Brussels/ Information Office/ April 05

The State of Qatar and the Principality of Liechtenstein have announced a doubling of their contributions to the Syrian Accountability Mechanism, with the State of Qatar contributing another US $ 500,000, while the Principality of Liechtenstein will also contribute 100,000 Swiss francs in response to the appeal of the UN Secretary-General so that the Mechanism budget would reach US $ 13 million.

HE the Foreign Minister HE Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, and the Foreign Minister of the Principality of Liechtenstein Aurelia Frick expressed their pride over the role of the leadership of their countries in this initiative, which encourages the strong support of the Mechanism from the international community so that the full annual budget can be met quickly and expeditiously.

The two ministers also called upon all countries to express their political support through their financial contributions, stressing that would enable the Mechanism to act as soon as possible as this is important and essential in achieving accountability for the crimes committed in Syria. They also expressed the hope that the Conference of Supporting Syria and the region will make significant progress in this regard.

To date, some 25 countries have committed to contribute up to a total of over US $ 8 million. The establishment of the Mechanism is an important step to combat impunity for crimes committed in Syria. In preparing case files to assist in investigations and prosecution of offenders, the mechanism will enable domestic, regional or international courts to institute criminal proceedings.