UN body calls for Syria crackdown probe
UN human rights body condemns crackdown in Syria and calls for fact-finding
mission to Damascus as US imposes sanctions.
Last Modified: 29 Apr 2011 20:54
The UN Human Rights Council has endorsed a US call for an investigative mission
into the bloodshed in Syria by voting for a resolution that also condemned a
violent government crackdown in the country.
The resolution, approved on Friday, "unequivocally condemns the use of lethal
violence against peaceful protesters by the Syrian authorities... and urges the
Syrian government to immediately put an end to all human rights violations".
It also "requests the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to
urgently dispatch a mission to the Syrian Arab Republic to investigate all
alleged violations of international human rights law," according to the text
released by the United Nations.
Eileen Donahoe, the US human rights ambassador, said that the fact-finding
mission would look into violations committed by Syrian forces.
"The international community strongly condemns the behaviour demonstrated by
the Syrian authorities with
respect to peaceful protesters in their own country," Donahoe said.
"Opening live fire, sending in snipers and tanks to quell demonstrations is
unacceptable."
Although the western resolution was watered down, the vote managed to rally
crucial African and Latin American support to overcome Russia and China's
powerful opposition to international condemnation of Syria.
Several Arab nations including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, also
abstained or were absent when the vote was called, despite Syria's warnings
that the resolution "sent the wrong message" to violent protesters.
Twenty-six countries voted for the text, including some African and Latin
American nations that had voiced qualms during the special session on Syria,
while nine voted against.
US sanctions
The UN's condemnation of the violence in Syria comes as the United States
announced sanctions against Syria's main intelligence agency and two relatives
of Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, in response to his government's
crackdown on protests.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday demanded that Syria's ruler
immediately cease violence and hailed a UN Human Rights Council decision to
send investigators as precedent setting.
Clinton, speaking after a meeting with visiting Japanese Foreign Minister
Takeaki Matsumoto, renewed her call for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to
"respond to the legitimate aspirations" of his country's people.
"We continue to condemn in the strongest possible terms the absolutely
deplorable actions that the Syrian government is taking against its own people.
The violence must end immediately," she told reporters.
One official told the Reuters news agency that Mahir al-Assad, Bashar's
brother, and Atif Najib, one of his cousins, were among the five targets of US
sanctions related to alleged human rights violations.
The source said Mahir al-Assad is a brigade commander in the Syrian Army's 4th
Armored Division that has played a key role in Deraa, where protesters have
been killed by security forces.
Najib is described as a former head of the Political Security Directorate for
Deraa.
Al Jazeera's Patty Culhane said the announcement had been expected for days.
"These sanctions were expected for days, but even the White House does not
think it will make such an impact; they are hoping the European Union will
follow with similar actions."
Meanwhile, European Union member states reached a preliminary agreement to
impose an arms
embargo on Syria and consider other restrictive measures, diplomats said.
At a meeting in Brussels, ambassadors of EU governments gave a preliminary
green light to the arms embargo, which will have to be formalised in the coming
days.
They also asked EU experts to prepare plans for possible travel bans and asset
freezes that could be imposed on the Syrian leadership.
Iranian involvement
The new US sanctions also target the General Intelligence Directorate and its
director, Ali Mamluk.
The spy agency is accused by US officials of repressing dissent and monitoring
individual citizens, and of involvement in the killing of protesters in Deraa.
The fifth target is Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps - or Quds Force -
which is already under US sanctions for supporting militant groups around the
world.
The Quds Force is a branch of the Iranian government's principal security
agency which operates outside Iran and has in the past been accused by US
officials of interfering extensively in political and insurgent activities in
Iraq.
A source familiar with the new sanctions said the Quds Force is accused by the
Obama administration of being the conduit for support Iran has provided to
Syrian authorities in their crackdown on protesters.
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
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