UN strongly condemns Syria

United Nations Human Rights Committee on Wednesday strongly condemned alleged human rights violations committed by the Syrian regime and related armed militia with a resolution it adopted on the deteriorating situation of human rights in Syria and the recent killings in the city of al-Qusayr. The 47-member forum, convened on Wednesday following calls by Turkey, Qatar and the United States, saw the resolution carried by 36 votes in favor, 1 against and 8 abstentions. Two delegations were absent. The resolution said UN was committed to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria, calling on the Syrian authorities to meet their responsibility to protect the Syrian population and to put an immediate end to all attacks against the civilians of Al Qusayr. It also stressed "the need to ensure accountability for those responsible for the massacre in al-Qusayr, (as well as for) all those responsible for the serious violations of international humanitarian rights law in Syria." UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay has said Assad forces were using disproportionate force, causing numerous deaths and injuries in many parts of the country, including al-Qusayr. Al-Qusayr -- a rebel stronghold in the western province of Homs which connects the Syrian capital of Damascus with the government-controlled coastal cities -- has been besieged and under heavy attack by the regime forces and Hezbollah fighters, in what became the latest scene of the violence that has killed more than 80,000 people since March 2011.