UN pressure

The UN General Assembly's human rights committee issued a resolution in New York on Tuesday, which was intended to put further pressure on the Syrian regime in Damascus. The statement sharply criticizes the bloody response to protests by the Syrian government and demands that Bashar al-Assad's regime puts an end to the bloodbath immediately. However, the so-called Third Committee can only issue a recommendation: the 193-member general assembly has to vote on the matter in December.

The resolution, drafted by German diplomats, was co-sponsored by, among others, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Morocco. With the support of these Arab states, Germany, Britain and France were seeking a full condemnation of Syria for its eight-month crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators. The reaction in the capital Damascus was swift: The Syrian Ambassador to the UN Bashar Ja'afari accused Germany and its partners of being "hostile" to Syria and said they had declared diplomatic war on his country.

UN opposition crumbling

A few days ago, for the first time, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov spoke of a "civil war" following an attack by Syrian deserters on a military intelligence building in Damascus. He called on both sides to begin talks in Cairo at the seat of the Arab League. The Syrian government has so far rejected such calls.

In Beijing, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign minister also hinted that China could support a UN Security Council resolution against Syria under certain conditions. Last month, Russia and Chino used their veto to block a resolution that would have condemned Syria and threatened possible future sanctions.

International pressure on the Syrian regime is growing. On Wednesday, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said Syria had "reached a point of no return," adding that the whole region could be dragged into "turmoil and bloodshed" by the current crisis.

On Tuesday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also attacked Assad, his former ally: "Fighting your own people to the death is not heroism, it's cowardice," Erdogan told party members in Ankara. Assad, he continued, should step aside for the good of his country and the region, without any further violence.

Human rights violations

The resolution's wording was published by Germany's permanent representative to the UN in New York. It calls on the Syrian regime to implement the roadmap for peace proposed by the Arab League. The resolution "strongly condemns the continued grave and systematic human rights violations by the Syrian authorities, such as arbitrary executions, excessive use of force and the persecution and killing of protesters and human rights defenders." It also demands an immediate end to "arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, torture and ill treatment of detainees, including children" in Syria.

For Manuel Fröhlich, a political scientist at the Friedrich-Schiller University in the German town of Jena, Germany's initiative is an unusual move with the aim of increasing pressure on Assad.

"This committee usually only deals with matters that can be traced back to previous coverage. This, by contrast, is a spontaneous inclusion of the order of the day in the agenda. That is very rare and has been described by German Ambassador to the UN Peter Wittig as a singular and spontaneous action," Fröhlich told Deutsche Welle.

Diplomatic dynamics

In December, the UN General Assembly is set to vote on the resolution. However, Fröhlich points out that it would not have any concrete effects. "None of these acts have any binding consequences under international law. But the diplomatic dymanics, which are being put in motion here, could make a real difference."

On the question of the voting behavior of Russia and China, which abstained in the latest vote, Fröhlich says, "It's a somewhat unsual, but extremely measured and clever way of getting round the political blockade in the Security Counicl. In this way the standpoint of the majority of UN states on the developments in Syria will be recorded."

The fact that the Germans have managed to pull as many Asian and Middle Eastern states as possible round to their view, is clearly a good thing, in Fröhlich's opinion. "In the resolution's sponsorship it's clear that people are doing their diplomatic homework. All the regions have been involved in the process and that is important to get a global consensus, which is what they're aiming for."

Furthermore, Arab League key states are also among the co-sponsors, and their demands are being watched more and more closely by the international community.

Author: Thomas Kohlmann / ji
Editor: Rob Mudge