GENEVA — Syria’s political transition remains fragile despite progress in rebuilding state institutions, the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic said on Wednesday, warning that continued human rights violations and selective accountability could undermine efforts to achieve lasting peace. In a briefing to the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, commissioners Monia Ammar and Fionnuala Ní Aoláin said Syria had taken important steps since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, including establishing a People’s Assembly and Constitutional Court in July.

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Australian police said on Friday they had charged two women linked to the Islamic State extremist group with slavery offences.

Thirty-four Australians released from a camp holding families of suspected Islamic State militants in Syria have returned, sources said.