Britain calls for Syria to be refused place on UN Human Rights Council

By Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent
08 May 2011

Britain and other western powers are trying to stop the United Nations awarding Syria a place on the United Nations Human Rights Council following its brutal suppression of the uprising which has left 800 people dead.

The General Assembly of the UN will vote next week to fill this year's rotating places on the council, which has come under fire before for granting membership to dictatorships with a history of violence against their people.

Syria is one of four candidates for four vacancies due to be filled by Asian countries owing to a convention whereby UN bodies are filled by regional blocs.

Western nations including Britain are said to be vehemently opposed to the choice, made before the current wave of Arab uprisings spread to Syria, and lobbying foreign ministries across Asia and the Middle East to propose an alternative. The Daily Telegraph has learned Kuwait is the current favored option but Syria is refusing to stand aside.

The Syrian army continued its operation to mop up opposition to its rule on Sunday, with tanks moving into Tafas, a town near the Jordanian border and the city of Dera'a, the epicenter of the uprising.

Among the casualties elsewhere was a 12-year-old boy, activists said. He was killed as troops opened fire in Syria's third city, Homs. A 10-year-old boy was among 200 people arrested in Banias, a Mediterranean Sea-side town which tanks entered on Saturday at the end of a week which had seen repeated street protests attracting thousands of people.

Altogether, activists have given estimates ranging from 500 to 800 for the number of dead in the last six weeks. The government says 80 civilians have died, along with scores of soldiers and police.

Activists admit that the ferocity of the government response has succeeded in reducing the numbers prepared to take to the streets. Syria has also benefited from inter-Arab solidarity, with Bahrain, which has also cracked down heavily on opposition, the latest Western ally to offer backing.

A "message of full support" from King Hamad of Bahrain was delivered by his foreign minister, Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa, the Syrian state news agency said.

That support will make it harder for Europe to persuade an alternative Arab candidate to stand for the Human Rights Council before a vote a week on Friday.

Nepal was originally suggested, one source close to the process said, but Kuwait, which is due to join the council next year, is the current choice as another Arab state. But Syria has proved unwilling to withdraw its candidacy.

Human Rights Watch pointed out that the council, which suspended Libya's membership last month, had already passed a motion condemning the crackdown under way in Syria.

"It's outrageous that Syria can be condemned by the Human Rights Council one month and be an endorsed candidate in elections for that same body the next month," Peggy Hicks, its global advocacy director said. "Every day that passes calls further into question the credibility of those who have supported Syria's candidacy." The Foreign Office said it refused to comment on its voting intentions for UN elections. But a spokesman said: "The UK is committed to ensuring membership of the Human Rights Council is closely aligned to its founding principles and we have been working with our EU colleagues to this effect."

It also emerged on Sunday that Iran is playing an increasingly active role in helping the Syrian regime defeat the popular uprising against Mr Assad.

A western diplomat said there was a “significant” increase in the number of Iranian personnel in the country since protests began.

“Tehran has upped the level of technical support and personnel support from the Iranian Republican Guard to strengthen Syria’s ability to deal with protesters,” the senior western diplomat said.

Source: The Telegraph.
Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/8501025/Britain-calls-for-Syria-to-be-refused-place-on-UN-Human-Rights-Council.html.