Those responsible for attacks on UN observers in Syria must be brought to justice, UN rights chief Navi Pillay said Monday. The call came after the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) announced on Saturday the suspension of its operations short of its three-month mandate, blaming the intensifying violence threatening the 300-strong force. A UN convoy trying to reach Al-Haffe town last week came under fire and was forced to turn back by a stone-throwing crowd. “We must make our utmost possible efforts to ensure accountability for all perpetrators, including those who have attacked UN observers in Syria,” Pillay told a meeting of the Human Rights Council. The High Commissioner for Human Rights also told diplomats at the opening of the council’s 20th session that bombardments carried out by the Syrian authorities constituted crimes against humanity. “The government of Syria should immediately cease the use of heavy armaments and shelling of populated areas, as such actions amount to crimes against humanity and possible war crimes,” she said. Pillay has previously stated that crimes committed in Syria during the regime’s 16-month crackdown on dissent should be considered by the UN Security Council for referral to the International Criminal Court in the Hague. Earlier this month the Human Rights Council ordered an independent probe into the Houla massacre in May at a special session called in the aftermath of the killings whose victims included 49 children. The Commission of Inquiry on Syria, set up by the council last year to investigate reported rights violations, will probe the events in Houla but has yet to gain access to the country. The commission is next week scheduled to give an update on its investigations to the council, which holds three regular meetings a year. Russia told the council on Monday that an international conference being organised by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan should give a boost to the faltering six-point plan which came into action on April 12. “The Syria crisis can be solved only by peaceful means,” said representative Roman Kashaev. “It’s important to refrain from initiatives which could harm those efforts.”
