Originally published on the CGS blog on August 23, 2011.
For the second time this year, the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) held a special session on Syria, adopting a resolution today condemning the ongoing violence and voting to send an independent international commission of inquiry into the country.
The resolution was adopted by the Council in a vote of 33 to 4, with 9 abstentions. Among other things, it:
- Strongly condemns grave and systematic human rights violations by the Syrian leaders;
- Welcomes the recent report of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Syria and expresses profound concern about its findings; and
- Calls upon the Syrian authorities to immediately end all human rights violations and to protect their citizens.
The commission of inquiry would be sent to Syria to investigate all alleged human rights abuses which have occurred in the country since March. One of the goals of the commission’s work would be to identify any perpetrators of abuses, including crimes against humanity, who would then be held accountable for their actions.
Russia and China both voted against the resolution. Russia claimed it was overly political and ignored positive steps taken by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad; China stressed the importance of Syrian sovereignty in solving the country’s problems. The two other HRC member countries to oppose the resolution were Cuba and Ecuador.
I’m glad that the HRC has taken action on Syria, but more needs to be done. I hope the UN Security Council (UNSC) will follow up soon with a resolution, which should include referring Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Any potential veto threats from permanent (P-5) members of the Council including Russia and China must not deter this. As P-5 members, Russia and China both have an obligation to refrain from using their veto power when protection of civilian lives is at stake, as is the case in Syria. The HRC has taken action on this crisis; now the Security Council needs to follow through.
