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	International crimes are being perpetrated by the Syrian authorities by Radwan Ziadeh International Federation for Human Rights   29 April 2011   16th Special Session of the Human Rights Council “on the situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic”. Intervention of Radwan Ziadeh, Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies.   Dear Respected Ambassadors and Representatives,   While I am speaking to you here in Geneva as a Syrian first, and as a human rights activist second, my fellow Syrians are demonstrating in most of the cities across the country, and this despite the use of live ammunition against them which has led to the death of more than 700 citizens, hundreds of missing and wounded, and thousands of detainees under the risk of torture.   And yet they are still peacefully protesting against one of the most repressive regimes in the region, but at the same time they are looking to us here, at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), and hoping that the international community will help them in their peaceful and legitimate struggle. They are fully aware that the council cannot return the lives of their fallen loved-ones but at least can put an end to the use of force and violence by the Security services, who are immune from accountability according to Syrian law.   I will not read here the hundreds of messages and emails I received yesterday from the people inside Syria when they knew that I would address your respected council, but I will read an excerpt from one “if the council doesn’t support the idea of an international inquiry … our blood will be forgotten again”, 30 years after the Asad regime committed the Hama massacre in 1982 we are still talking about the estimated number of people killed there ( some say 20,000, others say 25,000) after thirty years we still talk about “estimates” not “exact” numbers, because the regime didn`t take even a single step to open an investigation.   How can we trust or believe now that this regime will open even an internal credible investigation into the killing of peaceful protesters since March 18, 2011. The International Community should now take the responsibility for the Syrian victims who died for requesting their freedom back, Freedom is the most pronounced word in Syria today but it is also the most dangerous one, it cost the lives of more than 700 people, 650 of whom were less than 40 years old.   The Syrian troops have been besieging Daraa for almost five days. Access to food, water and medical assistance are strictly prevented. Electricity, means of communication and roads to the city are cut. These practices amount to collective punishment and constitute a serious threat for the population which is facing a humanitarian crisis.   The official justification of fighting extremists is a dangerous lure. And even if this were the case the government shouldn’t stop food and medical supplies from entering the city thus punishing the whole population of Daraa. Yesterday the son of member of the Syrian Parliament was crying while he was talking to the B.B.C, he added “ we only need children`s milk”.   It has become obvious that international crimes are being perpetrated by the Syrian authorities and the International community urgently needs to wake up to this and act.   The gap between the official stance claiming the adoption of long awaited reforms including the lift of the state of emergency and the issuing of a law on peaceful demonstrations, and the systematic and violent repression on the ground, is more blatant than ever.   The Council must strongly condemn the gross and systematic violation of human rights by the Syrian authorities and urge them to put an immediate end to the violence.   An independent international commission of inquiry must also be urgently set up in order to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law and identify the alleged perpetrators. Those responsible should be brought to justice. This is the only way to enable the Syrian people to believe that here is an international institution set up and able to protect their Human Rights.   Finally, violent crackdown against protesters by the army and security forces is not a Syrian exception. Bahrain and Yemen are also the scene of fierce repressions. However Bahraini and Yemeni victims are still waiting for the consideration of the International Community and the UN Human Rights council in particular. A selective approach cannot be a sustainable solution in any case.   31 May 2011   United Nations Human Rights Council 17th Session-Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS). Oral Intervention Item 3: ID with SR on Extrajudicial and Summary: –Executions. Delivered by: Laila Matar.   The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), in cooperation with 12 Arab partner NGOs, welcomes the timely report of the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial killings.   Widespread instances of extrajudicial, summary, and arbitrary executions carried out by governments throughout the Arab region in response to protests calling for political reform, constitute one of the most brutal and widespread crackdowns on democratic movements in recent history. We ask the Special Rapporteur to urgently address these killings in a report specifically dedicated to this purpose, which would provide the international community with a preliminary analysis of the international legal implications of any alleged extrajudicial killings in these particular situations.   In Libya, Muammar Ghadafi and his government have waged an all out war against its civilians for their participation in peaceful protests. Ensuring timely international justice for those responsible for alleged crimes against humanity in Libya is critical to upholding the basic standards of international humanitarian law.   In Tunisia, 300 civilians are estimated to have been killed during protests. In Egypt, the death toll of protestors exceeds 840. We ask the SR on Extrajudicial killings, in cooperation with mandate holders on the independence of judges and lawyers, arbitrary detention, torture, and freedom of expression, to urgently request a joint visit to both of these countries in order to advice transitional authorities on the proper legal framework, international standards and good practices that must be used to ensure a fair and transparent transitional justice process, which have thus far greatly deviated from international standards.   In the case of Yemen, over 200 people have been killed since February in attacks on peaceful demonstrators by security forces. Yesterday, government and government led militias used deadly force, including live ammunition, against protestors in al Hureya Sqaure in Taiz. Throughout the events that took place last night, initial estimates are at more than 50 killed, two of which were burnt alive, and over hundreds injured.   Authorities in Bahrain are responsible for the killings of at least 31 protestors since February. In addition, four people have died under circumstances that appear to indicate inhumane treatment and torture during detention.   In Syria, the government continues to commit gross and systematic violations against its population, with security forces using live ammunition to kill peaceful protestors. Since the start of protests in March, between 1000 and 1,200 people have been killed by security forces and pro-government assailants. Such acts may be tantamount to crimes against humanity.   As such, this Council should recommend the Security Council to immediately refer the situations in Syria and Yemen, as it did with Libya, to the International Criminal Court for investigation.   Finally, the Human Rights Council can no longer maintain silence in the face of extrajudicial executions and other grave violations in Bahrain and Yemen. These two situations must be urgently dealt with to prevent further rights violations from occurring.   * This statement is supported by the Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights, Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies (Syria), Sisters’ Arab Forum for Human Rights (Yemen), Hewar Foundation for Democratic Development (Yemen), Yemeni Organization for Human and Democratic Rights, and Social and Democratic Forum (Yemen), Hood organization for Human Rights (Yemen), National organization for human rights (Yemen), Yemeni Center for Civil Rights, Yemeni Center for Human Rights, Yemeni Center for Human Rights Studies, and Yemeni Center for Journalists’ training. Visit the related web page
	Confronting Terrorism by Jan Egeland Human Rights Watch   Only those who have stood close to the devastating impact of terror will know how deep the immediate shock and fear runs. I saw the horrendous effects in Norway this July — just as Americans saw them in New York and Washington 10 years ago.   Traveling the world for the United Nations and the Red Cross I witnessed the way massive ongoing terror affects society, from Iraq to Afghanistan and from Colombia to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. In the aftermath of a deadly terror attack, a shocked and confused public will always turn to its leaders for answers.   We know what the right answer is. The effective way to confront terror is to reaffirm the values that terrorists want to tear down. The wrong answer is to go over to the “dark side” and fight terror in ways that violate our most basic human rights.   The recent discovery by Human Rights Watch in archives in Tripoli of documents that appear to detail how the United States and Britain handed over suspects to Muammar el-Qaddafi’s torturers again underscores the folly of sacrificing our principles in the name of security. The consequences of the American and European breakdown in principled leadership after the 9/11 atrocities will not go away until there has been accountability for the torture and the abuse of detainees.   Confronting terrorism means rigorous, well-resourced and global efforts by police and intelligence services to prevent attacks and bring to justice criminals of the worst kind. It should never mean arbitrary arrests, secret detention and rendition of detainees to tyrants and torture.   But this is exactly what happened when western leaders willingly left the moral high ground and the legitimacy of lawful response, and instead bent and broke the same international laws that previous leaders had worked for generations to enshrine.   There still has been no real accountability anywhere for the criminal acts that sent terrorism suspects, some certainly guilty and some innocent, from one torture chamber to the next in Europe and the Middle East.   It does not have to be like this. After the massive terrorist attacks in Oslo this summer, the Norwegian leadership, the victims and the general public were remarkably unanimous in declaring that the best response was a vigorous rally around democratic values and the rule of law.   After a mass murderer massacred youth leaders and smashed central government buildings — unleashing terror that had not been seen since the Nazi occupation in the 1940s — Norwegians looked for guidance and got it.   From the king and the prime minister, down through the ranks of government and political opposition, the mantra has been that the liberal values of freedom of expression and tolerance are the way to confront terror.   There is consensus that this is not a contest to see which side can better break the other — it is a question of proving to everyone that we offer a better alternative — and thus can prevent the recruitment of new terrorists.   Will the Norwegian model trump the many previous examples of terror being met with unlawful and counterproductive methods?   The threat from an international group like Al Qaeda is different from that of a domestic terrorist — and no one will know how Norwegians would have reacted had the attack been the work of Islamist extremism instead of home-grown, right-wing extremism.   But the lessons of a decade of terror remain the same: it was a betrayal of our deepest values when our leaders agreed to hand over secret prisoners to the likes of Qaddafi and Hosni Mubarak, and when some of our countries’ top lawyers bent the law to see how our intelligence services could get away with torture.   This stain will not go away unless there is a criminal investigation of the top Bush administration officials who authorized these crimes.   It is equally important for European officials who participated in the programs of rendition, secret detention and abusive interrogation techniques be fully investigated and held accountable. Until that happens, the issue will haunt successive U.S. and European governments each time the archives of a tyrant is uncovered and the hypocrisy is exposed.   The best way to honor the victims of terrorism is to prove that we represent a better alternative. It is all a question of leadership. The moral high ground means never opening the torture chamber.   * Jan Egeland is Europe director at Human Rights Watch and the former U.N. under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs and Norwegian secretary of state for foreign affairs. Visit the related web page
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