The World Today - UN recommends Syria be referred to ICC 14/12/2011

The World Today - UN recommends Syria be referred to ICC 14/12/2011

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Tanya Nolan reported this story on Wednesday, December 14, 2011 12:38:00
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ELEANOR HALL: The United Nations is adding to the growing international pressure on the Syrian regime.

Overnight, the UN human rights commissioner recommended that the Assad regime be referred to the International Criminal Court, as her commission revised up the death toll from the anti-government protests to more than 5,000.

Syrian representatives reacted to the UN Security Council briefing with outrage and they were backed up by Russia and its allies who don't support punitive action against Syria.

Tanya Nolan has the latest.

TANYA NOLAN: A diplomatic storm is brewing in the United Nations over what to do about Syria.

The UN human rights commissioner Navi Pillay poured fuel on the fire with a briefing to the Security Council in which she said the death toll in the anti-government uprisings had grown by more than 1,000 in just 10 days.

NAVI PILLAY: Which is rather shocking. When I reported to the Security Council on the 18th of August, I reported 2,000 civilians killed and today I've reported that the figure exceeds 5,000 and the number of children killed more than 300.

I reported situations of torture in the detention centres, just huge numbers, displaced persons and thousands in detention.

So these are the conditions and it was all taken very seriously by the members of the Security Council and every one of them said that this level of violence has to stop.

TANYA NOLAN: But it hasn't stopped, prompting Navi Pillay to go one step further and recommend that Syrian authorities be referred to the International Criminal Court for investigation.

Britain's ambassador to the UN, Mark Lyall Grant found the case compelling.

MARK LYALL GRANT: We just heard a really distressing briefing from Mrs Navi Pillay. As one of our colleagues said it was the most horrifying briefing that we've had in the Security Council over the last two years.

TANYA NOLAN: But the UN faces a very different scenario to the one it encountered in Libya.

In February, the Security Council acted swiftly to authorise a no-fly zone over Libya which paved the way for a NATO-led intervention.

Now there's no such support for action against Syria from the BRIC nations of Brazil, Russia, India and China.

Russia, which vetoed a Security Council resolution on Syria in October, responded angrily to the human rights commissioner's latest report.

Russian ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin.

VITALY CHURKIN: We saw some key members of the international community and some key members of the Security Council switch gears and turn into regime more, discouraging dialogue, discouraging dialogue within Syria, discouraging dialogue between Arab League and Syria and we think this is very dangerous.

TANYA NOLAN: Syria's ambassador to the UN, Bashar Ja'afari, went further, describing the human rights commissioner and her figures as incredible.

BASHAR JA'AFARI: Mrs Pillay, the high commissioner is not objective, is not fair, she is not genuine. She has trespassed her mandate, she allowed herself to be misused in misleading the public opinion by providing information based on allegations collected from 233 defectors.

How could defectors give positive testimonies on the Syrian government?

TANYA NOLAN: Syria maintains the West is locked in a conspiracy against it and in a recent interview with American television, president Assad denied ordering any crackdown against protesters and says he is not in control of Syrian forces.

The group Human Rights Watch New York is preparing to release its latest report on Syria in which army defectors name more than 70 Syrian commanders who gave shoot to kill orders against unarmed protesters.

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Don't know how I missed that one.. I really like the title, even though the bread is still in the oven. :)