UN advisers invoke ‘responsibility to protect’ civilians in Syria from mass atrocities by United Nations News 7:36pm 26th May, 2012   14 June 2012    UN advisers invoke ‘responsibility to protect’ civilians in Syria from mass atrocities.    Citing the Syrian Government’s “manifest” failure to protect its population, two senior United Nations officials today called on the international community to take immediate, decisive action to meet its responsibility to protect civilians in the country from further atrocities.    “With the increasing violence and deepening sectarian tensions, the risk of further mass atrocity crimes is high. The time for action is now,” the Special Advisers of the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide and on the Responsibility to Protect, Francis Deng and Edward Luck, respectively, said in a joint statement.    They called on the international community to take action to meet its ‘responsibility to protect’ populations at risk of further atrocities in Syria, taking into consideration “the full range of tools available under the United Nations Charter.”    Agreed at a summit of world leaders in 2005 and sometimes known as ‘R2P,’ the principle of the responsibility to protect holds States responsible for shielding their own populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and related crimes against humanity and requires the international community to step in if this obligation is not met.    The UN estimates that more than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Syria and tens of thousands displaced since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began some 16 months ago.    The two men said they were gravely alarmed by the widespread reports of mass killings in attacks that involved a series of Government artillery and tank shellings on residential neighbourhoods, as well as alleged attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure by a pro-government militia and other armed groups, which may constitute crimes against humanity.    “These massacres underscore the Syrian Government’s manifest failure to protect its population,” they stated.    The mass killings of civilians in Houla and Mazraat al-Qubeir, including the brutal assault and murder of women and children at close range, represent an alarming escalation in targeted attacks against civilians, they said, adding, “They must cease immediately.”    The Special Advisers underlined the importance of unimpeded access for the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) to carry out its mandate, particularly in ascertaining the facts of such killings.    They also called on all parties to immediately end all acts of violence and commit to implementing the six-point peace plan put forward by the Joint Special Envoy of the UN and the Arab League for the Syrian Crisis, Kofi Annan.    UNSMIS observers are charged with monitoring the cessation of violence, as well as monitoring and supporting the full implementation of the peace plan.    The plan calls for an end to violence, access for humanitarian agencies to provide relief to those in need, the release of detainees, the start of inclusive political dialogue that takes into account the aspirations of the Syrian people, and unrestricted access to the country for the international media.    Last week, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, noted that the killings in Syria over recent weeks are indicative of a pattern that may amount to crimes against humanity. She added that the confrontations in certain areas of the country have taken on the character of an internal conflict, subject to international humanitarian law and possible war crimes prosecution.    26 May 2012    Syria: UN officials deplore brutal killing of civilians near Homs    Top United Nations officials on Saturday strongly condemned the killing of over 90 civilians, including 32 children, and the wounding of hundreds more in a village near Homs, and stressed that those responsible must be held accountable.    Observers from the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) confirmed the killing after having viewed the bodies in the village of Houla, where they also confirmed from an examination of ordnance that artillery and tank shells were fired at a residential neighbourhood.    “This appalling and brutal crime involving indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force is a flagrant violation of international law and of the commitments of the Syrian Government to cease the use of heavy weapons in population centres and violence in all its forms,” said a statement issued on behalf of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Joint Special Envoy of the UN and the League of Arab States for Syria, Kofi Annan.    “Those responsible for perpetrating this crime must be held to account,” it added.    General Robert Mood, the head of UNSMIS, issued a statement in which he said that UN observers went earlier today to Houla, where they counted more than 32 children under the age of 10 and over 60 adults killed.    “The circumstances that led to these tragic killings are still unclear,” the statement noted, while adding that whoever is responsible should be held accountable.    “This indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force is unacceptable and unforgiveable. The killing of innocent children and civilians needs to stop,” it stated.    All three officials demand that the Syrian Government immediately cease the use of heavy weapons in population centres, and called on all parties to halt violence in all its forms. Mr. Annan is contacting the Syrian authorities to convey the expectations of the international community, and he will also do so during his forthcoming visit to Syria.    The UN estimates that more than 9,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Syria and tens of thousands displaced since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began some 14 months ago.    The violence prompted the Security Council to establish UNSMIS, with up to 300 unarmed military observers, to monitor the cessation of violence and support the full implementation of the six-point plan put forward by Mr. Annan.    That plan calls for an end to violence, access for humanitarian agencies to provide relief to those in need, the release of detainees, the start of inclusive political dialogue that takes into account the aspirations of the Syrian people, and unrestricted access to the country for the international media. Visit the related web page
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