Geneva Institute for Human Rights

In statements delivered shortly after a closed briefing of the UN Security Council, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on December 12 expressed alarm about reports indicating a military build-up and possible crackdown in the Syrian city of Homs, and called for urgent action at the international level to stop the violence threatening to drag Syria into sectarian violence and civil war.

"I am appalled by the constant stream of grave violations that have taken place since the first protests in Syria in March," Pillay said. "I am concerned that this continued ruthless repression and deliberate stirring of sectarian tensions, especially in Homs, may soon plunge Syria into civil war."

Reports received by the UN Human Rights office indicated that hundreds of tanks and weapons were deployed into Homs in the days preceding her briefing, as dozens of check-points were set up and trenches dug around the city. Video footage shows corpses on the street, tanks in residential areas and bullet-riddled buildings. Pillay noted that the UN Human Rights office could not independently verify reports because the Government had failed to grant access into the country, but said they were "consistent with established patterns."

The High Commissioner also raised her office's estimate of the total number of people killed since the protests began in March to more than 5,000. This number included civilians, as well as defecting soldiers and those executed for refusing to shoot civilians, she said, but did not include serving members of the military and other security forces and militias, hundreds of whom have also been killed.

She called on Syrian President Assad to make "a very clear public order to his security forces not to commit further human rights violations in Homs, or anywhere else in Syria, from this moment on. If anyone disobeys these orders, he must then order their immediate arrest and prosecution."

Noting that her office's fact-finding mission and commission of inquiry have both stated their belief that crimes against humanity were committed in Syria, Pillay reiterated her call for the Security Council to refer the case to the International Criminal Court. She also called again for Syrian authorities to cooperate fully with the Arab League initiative to send human rights monitors into the country. "Inaction by the international community will embolden Syrian authorities, and ensure perpetrators go unpunished," she said. "We remain ready to provide human rights monitoring assistance to the League of Arab States if requested."

OHCHR Country Page, Syrian Arab Republic:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/MENARegion/Pages...