In a report to the UN General Assembly in New York, Mrs Pillay said: “The
government can not commit such acts against its people without its
legitimacy being eroded.
“Civilians have borne the brunt of the violence. The nature and scale of
abuses committed by the military forces suggest that crimes against humanity
are likely to have been committed.”
Children had not been spared, with at least 400 deaths this year alone, and
youngsters as young as 10 being held in solitary confinement, the report
said.
Mrs Pillay added that there had been numerous accounts of sexual violence and
rapes in custody, particularly of boys and young men.
Following the arrests of doctors and their patients, civilians were too afraid
to go to hospital, and were instead being treated in underground clinics in
apartments and farms.
Mrs Pillay said that her organisation was now unable to operate in Syria,
raising the likelihood that human rights abuses had grown worse in recent
weeks.
She went on: “I am particularly appalled by the ongoing onslaught on Homs.
According to credible accounts, the Syrian army has shelled densely
populated neighborhoods of Homs in what appears to be an indiscriminate
attack on civilian areas.
“More than 300 people have reportedly been killed in the city since the start
of this assault 10 days ago. The majority of them were victims of the
shelling.”
Syria had unsuccessfully attempted to block the address by Mrs Pillay,
receiving backing from Iran and North Korea.
Responding to the report, Bashar Ja’afari, Syria’s representative to the UN,
claimed that the upheaval in Syria was the fault of terrorists including
al-Qaeda, and “harsh economic sanctions” imposed by the West.
He claimed that a “hysterical siege” had been launched against Syria, and that
the government had the right to defend its population from attack.
Mr Ja’afari also accused Google of supporting the Syrian opposition, by
changing street names on maps of the rebel town of Homs.
He said: “Syria has suffered thousands of innocent civilian victims as the
price for its attempt to restore security and stability to the country in
exercise of its exclusive right to protect its citizens.”
Claiming that Syria had been threatened with violence, he went on: “We in
Syria can not imagine sending soldiers to protect Occupy Wall Street
protesters. We can not imagine sending forces to protect protesters in
London or Paris.”
The Assembly will later today vote on a non-binding resolution calling for the
end of all violence in Syria, and expressing support for an Arab League-led
plan to end the crisis.
In a bid to avoid further vetoes by Russia, China and others, the resolution
contains no reference to the departure of President Assad.
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