A young boy cries as he sits with a relative who was killed from airstrikes in Eastern Aleppo.

The United Nations endorsed the formation of a special team to gather evidence and prepare cases of war crimes and human rights violations committed during the conflict in Syria.

A resolution on establishing the investigative mechanism was adopted in the 193-nation assembly by a vote of 105 to 15, with 52 abstentions.

The team will work in coordination with the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria.

Civil society groups have also been compiling documents, lists of witnesses and video footage that could one day be used in a court of law.

The draft resolution was initially co-sponsored by 54 countries, including the United States, France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Addressing the assembly, Liechtenstein’s Ambassador Christina Wenaweser said the resolution would address the Security Council’s failure to ensure those responsible for serious crimes face justice.

“We are finally taking one meaningful step to meet the expectations that we have failed for such a long time,” Wenaweser said.

The investigative committee have submitted several reports detailing atrocities committed during the war that has killed more than 310,000 people.

Russia, Syria’s main ally, and China in 2014 blocked a request by the council that the International Criminal Court begin investigations of war crimes in Syria.

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