UNHRC Report, February, 2013

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), on February 5, 2013, released its final report on war crimes in the conflict in Syria by its Commission of Inquiry (CoI). The report can be read at this UN PDF link. It is a firmly-worded document, admitting to some opposition crimes of great concern, but finding these paled in size and nature next to the crimes of the Syrian government.

Statements from the UN accompanying the report's release emphasize this is part of a concerted effort to finally have president Bashar Al-Assad and members of the Syrian government and military arrested and tried for these alleged crimes. For example, Carla del Ponte, a United Nations human rights investigator, said “now, really, it’s time — it’s time. We are pressuring the international community to act because it’s time to act.”

This page seeks to focus critical assessments of this important and flawed report. Special emphasis will be placed on its treatment of seven alleged mass killings by government forces and their allies. For now, however, the page is a stub. The analysis will take place first on the discussion page.