Middle East Policy has been one of the world’s most cited publications on the region since its inception in 1982, and our Breaking Analysis series makes high-quality, diverse analysis available to a broader audience.
Middle East Policy Council
Karen AbuZayd (former Commissioner-General for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and current Middle East Policy Council board member) has recently been involved in investigating the human rights abuses of the Assad regime and its opponents in Syria. The resulting report, prepared by an independent panel for the United Nations, has found clear instances of war crimes on the part of the Syrian government, as well as lesser crimes on the part of the opposition. Below is an excerpt of the UN news report, the full text of which can be read here, along with the original report.
Syrian Government and opposition forces responsible for war crimes – UN panel
15 August 2012 – Syrian Government and opposition forces have perpetrated war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to a new report by the United Nations independent panel probing abuses committed during the country’s ongoing conflict.
Issued today and produced by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry (CoI) on Syria under a mandate from the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, the report states that war crimes, including murder, extrajudicial killings and torture, and gross violations of international human rights, including unlawful killing, attacks against civilians and acts of sexual violence, have been committed in line with State policy, with indications of the involvement at the highest levels of the Government, as well as security and armed forces.
Syria has been wracked by violence, with an estimated 17,000 people, mostly civilians, killed since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began some 17 months ago.
The report, which presents the CoI’s findings based on investigations conducted through 20 July, notes that the situation in the Middle Eastern country has deteriorated significantly in the past six months, with armed violence spreading to new areas and active hostilities between anti-Government armed groups and Government forces and members of the Government-controlled militia known as the Shabiha.
Middle East Policy has been one of the world’s most cited publications on the region since its inception in 1982, and our Breaking Analysis series makes high-quality, diverse analysis available to a broader audience.
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Middle East Policy Council
Karen AbuZayd (former Commissioner-General for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and current Middle East Policy Council board member) has recently been involved in investigating the human rights abuses of the Assad regime and its opponents in Syria. The resulting report, prepared by an independent panel for the United Nations, has found clear instances of war crimes on the part of the Syrian government, as well as lesser crimes on the part of the opposition. Below is an excerpt of the UN news report, the full text of which can be read here, along with the original report.