Prof. Fionnaula Ní Aoláin Interviewed by Financial Times About Continued Violence in Syria

Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, Regents Professor and Robina Chair in Law, Public Policy, and Society, was interviewed by the Financial Times about violence that is continuing in Syria. A United Nations investigation has found that more than 1,700 people were killed in a wave of sectarian violence in Syria’s Sweida province that may amount to war crimes by both government forces and Druze armed groups. The violence has posed one of the greatest challenges to President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s efforts to impose government control across the country and unite its various sects and military factions into a singular security force. Regarding violence committed by the Syrian government, Prof. Ní Aoláin, who serves as a commissioner on the U.N.’s Independent International Commission on Inquiry, said there is “no indication” that the Syrian government has “recognized or investigated violations and abuses committed by its forces.” She called on the Syrian government to “investigate these events as comprising crimes against humanity.”