The brutality of the civil war in Syria shows no sign of abating, according to a report published by the United Nations' Human Rights Council this morning, with murder, rape, summary execution and hostage taking, perpetrated by both sides, increasingly commonplace.
In the report, the council warns that without a political solution to the crisis the gross violations of human rights it has documented will continue, and also worsen with the greater proliferation of arms in the country. The European Union, and especially the UK, is considering providing weapons to some rebel groups after an embargo on the sale of munitions to Syria was lifted last week.
Saying that both sides in the now two year long civil war are guilty of war crimes, the UN body says that forces loyal to the government of President Bashar al-Assad, "have committed murder, torture, rape, forcible displacement, enforced disappearance and other inhumane acts. Many of these crimes were perpetrated as part of widespread or systematic attacks against civilian populations and constitute crimes against humanity".
The myriad of rebel groups – all fighting for Assad's ouster, but some secularist, others Islamist – have also committed war crimes, according to the report's findings, but the violations – which include murder, summary execution, kidnapping and pillage – "did not, however, reach the intensity and scale of those committed by Government forces and affiliated militia".
The UN report covers the period between 15 January and 15 May, during which time the authors say that, "war crimes and crimes against humanity have become a daily reality in Syria where the harrowing accounts of victims have seared themselves on our conscience."
An estimated 80,000 people – including thousands of civilians – have been killed during the war, which has also driven more than a million overseas to avoid the fighting. Many analysts consider the conflict a proxy for wider tensions in the Middle East, with the Assad regime being supported by Shia Iran and many of the rebel groups receiving assistance from countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
But outside support for both sides has led to a quagmire which has prevented either side from gaining the necessary military advantage to win the war. At the same time, grave human rights abuses, and a complete gambit of war crimes, have filled the resulting vacuum.
The UN says that only a political settlement can end the conflict. Yet, joint US and Russian plans for a peace conference later this month in Geneva appear to be in trouble. The political group representing the rebels, the Syrian National Coalition, has refused to participate while fighters from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah continue to fight on behalf of the government, and Assad has publicly stated that he does not believe the summit can bring peace.
No date has yet been set for the conference, but the UN report concludes that only a political solution, based on the conclusions of an earlier Geneva conference held last year, can bring about an end to the war. "The conflict will end only through a comprehensive, inclusive political process. The international community must prioritise a de-escalation of the war and work within the framework of the 2012 Geneva Communiqué," it says.
The Geneva Communiqué laid out a six point plan to end the fighting, including a cessation of all violence and rapid progress towards a credible political settlement.
04 Jun, 2013
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Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNH90FJmX06IYmj956lFxdKXfRc__g&url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/murder-rape-and-execution-the-true-picture-of-human-rights-abuses-in-syria-according-to-un-report-8643123.html
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