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GENEVA / HUMAN RIGHTS SYRIA
STORY: GENEVA / HUMAN RIGHTS SYRIA
TRT: 2.02
SOURCE: CH UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/ NATS
DATELINE: 1 DECEMBER 2011, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / FILE
FILE – RECENT, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, aerial view of the Palais des Nations
1 DECEMBER 2011, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2. Wide shot, journalists
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “With regard to statistics, I will be giving a statistic but even the statistic I am going to give tomorrow is going to be conservative. We are placing the figure at 4,000 but really the reliable information coming to us is that it is much more than that."
4. Med shot, journalists
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“I have said that as soon as there were more and more defectors threatening to take up arms, I said this in August, before the Security Council, that there is going to be a Civil War and at the moment that is how I am characterizing this.”
6. Med shot, journalists
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“In my recommendation to the Security Council, I urged that they take action and refer Syria to the International Criminal Court because there was enough evidence pointing to the commission of crimes against humanity. And I see now, from the very factual and comprehensive report delivered by the Commission of Enquiry into Syria which will be discussed tomorrow before the Human Rights Council, that that is also a finding of the Commission.”
8. Med shot, journalists
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“The preamble to the Rome Statute is very clear. Wherever there are serious crimes which amount to genocide, claims against humanity, and war crimes, there should be no impunity for these crimes. So, in my view it is not a question of time or of political decision, if the evidence warrants an investigation by the ICC, then the principle of no impunity for these very serious crimes applies.”
10. Med shot, journalists
The United Nations (UN) top human rights official said today (1 December) that her office estimates the death toll in Syria's nine-month uprising has now surpassed 4,000.
Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, gave the latest figure a day before the global body is due to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis in the country.
SOUNDBITE (English) Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “With regard to statistics, I will be giving a statistic but even the statistic I am going to give tomorrow is going to be conservative. We are placing the figure at 4,000 but really the reliable information coming to us is that it is much more than that."
Pillay also warned that the country has now slipped into a state of Civil War, as she had predicted in August when she addressed the Security Council in New York.
SOUNDBITE (English) Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“I have said that as soon as there were more and more defectors threatening to take up arms, I said this in August, before the Security Council, that there is going to be a Civil War and at the moment that is how I am characterizing this.”
The High Commissioner also pointed out that she had urged the Security Council to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC) as there was enough evidence that of crimes against humanity have been committed.
SOUNDBITE (English) Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“In my recommendation to the Security Council, I urged that they take action and refer Syria to the International Criminal Court because there was enough evidence pointing to the commission of crimes against humanity. And I see now, from the very factual and comprehensive report delivered by the Commission of Enquiry into Syria which will be discussed tomorrow before the Human Rights Council, that that is also a finding of the Commission.”
She noted that the Rome Statute clearly establishes that there is no impunity for these types of crimes.
SOUNDBITE (English) Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“The preamble to the Rome Statute is very clear. Wherever there are serious crimes which amount to genocide, claims against humanity, and war crimes, there should be no impunity for these crimes. So, in my view it is not a question of time or of political decision, if the evidence warrants an investigation by the ICC, then the principle of no impunity for these very serious crimes applies.”
Pillay will address a special session of the Human Rights Council on Friday called to discuss the findings of the Commission of Inquiry, an independent panel on the human rights situation in Syria.
The Commission of Inquiry said on Monday Syrian forces had committed crimes against humanity.
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