GENEVA, 11 March, 2021 (TON): As the conflict marks the 10^th anniversary, on Thursday Michelle Bachelet UN Human Rights Chief urged the countries to accelerate the trials in their national courts against the suspected war criminals in Syria.

Bachelet also called for increased efforts to trace tens of thousands of missing, which she said included people held in jails run by government forces across Syria.

She said, “It remains vital that national courts continue to conduct fair, public and transparent trials and reduce the accountability gap for such serious crimes,”

She called the conviction “an important step forward on the path to justice”.

“We owe it to the victims to ensure the next decade is one of accountability and remedy, with their rights and needs addressed so they can rebuild their lives,” Bachelet said in a statement.

In March 2011, the pro-democracy protests broke out against President Bashar al-Assad’s autocratic family rule in Southern Syria that met a crackdown. However, the protests spread across the country and developed into a multi-sided war that only caused several deaths but forced around 1 million people to evacuate the homes.