UN Rights Chief Dismisses Syria's Assad Claims on Credibility

Voice of America ^ | Friday, December 9, 2011 | Margaret Besheer

[SunkenCiv]

United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay has dismissed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's recent claims that the U.N. is not a credible organization and that her commission of inquiry failed to contact his government during an investigation of human rights violations in his country.

Earlier this week, U.S. television network ABC aired an interview with President Assad in which he said he had not received documents or evidence to support recent findings by a U.N. commission of inquiry that crimes against humanity have been committed during the on-going crackdown on dissenters. He also questioned the United Nations' credibility.

Pillay, who is in New York for U.N. observances of Human Rights Day on Saturday, told reporters that her office has been in contact with Assad's ambassador in Geneva throughout the process. She added that neither the fact-finding commission her office set up in August nor the international team of investigators who wrote the recent report was allowed into Syria by Assad...

The international panel's report found that members of the Syrian army and security forces have committed crimes against humanity in their repression of a largely civilian population in the context of a peaceful protest movement. The crimes detailed include murder, torture, rape and arbitrary detention.

The panel also found that more than 300 children were among the more than 4,000 people killed since the protests began in mid-March.

[SunkenCiv]

Hard to argue with Assad's claim though. ;')

[SunkenCiv]

Assad said the UN has no credibility, check.

Assad also claims that there’s not only no crackdown going on in Syria, but that he’d never ordered one, and basically none of it is happening. Creepy.