The Syrian Revolution General Commission (SRGC) invites members of the press to the National Press Club on September 27, 2011 from 1-2 p.m. to attend a briefing on the humanitarian situation in Syrian and the international community's response. A briefing on the status of the SRGC case against the Syrian authority in the American courts will follow.
On 19 August 2011, the OHCHR issued its "Report of the UN Fact-Finding Mission to Syria Pursuant to Human Rights Council Resolution S-16/1". It found that the Syrian authorities have engaged in a campaign of murder, disappearance, torture, deprivation of liberty, and persecution against its civilian population since mid-March 2011. The OHCHR recommended the situation in Syria to be referred to the ICC on behalf of the crimes against humanity being committed against the Syrian civilian population. (1)
The SRGC pleads with the UNSC to adhere to this recommendation. We applaud the UNSC for the sense of urgency they displayed in referring the Libyan situation to the ICC 11 days after the commencement of the Libyan government crackdown against protestors. The violence in Syria, also related to government oppression against political protestors, has been on-going since mid-March 2011. We ask for this sense of urgency to take hold in relation to the Syrian situation.
The OHCHR explicitly states that "when a State is manifestly failing to protect its population from serious international crimes, the international community has the responsibility to step in by taking protective action in a collective, timely and decisive manner." The SRGC underlines this agreement and urgently requests for the UNSC to refer the matter to the ICC and act within its Chapter VII powers whilst seeking assistance from the Arab League to implement the following necessary measures:
- Establish an immediate ceasefire and end to attacks against civilians;
- Protect the civilian population and bring an immediate end to the humanitarian crisis;
- Establish an immediate no-fly zone except for flights necessary for assisting in the humanitarian crisis;
- Establish an arms embargo requiring all States, in particular those neighboring Syria, to inspect all cargo to and from Syria in their territory, including seaports and airports, an on the high seas as according to their national legislation and consistent with international law;
- Implement an asset freeze on all funds, other financial assets and economic resources which are on their territories, which are owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the Syrian authorities, or by individuals or entities acting on their behalf or at their direction, or by entities owned or controlled by them, or for the benefit of the Syrian authorities;
- The establishment of a UN Monitoring Mission;
- The establishment of a UN Panel of Experts.
