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U.N. rights forum to test world resolve on Syria

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 16:51 GMT

Source: reuters // Reuters

A man throws a rock at a passing tank in a location given as Deraa on April 25, 2011, in this still image from an amateur video. REUTERS/Social Media Website via Reuters TV

* Human Rights Council in urgent session on Syria on Friday

* Test of resolve of world powers, but also of Arab unity

By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA, April 28 (Reuters) - Syria is in the dock at the top U.N. human rights body on Friday, testing the resolve of world powers which have failed so far to condemn its violent crackdown on protesters, diplomats and activists said.

The emergency session of the Human Rights Council, requested by the United States, pits Western countries against China and Russia which along with Muslim states generally oppose outside interference in crises.

A European push for the United Nations Security Council to condemn Syria's repression was blocked on Wednesday by resistance from Russia, China and Lebanon -- which bodes ill for reaching consensus at the 47-member U.N. rights forum in Geneva. [ID:nN27176604]

"We have to be able to send a fairly strong message to Damascus. We need to open the eyes of some countries who are members of both the Human Rights Council and the Security Council," a Western diplomat told Reuters.

Syrian security forces have killed at least 500 civilians in the crackdown on a "peaceful democratic uprising" against President Bashar al-Assad, Syrian human rights organisation Sawasiah said on Thursday. [ID:nLDE73R0T9]

Washington has called for the U.N. rights forum to start an independent international investigation into killings, mass arrests and torture by Syrian forces.

"It is entirely appropriate that the Human Rights Council condemn willful government violence against peaceful political protestors," U.S. human rights ambassador Eileen Donahoe said in a statement this week.

Radwan Ziadah, a Syrian exile who heads the Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies, told a news briefing on Thursday: "It is important to have an international investigation into the killings because there will be no credible commission formed by the government. We know this regime is not reformable."

Security forces have fired on protestors in 16 cities, with the heaviest casualties in the southern city of Deraa, where tanks were sent in to crush resistance, and in the northern Damascus suburb of Douma, he said.

"The most worrying tactic used by the Syrian regime is the snipers," Ziadah said. "Ambulances are being targeted."

Syria is also in the middle of a campaign to win a seat on the Human Rights Council. That vote will be held in the General Assembly on May 20.

"One goal of the United States is they want to destroy the candidacy of Syria," Julie Gromellon of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) told reporters.

ARAB UNITY

China and Russia, joined by influential Cuba and Pakistan, oppose singling out countries for scrutiny and are likely to vote against the U.S. resolution, diplomats say.

Latin American and African countries are seen as swing votes and subject to heavy lobbying -- including Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico, as well as Ghana, Senegal and Zambia.

The session also poses a challenge to Arab unity amid regional fears of it leading to moves against Bahrain and Yemen, which have also cracked down on protesters.

"We are all looking for a pan Arab position. We don't have a clear picture yet," an Arab diplomat told Reuters.

Ziadah said he still hoped for support from some countries in the region. "The Gulf countries have become very silent; they are supporting us privately but doing nothing in public."

"We have lost faith in the Arab League. What we have in the Arab League is a very weak institution dominated by authoritarian regimes rather than an engine for democracy in the region."

The findings of U.N. rights inquiries can feed into eventual prosecutions by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Arab countries are trying to water down the U.S. draft text, proposing to scrap the international investigation, diplomats said.

"The situation in Syria has required serious attention for a long time. The Council should also be looking at other countries in the region, notably Bahrain and Yemen," Peter Splinter, Amnesty International representative in Geneva, told Reuters. (editing by David Stamp)