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| U.N. Rights Council Drafts Statement on Fighting in Syria | U.N. Rights Council Drafts Statement on Fighting in Syria |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| GENEVA — The United Nations Human Rights Council went into an emergency session on Syria on Wednesday to debate a draft resolution that called for an immediate end to fighting around the strategic town of Qusayr and that condemned intervention by foreign fighters supporting President Bashar al-Assad. | GENEVA — The United Nations Human Rights Council went into an emergency session on Syria on Wednesday to debate a draft resolution that called for an immediate end to fighting around the strategic town of Qusayr and that condemned intervention by foreign fighters supporting President Bashar al-Assad. |
| The draft resolution, referring to Hezbollah, Lebanon’s militant Shiite group, condemned the presence of foreign fighters siding with the government as a serious threat to regional security, highlighting concern over the increasing spillover of the conflict across Syria’s borders, exemplified by shootings and rocket attacks in Lebanon on Tuesday. | The draft resolution, referring to Hezbollah, Lebanon’s militant Shiite group, condemned the presence of foreign fighters siding with the government as a serious threat to regional security, highlighting concern over the increasing spillover of the conflict across Syria’s borders, exemplified by shootings and rocket attacks in Lebanon on Tuesday. |
| Amid tensions between the West and Russia over the supply of arms to Syria, the proposed resolution, sponsored by the United States, Turkey and Qatar, condemned the use by pro-government forces of ballistic missiles and other heavy weapons against civilians, including in Qusayr. It also condemns “all forms of violence, including terrorist acts and acts of violence or intimidation that may foment sectarian tensions.” | Amid tensions between the West and Russia over the supply of arms to Syria, the proposed resolution, sponsored by the United States, Turkey and Qatar, condemned the use by pro-government forces of ballistic missiles and other heavy weapons against civilians, including in Qusayr. It also condemns “all forms of violence, including terrorist acts and acts of violence or intimidation that may foment sectarian tensions.” |
| The resolution demands access for United Nations and other humanitarian agencies to all civilians affected by the conflict by authorizing cross-border delivery of humanitarian aid as an urgent priority. | The resolution demands access for United Nations and other humanitarian agencies to all civilians affected by the conflict by authorizing cross-border delivery of humanitarian aid as an urgent priority. |
| The message to Syria and its allies is that “the world is watching and they will be held accountable,” Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, the American ambassador to the council, said before the start of the session. Asked about the value of another debate and resolution on Syria, she said the council “is here to establish a record that can be used in the future to ensure accountability and prevent impunity.” | |
| Ms. Donahoe dismissed suggestions that the resolution and debate posed an obstacle to efforts to convene a conference on Syria in Geneva backed by Russia and the United States aimed at ending the conflict and initiating a political transition. “We don’t see this as undermining or inconsistent in any way,” she said. |