The UN’s human rights chief says an inquiry
has produced evidence that war crimes were authorized in Syria at the “highest
level,” including by President Bashar al-Assad.
 |
| Navi Pillay |
It is the first time the UN’s human rights office has so directly
implicated Assad.
Commissioner Navi Pillay said her office held a list of others
implicated by the inquiry.
The UN’s commission of inquiry into Syria has produced “massive
evidence... [of] very serious crimes, war crimes, crimes against humanity,” Ms
Pillay said.
“The scale of viciousness of the abuses being perpetrated by elements on
both sides almost defies belief," she said.
The evidence indicated responsibility “at the highest level of
government, including the head of state,” she added.
The inquiry has also previously reported it has evidence rebel forces in
Syria have been guilty of human rights abuses.
However, the investigators have always said the Syrian government
appears to be responsible for the majority, and that the systematic nature of
the abuse points to government policy.
Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad was dismissive of Ms
Pillay’s remarks.
"She has been talking nonsense for a long time and we don't listen
to her," he told AP.
Mekdad was in The Hague at a meeting of the Organization for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to discuss the effort to destroy Syria's
chemical weapons. Mekdad told the BBC's Anna Holligan, Syria needed lorries and armored
vehicles to move the chemicals
He told the BBC Syria needed more money and equipment from the
international community.
He said Syria needed lorries and armored vehicles to transport chemicals
to prevent “terrorists” attacking the vehicles on their way to the port of
Latakia, where they will be loaded onto a US naval vessel for destruction.
An OPCW spokesman at the conference told the BBC that any donations of
dual-use equipment would be carefully monitored and there would have to be
strict guidelines imposed to make sure the machinery could only be used for the
purpose of removing the weapons.
Ms Pillay said the UN commission of inquiry had compiled a list of those
believed to be directly responsible for serious human rights violations.
It is assumed senior figures in the Syrian military and government are
on that list, the BBC's Imogen Foulkes reports from Geneva.
However, the names and specific evidence relating to them remain
confidential pending a possible prosecution for war crimes and crimes against
humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
She has previously called on the UN Security Council to refer Syria to
the ICC.
Foulkes says Ms Pillay has repeatedly called on the UN Security Council
to refer Syria to the ICC, something it has not so far done. Her surprising
candor today may be a sign of her impatience.
Syria is not a state party to the ICC and therefore any investigation
into the conflict would need to be mandated by the Security Council.
However, Russia and China have a veto on the council and would be highly
unlikely to let such a move pass.
Human rights groups say the regime's use of air power often amounts to
war crimes
Ms Pillay's statement is a reminder of the severity of the situation in
Syria as preparations are made for the Geneva-2 peace conference next month,
the BBC correspondent says.
Ms Pillay, a former judge at the ICC, said perpetrators of crimes
must face justice.
"Accountability should be key priority of international
community, and I want to make this point again and again as the Geneva-2 talks
begin," she said. "I reiterate my call to all member states to refer
the situation to the ICC."
Both the government and the opposition National Coalition have said they
will attend the conference, but the head of the Western-backed rebel Free
Syrian Army has said it will continue fighting during the talks.
The National Coalition says it categorically rejects any role for Assad
in any transitional government, while the regime has said it is not going to
negotiate a "handover of power".
Also on Monday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a
UK-based activist group that monitors deaths in the conflict, said its estimate
of the number of dead had now reached 125,835, more than a third of them
civilians.
Almost 28,000 rebel fighters had died, and more than 50,000 on the side
of the government, including both regular soldiers and pro-regime militias. The
latter figure also includes almost 500 dead from the Lebanese Hezbollah
movement and other foreign Shiite militias.
However, it said it believed these figures were an underestimate as both
sides were reticent about reporting deaths in their ranks.
BBC/Agencies
