Syria’s Permanent Representative at the UN and other international organizations in Geneva, Hussam Eddin Ala, said that the discussion of the human rights situation in Syria at the Human Rights Council is an attempt to promote geopolitical agendas that have nothing to do with human rights or justice.
During the 40th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council, Ala said in a statement that the recent report by the Human Rights Committee about human rights in Syria is full of fallacies that seek to distort the image of the Syrian government.
He said that considering the current politicized climate, it isn’t surprising that the Committee is promoting accusations against the Syrian Arab Army and partaking in a campaign to dissuade displaced Syrians from returning to their country.
Ala said the report in question is full of fallacies and examples that continue the campaign of slander against the Syrian government, and while Syria does not acknowledge the jurisdiction of the Committee, it has responded to the allegations and accusations made in the report through an official document.
He said Syria rejects the continuing attempts to target the country in this unprecedented and unacceptable manner and the Committee’s selective approach to applying the criteria of proof, as it continues to avoid providing a legal definition for the US-led International Coalition, which would clarify its illegal nature and its breach of the UN Charter, not to mention its reluctance to investigate the Coalition’s crimes and massacres against civilians.
Ala said Syria also condemns the Committee’s reliance on fallacies that ignore Turkey’s role in the spread of terrorism in Syria, as well as ignoring Turkey’s refusal to abide by its commitments as per the Sochi agreement.
He said the Syrian Arab Army’s operations in the de-escalation zone are a response to daily breaches by terrorist groups, breaches that have been completely ignored by the Committee as usual.
Ala also rejected the use of the term “sides of conflict” that equates between the legitimate government and terrorist groups and armed militias.
He also stressed that Syria rejects the attempts to distort the image of state establishments and the claims about the absence of the rule of law in the country, adding that Syria denounces the use of the term “civil defense volunteers” to describe members of the White Helmets who are affiliated with Jabhat al-Nusra.
Ala said the approach of the Committee regarding the al-Rukban camp is another example of manipulating facts, noting that the Syrian government helped send two aid convoys to the camp and opened corridors to allow its occupants to leave, but US forces and their terrorist pawns are preventing civilians from leaving.
He concluded by saying that the Committee’s persistence in employing selective standards and the grave faults in its legal methodology prove its failure to do its job objectively and independently, which prompts Syria to reiterate demands to not extend its mission.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
