UN General Assembly lambasts Syria government

Rivers of Syrian blood

The UN General Assembly’s human rights committee demanded Tuesday that Syria’s government immediately allow humanitarian aid to be delivered to areas throughout the country that need it most and stop hampering distribution with “bureaucratic impediments and other obstacles.”

The draft resolution sailed through the assembly’s 193-member subcommittee by a vote of 123 member states (up 16 from last #UNGA resolution), with 13 against and 46 abstentions, assuring that it will be adopted by the entire General Assembly later this year by a similar margin. Russia and China were among the countries voting against it.

With the Security Council divided between Syria’s key ally Russia and China on one side, and the West and Arab states supporting the opposition on the other, it has been the General Assembly and UN agencies that have been most forthright and vocal in demanding relief in the Syrian crisis and an end to the war. However, General Assembly resolutions are not enforceable.

The resolution approved Tuesday also comes close to blaming the Syrian government and military for the deadly Aug. 21 nerve gas attack in a Damascus suburb held by the rebels.

It says the report by UN inspectors filed in September “provides clear evidence that surface-to-surface rockets were fired on 21 August from Government-held territory into opposition areas, using professionally made munitions containing Sarin.”

Saudi Arabia led the drafting of the text, which was co-sponsored by more than 60 states.

The draft resolution was approved by the General Assembly's Third Committee, which focuses on human rights, and will be put to a formal vote next month in the General Assembly. It is expected to pass with similar support.

Following is the full resolution text:

The General Assembly,

 Guided by the Charter of the United Nations,

 Reaffirming the purposes and principles of the Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and relevant international human rights treaties, including the International Covenants on Human Rights,

 Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic and to the principles of the Charter,

 Recalling its resolutions 66/176 of 19 December 2011, 66/253 A of 16 February 2012, 66/253 B of 3 August 2012, 67/183 of 20 December 2012 and 67/262 of 15 May 2013, Human Rights Council resolutions S-16/1 of 29 April 2011,3 S-17/1 of 23 August 2011,3 S-18/1 of 2 December 2011,4 19/1 of 1 March 2012,5 19/22 of 23 March 2012,5 S-19/1 of 1 June 2012,6 20/22 of 6 July 2012, 21/26 of 28 September 2012, 22/24 of 22 March 2013, 23/1 of 29 May 2013, 23/26 of 14 June 2013 and 24/22 of 27 September 2013, and Security Council resolutions 2042 (2012) of 14 April 2012, 2043 (2012) of 21 April 2012 and 2118 (2013) of 27 September 2013 and presidential statement 2013/15 of 2 October 2013,

 Expressing outrage at the continuing escalation of violence in the Syrian Arab  Republic, which has caused over 100,000 casualties, mostly by conventional weapons, and in particular at the continued widespread and systematic gross violations, as well as abuses, of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law, including those involving the continued use of heavy weapons and aerial bombardments, such as the indiscriminate use of ballistic missiles and cluster munitions, by the Syrian authorities against the Syrian population,

 Expressing alarm at the failure of the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic to protect its population and to implement the relevant resolutions and decisions of United Nations bodies,

 Expressing grave concern at the spread of extremism and extremist groups, and strongly condemning all human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law in the Syrian Arab Republic,

 Strongly condemning the large-scale use of chemical weapons on 21 August 2013 in the Ghouta area of Damascus, as concluded in the report of the United Nations Mission to Investigate Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic, condemning the killing of civilians that resulted from it, affirming that the use of chemical weapons constitutes a serious violation of international law, and stressing that those responsible for any use of chemical weapons must be held accountable,

 Recalling that the League of Arab States, in its resolution 7667 adopted by the Ministerial Council of the League at its 140th ordinary session on 1 September 2013, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, in the final communiqué of its Annual Coordination Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of 27 September 2013, have held the Syrian Government fully responsible for the chemical attacks against the Syrian people, which took place in the Ghouta area of Damascus,

 Also recalling the statements made by the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights that crimes against humanity are likely to have been committed in the Syrian Arab Republic, stressing that the Syrian authorities have failed to prosecute such serious violations, and noting the repeated encouragement by the High Commissioner that the Security Council refer the situation to the International Criminal Court,

 Strongly condemning the continued border violations from the Syrian Arab Republic into neighboring countries, which have led to casualties among and injuries to the civilians of those countries, including Syrian refugees, and underlining that such incidents have violated international law and highlighted the grave impact of the crisis in the Syrian Arab Republic on the security of its neighbors and on regional peace and stability,

Deploring the further deterioration of the humanitarian situation and the failure of the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic to ensure the immediate, safe and unimpeded provision of humanitarian assistance to all areas affected by the fighting,

 Expressing deep concern at the more than 2.2 million refugees, including more than one million children, and the millions of internally displaced persons fleeing as a result of the extreme violence in the Syrian Arab Republic, and at the escalating violence causing an influx of Syrian refugees into neighboring countries and other countries in the region,

 Welcoming the hosting by the Government of Kuwait, on 30 January 2013, of the pledging conference for the United Nations joint appeal, and also welcoming with appreciation the hosting by the Government of Kuwait of a second international humanitarian pledging conference for Syria in January 2014,

 Expressing its deep appreciation for the significant efforts that have been made by neighboring countries and other countries in the region to accommodate Syrian refugees, while acknowledging the increasing political, socioeconomic and financial impact of the presence of large-scale refugee populations in these countries, notably in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, Egypt and Libya,

 Welcoming the efforts of the United Nations, the League of Arab States and the Joint Special Representative of the United Nations and the League of Arab States for Syria to achieve a solution to the Syrian crisis,

 1. Strongly condemns the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic, which is prohibited under international law, amounts to a serious crime and has a devastating impact on civilians, and in particular the massacre in the Ghouta area of Damascus, and notes in this regard the report of 16 September 2013 prepared by the United Nations Mission to Investigate Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic, which provides clear evidence that surface-to-surface rockets were fired on 21 August from Government-held territory into opposition areas, using professionally made munitions containing Sarin, which strongly points to use by the Syrian Government;

 2. Also strongly condemns the continued widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms and all violations of international humanitarian law by the Syrian authorities and the Government affiliated shabbiha militias, including those involving the use of heavy weapons, aerial bombardments, cluster munitions, ballistic missiles and other force against civilians, attacks on schools, hospitals and places of worship, massacres, arbitrary executions, extrajudicial killings, the killing and persecution of protestors, human rights defenders and journalists, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, violations of women’s rights, unlawful interference with access to medical treatment, failure to respect and protect medical personnel, torture, systemic sexual and gender-based violence, including rape in detention, and ill-treatment, and strongly condemns all human rights abuses or violations of international humanitarian law by armed extremists, as well as any human rights abuses or violations of international humanitarian law by armed anti-Government groups;

 3. Condemns all grave violations and abuses committed against children in contravention of applicable international law, such as their recruitment and use, killing and maiming, rape and all other forms of sexual violence, attacks on schools and hospitals, as well as arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, ill-treatment and their use as human shields;

 4. Also condemns all violence, irrespective of where it comes from, and calls upon all parties to immediately put an end to all forms of violence, including terrorist acts and acts of violence or intimidation that may foment sectarian tensions, and to comply strictly with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law;

 5. Demands that all parties immediately put an end to all violations and abuses of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and recalls, in particular, the obligation under international humanitarian law to distinguish between civilian populations and combatants, the prohibition against indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks and all attacks against civilians and civilian objects, also demands that all parties to the conflict take all appropriate steps to protect civilians, including by desisting from attacks directed against civilian objects, such as medical centers, schools and water stations, immediately demilitarize such facilities, avoid establishing military positions in populated areas and enable the evacuation of the wounded and all civilians who wish to do so from besieged areas, and recalls in this regard that the Syrian authorities bear primary responsibility for protecting its population;

 6. Strongly condemns the intervention of all foreign combatants in the Syrian Arab Republic, including those fighting on behalf of the Syrian authorities, and in particular Hezbollah, and expresses deep concern that their involvement further exacerbates the deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation, which has a serious negative impact on the region;

 7. Demands that the Syrian authorities immediately release all persons arbitrarily detained, including the members of the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression, publish a list of all detention facilities, ensure that conditions of detention comply with applicable international law and immediately allow access of independent monitors to all detention facilities;

 8. Also demands that the Syrian authorities fully cooperate with the independent international commission of inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic and provide it and individuals working on its behalf with immediate, full and unfettered entry and access to all areas of the country, and further demands that all parties cooperate fully with the commission in the performance of its mandate;

 9. Stresses the importance of ensuring accountability and the need to end impunity and hold to account those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights, including those violations that may amount to crimes against humanity, notably in the Ghouta area of Damascus on 21 August 2013, and encourages the Security Council to consider appropriate measures to ensure accountability in the Syrian Arab Republic, and stresses the important role that international criminal justice could play in this regard;

 10. Underlines the importance that the Syrian people, on the basis of broad, inclusive and credible consultations, should determine, within the framework provided by international law and based upon the complementarity principle, the domestic process and mechanisms to achieve reconciliation, truth and accountability for gross violations, as well as reparations and effective remedies for the victims;

11. Reminds the Security Council of its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security and to take measures to put an end to all serious violations of international humanitarian law and all serious violations and abuses of international human rights law committed in the Syrian Arab Republic;

 12. Strongly condemns all attacks by the Syrian authorities or any other party against medical facilities, personnel and vehicles as well as the use of medical and civilian facilities, including hospitals, for armed purposes, recalls that under international humanitarian law the wounded and sick must receive, to the fullest extent practicable, and with the least possible delay, the medical care and attention required by their condition, and urges that free passage for medical personnel and supplies, including surgical items and medicine be provided to all areas in the Syrian Arab Republic;

 13. Stresses that the magnitude of the humanitarian tragedy caused by the conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic requires immediate action to facilitate the safe and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance throughout the entire country, in particular in areas and districts where humanitarian needs are especially urgent, condemns all cases of arbitrary denial of humanitarian access, and recalls that depriving civilians of objects indispensable to their survival, including willfully impeding relief supply and access, can constitute a violation of international humanitarian law;

 14. Demands that the Syrian authorities take immediate steps to facilitate the expansion of humanitarian relief operations and lift bureaucratic impediments and other obstacles, including through immediately facilitating safe and unimpeded access to people in need, through the most effective ways, including across conflict lines and across borders, and urges all parties to take all appropriate steps to facilitate the efforts of the United Nations, its specialized agencies and all humanitarian actors engaged in humanitarian relief activities to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to the affected people in the Syrian Arab Republic and to nominate empowered interlocutors who can work with humanitarian agencies to resolve difficulties in gaining such access, in order to fully implement the humanitarian response plan;

 15. Expresses grave concern at the increasing numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons as a result of the ongoing violence, reiterates its appreciation for the significant efforts that have been made by neighboring countries and countries of the region to assist those who have fled across the borders of the Syrian Arab Republic as a consequence of the violence, urges all relevant United Nations agencies, in particular the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and other donors to provide urgent and coordinated support to Syrian refugees and their host countries, and calls upon Member States, based on burden-sharing principles, to host the Syrian refugees in coordination with the Office of the High Commissioner;

 16. Demands that the Syrian Government implement the relevant resolutions and decisions of United Nations bodies and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons;

 17. Stresses its support for the aspirations of the Syrian people for a peaceful, democratic and pluralistic society, with the full and effective participation of women, in which there is no room for sectarianism or discrimination on ethnic, religious, linguistic, gender or any other grounds, based on the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms;

 18. Reaffirms its support for the Geneva communiqué of 30 June 2012, and demands in this regard that all Syrian parties to the conflict rapidly implement the transition plan set forth in the final communiqué in a way that assures the safety of all in an atmosphere of stability and calm, provides for clear and irreversible steps in the transition according to a fixed time frame and establishes a consensus transitional governing body with full executive powers to which all functions of the presidency and Government are transferred, including those pertaining to military, security, and intelligence issues, as well as a review of the constitution on the basis of an inclusive national dialogue and free and fair multiparty elections held in the framework of this new constitutional order, and calls for the convening as soon as possible of the international conference on the Syrian Arab Republic to implement the Geneva communiqué. 

Syria averaging 6,000 refugees and 165 deaths daily

Two Saudi mobile bakery trucks to produce 70,000 Arabic pita bread loaves a day

On royal orders, the “Saudi National Campaign to Support the Syrian Brethren” yesterday started operating two massive mobile bakery trucks at two Turkey-Syria border crossings.

Each of the trucks has the capacity to produce 35,000 Arabic pita bread loaves a day for distribution to displaced Syrians in Turkey and contiguous Syrian areas.

One truck was parked at the Bab al-Salam border gate, the other at the Bab al-Hawa crossing.

In New York, three UN officials told the Security Council the conflict in Syria has caused the world's worst refugee crisis for 20 years, with an average of 6,000 people fleeing every day -- and another 5,000 killed every month -- in 2013.

UN refugee chief Antonio Guterres said refugee numbers had not risen "at such a frightening rate" since the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

He was speaking to the UN Security Council, which also heard UN assistant secretary general for human rights Ivan Simonovic say that 5,000 Syrians are being killed each month.

UN aid chief Valerie Amos said at least 6.8 million Syrians needed urgent help.

Since the uprising in March 2011 as many as 100,000 people have been killed, almost 2 million have fled to neighboring countries and a further 4 million have been internally displaced. In addition, at least 6.8 million Syrian require urgent humanitarian assistance, half of them children.

GUTERRES

Guterres said two-thirds of the nearly 2 million refugees registered with the UN had fled Syria since the beginning of the year -- an average of 6,000 a day.

"We have not seen a refugee outflow escalate at such a frightening rate since the Rwandan genocide almost 20 years ago," he told a rare public briefing to the Security Council.

Guterres said the impact of the refugee crisis on neighboring countries was "crushing," but said the acceptance of Syrians by countries such as Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq was "saving hundreds of thousands of lives."

And he said the "danger that the Syrian conflict could ignite the whole region" was "not an empty warning.”

Lebanon and Jordan are currently the two most affected countries, hosting over one million refugees between them.

“Measures must be taken now to mitigate the enormous risks of spillover and to support the stability of Syria's neighbors, so as to keep the situation from escalating into a political, security and humanitarian crisis that would move far beyond the international capacity to respond,” he said.

SIMONOVIC

Simonovic told the meeting some 5,000 lives were being claimed in Syria each month, demonstrating "a drastic deterioration of the conflict.”

"In Syria today, serious human rights abuses, war crimes and crimes against humanity are the rule," he said.

“Government forces carry on with indiscriminate and disproportionate shelling and aerial bombardments, using among other weapons tactical ballistic missiles, cluster and thermobaric bombs, all causing extensive damage and casualties if used in densely populated areas,” Simonovic said.

AMOS

Ms Amos said $3.1bn was still needed to provide aid in and around Syria for the rest of the year, and she accused both sides in Syria of "systematically and in many cases deliberately" failing in their obligation to protect civilians.

"We are not only watching the destruction of a country but also of its people," she said.

Ms. Amos said while UN agencies continue to deliver assistance, gaps in the humanitarian response remain as access to many affected areas such as Homs and Aleppo is difficult due to security concerns or government restrictions.

“While we know where those considered most vulnerable are located, humanitarian organizations are still not able to get regular, consistent and unimpeded access to millions of affected people,” she said, adding the government has also imposed bureaucratic procedures which have impeded humanitarian workers to access affected areas.

“Some locations remain inaccessible due to active fighting or insecurity. However, there are other areas, sometimes only a few kilometers away from our offices -- including in Damascus and Homs -- where we are not granted authorization to enter.”

Ms. Amos noted that the situation inside the country has worsened, with reports indicating an “open and blatant violation of the rules of war, with total disregard for human life and dignity, in a climate of generalized impunity.”

Denial of access to Qusayr

Denial of humanitarian access and safe passage to civilians trapped in fighting in violation of the laws of war has been a recurring issue during the Syrian armed conflict, Human Rights Watch said in a report on the eve of the UN Security Council meeting.

A recent Human Rights Watch investigation into the government and Hezbollah attack on Qusayr, near Homs, found the government’s refusal to allow humanitarian organizations access to the town appears to have contributed to several dozen deaths because no safe evacuation routes were available to civilians, and wounded people were denied adequate medical care.

“Many lives in Qusayr might have been saved if the Syrian government had allowed aid organizations to do their job,” said Ole Solvang, senior emergencies researcher at Human Rights Watch. “When people are dying every day, Security Council members should be calling for humanitarian access, not hiding behind political negotiations.”

Several governments and high-level UN officials called on the Syrian government to grant humanitarian access to Qusayr during the fighting in May and June. But the Security Council did not issue a statement on access until the fighting was over due to obstruction by Russia. Russia also blocked a subsequent Security Council statement on Homs where the government is imposing a siege on opposition-controlled areas…

Human Rights Watch interviews with witnesses from Qusayr, including three doctors who had reached Lebanon, indicates that several dozen civilians and wounded may have died from lack of medical treatment in the town and during the evacuation, or during possibly unlawful government attacks on those trying to escape…


On May 19, Syrian government forces, supported by a significant number of Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon, began a major offensive to retake Qusayr, a Syrian town of about 30,000 people on the border with Lebanon. Opposition forces had largely controlled the strategically important town since July 2012.

For two weeks, government forces subjected the town to intensive bombardment and enforced a siege, preventing food, medical supplies, and other necessities from reaching civilians who remained in the town.

In the months leading up to, and particularly during, the two-week battle for Qusayr, government forces maintained a siege on the town, preventing food, water, fuel, and medical supplies from entering. The lack of electricity and potable water in the town exacerbated the situation…

Dr. Qassem al-Zein, one of the few remaining medical staff in the town during the siege, told Human Rights Watch they tried to bring medical supplies into town through the government checkpoints, but government forces always confiscated the supplies. Cars attempting to smuggle in supplies were attacked on several occasions, he said...


The government’s refusal to allow access to the town by the International Committee of the Red Cross, or other independent humanitarian actors who could have facilitated evacuation of civilians and treated the wounded, appears to have contributed to several dozen deaths… 

Several witnesses told Human Rights Watch about a failed attempt to evacuate 50 wounded civilians and fighters by car in the evening on May 25, for example. About five kilometers north of the town government forces opened fire from a checkpoint, killing 13 people. Those killed included a father whose child lost both legs in the attack…




Information from witnesses indicates that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of civilians and wounded remained in Qusayr on June 4, the day before government forces took control of the town…



Dr. al-Zein told Human Rights Watch he believed the group fleeing Qusayr and neighboring villages consisted of at least 10,000 people altogether, including 1,300 wounded. Others put the total number as high as 15,000.

After rumors started circulating in Qusayr that opposition forces would soon have to abandon the town, civilians started leaving in large numbers on the afternoon of June 4…

Local residents who evacuated on June 4 and 5 said government forces attacked the evacuating groups.



The groups of fleeing civilians, wounded, and fighters came under intensive attacks as they tried to cross the Homs-Damascus highway… during the night of June 7.



The number killed during the evacuation is unknown and estimates vary widely. An activist who is collecting names of those killed during the evacuation provided Human Rights Watch with a list of the names of 29 people killed at the crossing alone. Dozens are still missing, however, according to the activist.

According to medical staff and others, at least 13 people who had been wounded previously died due to lack of medical care, food, and water during the evacuation…



In one case, Walid Khaled Sharouf, an 18-year-old who was wounded in Qusayr by shrapnel in his chest during an airstrike in May died while attempting to flee because he did not get a needed blood transfusion.



Witnesses told Human Rights Watch about two incidents in which convoys evacuating wounded, civilians, and fighters struck anti-vehicle landmines that government forces planted on secondary routes. One man who was helping to evacuate people to the hospital in Yabroud on June 9 told Human Rights Watch:

There were about 30 cars in our convoy. This was the only road that the FSA [opposition Free Syria Army] could use to evacuate wounded. When the first car exploded on a landmine, the drivers in the other cars panicked, trying to turn around their cars. Two more cars hit landmines. A tank shell hit the fourth. All the people in the cars died, both wounded and fighters… 

From Manchester to Syria with love

The convoy as it prepared to leave Manchester to Syria yesterday

The first collaborative UK relief aid convoy left Manchester yesterday en route to Syria. A second is set to follow later in November.

The first convoy, which set off from Manchester yesterday, consists of:

• Eight ambulances
• Seven doctors who will run life-saving training programs in border areas and inside Syria
• Medical supplies and equipment, including two dental chairs
• Six highly skilled British physiotherapists
• Three vans loaded with blankets and new winter clothes

Public donations for the two convoys were raised by nine relief organizations, namely: Syria Relief, Mosaic Initiative for Syria, Humanitarian Group for Syria, Human Care Foundation Worldwide, Lifeline Help, Khayr Charity Foundation, Libya Human Aid, Ummah Welfare Trust, and the Union des Organisations Syriennes de Secours Médicaux (UOSSM).

You can donate to make the next convoy possible. It’s not too late! Follow this link: www.justgiving.com/HCFW-Syria-Appeal.