23 August 2011, Geneva; The United Nations Human Rights Council today adopted a strong resolution on the human rights situation in the Syrian Arab Republic. The resolution "strongly condemns the continued grave and systematic human rights violations by the Syrian authorities" and establishes an "independent international commission of inquiry to investigate all alleged violations since March 2011". The Commission of Inquiry is expected to travel to Syria to catalogue human rights abuses and to ensure that the perpetrators are held accountable.
The resolution is designed to increase international pressure on the regime of President Bashar al-Assad to halt the violent repression of peaceful protesters and to enact promised democratic reforms. The Maldives, which is a member of the 47-member Human Rights Council, was one of the prime movers behind the Emergency Session of the Council and one of the original cosponsors of the resolution. The resolution passed with 33 votes in favour (including Syria's Arab neighbours such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan), four against (Russia, China, Cuba and Ecuador) and nine abstentions.
The calling of the Emergency of "Special" Session of the Council came in response to a worsening of the on-the-ground situation (including over 2200 deaths) and the publication of a report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) which concludes that human rights violations are so extreme that they may amount to crimes against humanity. These violations which include arbitrary executions, excessive use of force and the killing and persecution of protesters and human rights defenders, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, and torture, have worsened during the Holy Month of Ramadan.
During the debate at the Special Session, H.E. Ms. Iruthisham Adam, Maldives Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, said: "It is extremely unfortunate that instead of responding to the legitimate demands of the protest movement with dialogue and change, the Syrian authorities have intensified their campaign of violence, intimidation and killing against unarmed civilians; while promises of political reform have not been matched with action.
The Maldives is deeply disturbed by the scale of human rights violations contained in the OHCHR's report, and by the conclusion that the widespread and systematic attacks against the civilian population may amount to crimes against humanity. We would like to take this occasion to express our admiration for the bravery of those who continue to demand their basic human rights in the face of such violence, as well as our sympathy for those families which have lost loved-ones.
The events unfolding today in Tripoli offer a powerful reminder to all those who choose to rule through fear and violence instead of through consent and dialogue, that the desire of people to live freely and to enjoy their basic human rights will always prevail in the end. With this in mind, the Maldives again calls on the Syrian authorities to immediately cease all violence against civilians, and to begin a serious process of democratic and human rights reform. If they do not then, in our opinion, it is time for President Bashar al-Asad and his government to step aside".
Attention is now likely to turn to the UN Security Council in New York which has so far been unable to agree on a clear course of action in Syria.
ENDS