believe that the region has a critical role to play in supporting Syria's peace and security challenges. We hope that recent regional interest is a signal of the region's appetite to lead in seeking progress, offering stability, promoting reconciliation and urgently supporting the need to uphold peace and justice for the people of Syria.

Excellencies,

We must also ask ourselves what the next chapter of aspiration will look like for the Syrian people. With additional funding, support for reconstruction can also provide a path to fulfilling accountability and responsibility which will pave the way for a hopeful future that the Syrian people have not only longed for but deserve.

As I close, I would like to reiterate that without addressing the deep grievances among the Syrian people, we are likely to experience a perilous cycle of conflict in the country. The Security Council has a moral obligation to objectively respond and help those facing persecution. As the Secretary General said and I quote: "What is at stake is nothing less than the survival and well-being of a generation of innocents".

I thank you.