http://www.unwatch.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.
aspx?c=bdKKISNqEmG&b=1330815&ct=11106989

H. E. Laura Dupuy Lasserre
President, Human Rights Council
United Nations
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland

Aug. 9, 2011

Dear Madam President,

We, an international coalition of non-governmental and human rights organizations, urge the UN Human Rights Council to end its silence on the atrocities now being committed by the Syrian regime against its own people, known as the Ramadan Massacre.

It is unconscionable for the world’s top human rights body-which is pledged, under UNGA Resolution 60/251, to prevent human rights violations and respond promptly to human rights emergencies-to continue turning a blind eye to the state-sponsored massacre of civilians.

In the past week alone, the regime of President Bashar al-Assad has taken the lives of 200 innocent men, women and children in Hama, and dozens more in Deir al-Zour.

We are deeply concerned that the council has failed to take prompt or effective action to protect the victims of Syrian mass killings. We regret that the council waited during months of bloodshed, while more than 400 were killed, before it held a single meeting in April. Although Syria was eventually condemned at that meeting, there has been no meaningful follow-up action for the victims.

We therefore call on the council now to use all measures at its disposal to end the bloodshed. Inter alia, we recommend:

1. The council should exercise its responsibilities under Resolution 60/251 and immediately convene an emergency Special Session on the Syrian massacres in Hama, Deir al-Zour and elsewhere.

2. The council should strongly condemn Syria for its gross and systematic violations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including the right to life.

3. Given the inability of the High Commissioner’s fact-finding mission to enter Syria, the council should request the mission to conduct public hearings at the United Nations office in Geneva, featuring live, televised testimony by victims of the Syrian massacres, some of whom have escaped to neighboring countries. The global pressure generated by such hearings would constitute a golden opportunity for the council to make a concrete and effective contribution toward ending the killings.

4. The Council should end the protection gap by appointing a Special Rapporteur on the grave situation of human rights in Syria. This independent investigator, acting as an early warning mechanism for the international community, should report to both the council and the General Assembly, delivering initial reports to the upcoming September sessions of both bodies. The monitoring should last until Syria’s repressive Baath Party rule is replaced by a democratic government that respects basic human rights.

5. The council should take action to hold the Syrian military and political leadership personally accountable for crimes against humanity.

We respectfully request that this joint NGO appeal be circulated among the 47 member states of the council, as well as among all observer states and other stake-holders.

Sincerely,

Hillel C. Neuer, Executive Director, United Nations Watch, Switzerland

Ali Al Ahmed, The Gulf Institute

  1. Art Kaufman, Senior Director, World Movement for Democracy
  2. Don Kraus, Chief Executive Officer, Citizens for Global Solutions
  3. Afton Beutler, Worldwide Organization for Women, Switzerland
  4. Shomik Chaudhuri, Institute of International Social Development, India
  5. Amina Bouayach, President, Moroccan Human Rights Organization (OMDH)
  6. Nguyên Lê Nhân Quyên, Vietnamese League for Human Rights, Switzerland
  7. Anki Flores, Anti-Racism Information Service, Switzerland
  8. Duy Hoang, Viet Tan, Vietnam
  9. Jean Stoner, Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, USA
  10. Sr Marlette Black, International Presentation Association, Australia
  11. Tashi Albertini, President, Associazione Ticino Tibet, Switzerland
  12. Judea Pearl, The Daniel Pearl Foundation, USA
  13. Dickson M. David Ntwiga, Solidarity House International, Kenya
  14. Gibreil I. M. Hamid, Darfur Peace and Development Centre, Switzerland
  15. Jacqueline Kasha, Freedom and Roam Uganda & Sexual Minorities Uganda
  16. Siaka Coulibaly, Executive Secretary, Civil Society Organizations Network for Development(RESOCIDE), Burkina Faso
  17. François Ullmann, President, Ingénieurs du Monde, France
  18. Heritiers de la Justice, Service des Eglises Protestantes pour les Droits de l’Homme et la Paix, Democratic Republic of Congo
  19. Achut Prasad Gautam, Secretary, Nepal International Consumers Union
  20. Phil ya Nangoloh, Executive Director, NamRights, Windhoek, Namibia
  21. Ulrich Delius, Society for Threatened Peoples, Germany
  22. Maiga Djingarey, Femmes et Droits humains (Women and Human Rights), Mali
  23. Olanrewaju Suraju, Human and Environmental Development Agenda, Lagos, Nigeria
  24. Stephen Ouma Bwire, General Secretary Uganda Journalists Union
  25. Carlos E. Tinoco, Consorcio desarrollo y Justicia, Caracas, Venezuela

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