Geneva Institute for Human Rights

GENEVA – The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Thursday published the report of its fact-finding mission on Syria, which suggested that the Syrian government's crackdown on protesters could constitute a crime against humanity and should be referred to the International Criminal Court.

The 22-page report urged the Security Council to "address in the strongest terms the killing of peaceful protesters and other civilians in Syria through the use of excessive force and other grave human right violations; to call for an immediate cessation of attacks against the civilian population; and to consider referring the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court."

Along with UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay briefed the UN Security Council on the mission's findings and the current situation in Syria in a closed-door session in New York on Thursday afternoon. On August 22, the Human Rights Council will hold a second Special Session on human rights in Syria.

The fact-finding mission was set up by the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) during a Special Session on Syria on April 29 to investigate alleged violations of international human rights law. The HRC, a 47-member state body, asked the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to undertake the mission and produce a report.

The report covers events in Syria over a four-month period from March 15 to July 15. It can be accessed at the OHCHR Country Page – Syrian Arab Republic:

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/MENARegion/Pages...