ICC prosecutor holds talks on aiding war crimes prosecutions by new Syrian government

International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan has held discussions with Syrian authorities on how the war crimes tribunal could help in their efforts to prosecute crimes allegedly committed in the country, his office says.

Khan was invited to Syria by the transitional government, which took over after former President Bashar al-Assad was toppled in December.

Khan met with Syria’s de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa to discuss how the ICC prosecutors could support the Syrian authorities in their efforts “towards accountability for alleged crimes committed in the country,” his office says.

The ICC, which has 125 member states, is the world’s permanent court to prosecute individuals for alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and aggression.

Syria is not a member state, but could accept the ICC’s jurisdiction as a first step, Khan tells Reuters in an interview.

Such a step would mirror the action Ukraine took in search of accountability for alleged Russian war crimes.

“Some of the remarks coming out of Syria by the transitional government seem to have indicated an openness to justice and accountability for crimes that may have taken place,” Khan says in the interview.

“I think we’re happy to take part in the conversation to tell them the options that they have.”