U.N. rights body demands Syria end violence

GENEVA — The U.N.'s top human rights body voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to demand that Syria end its bloody crackdown and cooperate with an international probe into possible crimes against humanity.

The U.N. Human Rights Council voted 33-4 to condemn the violence by Syrian authorities — strongly underscoring the growing international isolation of President Bashar al-Assad — and dispatch a human rights team to probe alleged atrocities since March.

The countries voting in favor included all four Arab voting members of the council — Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Russia and China voted against, along with Cuba and Ecuador.

The remaining countries on the 47-nation council abstained or were absent.

Western diplomats quickly capitalized on the resolution's strong support and the symbolism of the council's Arab members voting in favor of it.

U.S. Ambassador Eileen Donahoe said the broad consensus shows the extent to which Assad has become isolated.

"We will not stand by silently as innocent civilians and peaceful protesters are slaughtered by security forces," she said. "We have not been fooled by empty promises of reform and engagement."

Jeremy Browne, a junior British Foreign Office minister, said the resolution also sends "a clear message to the Syrian regime that the brutal repression must stop and that those responsible for the violence will be held to account for their crimes."

He said Assad must step aside immediately in light of strong evidence that his regime has committed atrocities such as deliberately killing women and children and "an apparent shoot-to-kill policy for the dispersal of peaceful protesters."

In the face of sharp opposition from China, Russia and other nations suspicious of international intervention in a country's affairs, the resolution was heavily edited — and somewhat watered down — from its original language. The title "Grave human rights violations ..." became, for example, "The human rights situation ... " in Syria.

But the resolution itself still had bite. It said the council "strongly condemns the continued grave and systematic human rights violations by the Syrian authorities, such as arbitrary executions, excessive use of force and the killing and persecution of protesters and human rights defenders, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, torture and ill-treatment of detainees, also of children."