By Olivia Le Poidevin
GENEVA (Reuters) – Syria welcomed a United Nations resolution on Friday to investigate violations and improve the country’s human-rights record following the 13-year civil war waged by former President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
The resolution, which calls for Syria’s new government to support inquiries into crimes committed during the conflict that started in 2011, passed without opposition at the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Friday.
It indicates a shift in support by the 47 country members of the council toward Syria’s new government and its efforts to improve its rights record.
“Such international support serves as a strong incentive to continue the path of reform,” Syria’s ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Haydar Ali Ahmad, told the council.
Rebels led by the now president of the new transitional government, Ahmed al-Sharaa, seized the capital Damascus in December. Assad fled to Russia, following the 13 years of civil war that led to the disappearance of more than 100,000 people and the use of torture and chemical weapons by the regime.
Under pressure to show that it is turning a new page from the former regime, Syria’s new government welcomed the resolution on Friday.
“We are proud of Syria’s positive and constructive participation in drafting the resolution for the first time,” Syria Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani said in a statement posted on X.
Members of the council welcomed Syria’s engagement on Friday and urged it to uphold the resolution’s commitments, including the Commission of Inquiry into serious crimes since the start of the war.
British Ambassador to the U.N. Simon Manley said the killing of hundreds of Alwaite civilians – the minority sect from which toppled leader Bashir al-Assad hails – in March was a “chilling reminder of the deep wounds” from the conflict, and the need for justice and accountability.
(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin; Editing by Mark Porter)
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