HRW urges Russia, China to back UNSC resolution on Syria

On the anniversary of the Syrian uprising, Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Russia and China to agree to a UN Security Council resolution calling on Syria to halt the indiscriminate attacks on cities and demand access for humanitarian workers, journalists, and human rights monitors. "City after city, town after town, Syria's security forces are using their scorched earth methods while the Security Council's hands remain tied by Russia and China," Middle East director at Human Rights Watch Sarah Leah Whitson said, according to (HRW) website. "One year on, the Security Council should finally stand together and send a clear message to Assad that these attacks should end," she said. The UN secretary-general's special envoy, Kofi Annan, will brief the Security Council on his efforts on March 16. Human Rights Watch urged Russia and China to support a United Nations Security Council resolution that would give Annan's efforts the strongest possible backing as well as demanding that the Syrian government end the indiscriminate shelling of cities and allow access to affected areas for humanitarian workers, journalists, and human rights monitors. The resolution should also provide for targeted sanctions against officials involved in the abuse and an embargo on arms delivery to the Syrian government, and refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC).