For Immediate Release

UN Security Council: Demand End to Syria Crackdown

Discontent on Libya Should Not Deter Action by Emerging
Powers

(New York, June 11, 2011) – United Nations Security Council
members should support a resolution demanding an immediate end to the Syrian
government’s brutal crackdown against largely peaceful demonstrators, Human
Rights Watch said today. According to the UN Office of the High Commissioner
for Human Rights (OHCHR), “non-governmental organizations and others are now
reporting that the number of men, women and children killed since the protests
began in March has exceeded 1,100, with up to 10,000 or more detained.”

“The Security Council’s complete silence in the face of mass
atrocities against the people of Syria is emboldening the Syrian government in
its bloody crackdown,” said Philippe Bolopion, UN director at Human Rights
Watch. “A veto by Russia and China to protect the Syrian government and block
efforts to stop the killings would be a serious betrayal of Syria’s beleaguered
citizens.”

Despite the efforts of Syrian authorities to prevent access
to the country, Human Rights Watch researchers have conducted dozens of
interviews inside Syria and established that Syrian security forces have killed
hundreds of protesters and arbitrarily arrested thousands, many of whom,
including children, have been beaten and tortured. The systematic and
deliberate nature and scale of the government’s abuses in the Daraa
governorate, where at least 418 people have been killed and many others
tortured, including children, suggest that they qualify as crimes against
humanity.

Given their increasing weight on the international scene and
aspirations to become permanent members of the UN Security Council, Brazil,
India, and South Africa face a particular responsibility to stand up for the
values of the UN Charter and send a clear message to the Syrian government that
the UN Security Council does not condone the use of tanks, snipers, and torture
to suppress peaceful dissent.

Turkey, another emerging power and a neighbor of Syria, has
condemned the violence in no uncertain terms. Most recently Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan – whose country was on the Security Council in
2009 and 2010 – denounced the Syrian government’s violent crackdown as a
“barbarity” that is “inhumane” and “cannot be digested,” according to media
reports.

Contrary to Syrian officials’ attempts to blame the violence
on “terrorist groups” or “armed gangs,” Human Rights Watch’s research indicates
that the protests were overwhelmingly peaceful. Human Rights Watch has
documented a few instances where civilians used force, including cases of
deadly violence against security forces, which appear to be operating under
“shoot-to-kill” orders. While these incidents should be fully investigated,
they can in no way be used to justify the systematic violence the Syrian
security forces have unleashed against their own people.

“States like Brazil, India, and South Africa have a chance
to lead by example and demonstrate the values the Security Council should stand
for,” said Bolopion. “Concerns over developments in Libya shouldn’t silence the
council. If Brazil, India, and South Africa have misgivings about Libya, they
should use this resolution to get it right by condemning Syria’s actions and
encouraging its government to set a different course.”

To justify their opposition to any Security Council action,
some countries have expressed concerns about the way NATO is implementing
resolution 1973, which authorized the use of force in Libya to protect
civilians.

“Countries bringing the Libya baggage to this debate have to
explain why Syrian victims should suffer the consequences of a NATO military
intervention in which they had no say,” said Bolopion. “No one is proposing
military action here, and that straw man should not be an excuse for inaction
on a resolution condemning Syria’s abuses.”

Having made largely empty promises to reform, the Syrian
government continues to ignore the April 29, 2011 resolution of the UN Human
Rights Council urging an end to all human rights violations and calling for an
assessment mission by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR).

“Rather than shirking responsibility by pointing to the work
of the Human Rights Council, the Security Council should put its full weight
behind their efforts to quell the violence, including by demanding access to
Syria for the OHCHR mission,” said Bolopion. “President Bashar al-Assad of
Syria has responded to gentle calls for reform with more killings and more
brutality. The Security Council should make clear that this conduct is
unacceptable.”

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Syria, please
visit:

http://www.hrw.org/en/middle-eastn-africa/syria

For more information, please contact:

In New York, Philippe Bolopion (English, French):
+1-212-216-1276; or +1-917-734-3201 (mobile)

In New York, Peggy Hicks (English): +1-212-216-1818; or
+1-646-509-1818 (mobile)

In Beirut, Nadim Houry (English, French, Arabic):
+961-3-639244 (mobile)