HRC Report On Syria Makes Clear Assad Government Responsible For Gross Human Rights Violations
Human Rights Council 19th Session, Geneva, Switzerland
Casey L. Addis, Political Officer, USUN Mission to Geneva
March 12, 2012
Thank you, Madame President.
The United States thanks the commission of inquiry on Syria for its exceptional reporting on the ongoing human rights crisis there and welcomes its most recent report.
The Assad regime’s brutal killings, torture, and indiscriminate bombings continue day after day after day in Syria. For months a living nightmare and humanitarian disaster has become part of daily life throughout Syria, particularly in Homs and Hama. Even women and children have been targeted for arrest, torture, and enforced disappearances. Some of the most appalling images we have seen over the past year have involved the horrific torture and murder of children.
The commission of inquiry’s report makes these facts unmistakably clear. And it is equally clear that the Assad government bears responsibility for these gross human rights violations. We take seriously the commission’s findings that “gross human rights violations were conducted pursuant to a policy of the State,” and that the regime’s “forces have committed widespread, systematic and gross human rights violations, amounting to crimes against humanity, with the apparent knowledge and consent of the highest levels of the State.”
We commend the commission for its meticulous work identifying specific security agencies, army units, and individuals who may be responsible for those acts. It is of utmost importance that the mandate of the commission of inquiry is extended so it can continue its work documenting violations and collecting evidence to assist in holding accountable those who are responsible for these violations.
http://www.humanrights.gov/2012/03/13/hrc-report-on-syria-makes-clear-assad-government-responsible-for-gross-human-rights-violations/
