UN human rights chief asked to address General Assembly

Published on Saturday 11 February 2012 03:21

THE United Nations’ human rights chief has been invited to brief the General Assembly on Syria as countries seeking condemnation of the Assad regime’s crackdown on civilians move their efforts from the Security Council to the 193-member world body.

General Assembly President Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser invited Navi Pillay to address a General Assembly meeting on Monday

Ms Pillay has called for an immediate end to the escalating violence.

Following last Saturday’s veto by Russia and China of a Security Council resolution aimed at halting the violence, diplomats said Arab nations are starting to draft a similar resolution for approval by the General Assembly where there are no vetoes. Turkey’s foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu said yesterday that he will propose new ways to pressure Syria when he meets Hillary Clinton on Monday.

Mr Davutoglu said Turkey is looking for ways outside the United Nations Security Council to pressure the Assad regime to stop killing civilians.

He said he wants to send a signal that president Bashar al-Assad’s operations against civilians have undermined his legitimacy and will lead to his own downfall. He added: “What we need today is to send a strong message to the Syrian people that they are not alone.”

He said that Mr Assad had lost all credibility. The most urgent issue for the international community, Davutoglu said, was to force Syria to accept humanitarian missions.”