Kyung-wha Kang, deputy UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights, said her office was prepared to send its confidential list of 50
suspects linked to alleged crimes against humanity to the International
Criminal Court, if the Security Council refers the situation in Syria to the
Hague-based court.
She called on Assad's government to cooperate with an
international inquiry into the bloodshed so as to ensure accountability for all
violations and to "break the culture of impunity in the country.”
"As of today, 2,700 people, including at least 100
children, have been killed by military and security forces since mass protests
erupted in mid-March," Kang said in a speech to the UN Human Rights
Council.
"Let me conclude by emphasizing the importance of
holding perpetrators of crimes against humanity accountable. The office has
found that such crimes may have been committed in Syria," she said, citing
a UN report issued in August.
Kang, in response to questions about the office's list of 50
alleged perpetrators, said of the ICC: "Should the court be engaged and
request the office's assistance at any stage of its investigation into
violations in Syria, the office will be ready to provide them with the
information, including the confidential list of names as appropriate."
