A coalition of 200 human
rights watchdogs urged Russia to back UN action to end the bloodshed in Syria,
in a joint statement issued on Thursday marking one year since the violence
erupted.
"A coalition of 200
NGOs from 27 countries... is demanding that the UN Security Council immediately
unite and pass a resolution calling on the Syrian government to stop
indiscriminate shelling of civilian neighborhoods and other violations of
international law, stop arbitrary arrests and torture and grant urgent access
to humanitarian workers, journalists and human rights monitors," the
statement said.
The call for the
international community to "Unite for Syria: Stop one year of
bloodshed" was backed by activists across the world, as well as
celebrities including British actor Stephen Fry and Canadian singer Nelly
Furtado.
"For a full year, the
death toll in Syria has escalated to the horrifying total of more than 8,000
dead, including hundreds of children. Isn't it time for the world to unite
behind effective steps to stop this now?" said Ziad Abdel Tawab of the
Cairo Institute for Human Rights.
The Institute signed the
statement along with the New York-based Human Rights Watch, Christian Aid,
CIVICUS and the International Federation of Human Rights.
"Russia and China have
twice blocked Security Council action, a defense of Assad that he has
interpreted as a license to kill," said Kenneth Roth, executive director
of Human Rights Watch.
"Moscow and Beijing
should stop providing diplomatic cover for Syrian atrocities, and start
demanding an end to indiscriminate shelling and attacks on peaceful
protesters," he said, quoted in the statement.
The NGOs called on the UN
Security Council to demand the Syrian regime stop shelling protesters; urged
the international community to back envoy Kofi Annan; demanded humanitarian
access to areas in need of aid; and appealed for the "Friends of
Syria" coalition to uphold its aid pledges.
"The Syrian people
have survived with outstanding courage one year of systematic and widespread
crimes and bloodshed as the world stood by and watched. The international
community must unite and help Syrians bring an end to the horror," said
Souher Belhassen, president of the International Federation for Human Rights.
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