Syria To Be Condemned By The UN Human Rights Council
Syrian Unrest
The United Nations Human Rights Council on Friday announced that Syria would be condemned for the use of violence against the civilian population. The High Commissioner Navy Pillay is expected to tell the council that the Syrian regime tortured and killed children, that it imprisoned civilians.
The panel assigned to gather information about the regime’s abuses said that it had evidence from 233 witnesses and victims of the repression, that the death toll since the unrest started eight months ago has been established to 4,000 but that it is in fact much higher.
Pillay reminded that in August she had warned that as soon as more people took arms or defected from the army, the risk of the country slipping into civil war would increase, which became a fact, as Syria is standing now at the brink of war.
The emergency session of the Human Rights Council comes after the same body already passed a resolution condemning the repression in Syria. It comes after the Arab League suspended the restive country and in an unprecedented move decided sanctions against the regime in Damascus.
The Arab sanctions mean the crippling of the Syrian economy, given that the country is basing half of its economy on ties with neighboring countries. Turkey, which is a neighboring country is also announcing other sanctions besides those already imposed.
European Union made the same move, but an intervention the way NATO executed in Libya seems out of the question, though France proposed the establishment of a series of corridors for humanitarian aid, which would be protected by NATO troops, unless Syria agrees to them voluntarily.
The president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad threatened on various occasions against any international intervention by saying that such interventions would set the stage for a major conflict, which is exactly what the international decision-makers believe.
Britain accused Iran of supporting its long-standing ally Syria, which drew the European Union toward imposing a series of sanctions against Iran as well. Iranian students protested against British embassy in Tehran earlier this week.
The sanctions imposed on Syria are meant to create a wave of disapproval among the business people, who are supporters of the regime but will now see their investments going to the waste.
Reports from Homs say that the plan works as the business people get more and more impatient after their business found themselves in the position of not being able to sell their products to anyone.
Even so, it may take a while until the sanctions really bring down Bashar al-Assad, who continues undisturbed the crackdown. 20 people were reported killed on Thursday alone, and the situation does not seem to have room for betterment.
