UN Human Rights Council adopts resolution on Syria
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The United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on Syria at a special session held in Geneva on Friday amid strong voices of disapproval from many member states.
The resolution condemned the use of lethal violence against peaceful protesters by the Syrian authorities and requested the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to dispatch a mission to Syria "to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law."
Meanwhile, at the insistence of many developing countries that feared human rights issue could be used as pretext to attain political objectives and intrusion on the sovereignty of independent nations, the resolution reaffirmed that all UN member states should refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any states.
As members of the council failed to reach consensus on the resolution during its debate, the session went into the voting process to make the final decision.
Among the 47 members of the council, 26 voted in favor of the resolution, and 9 opposed, showing a clear sign of divided views.
The special session concerning the "situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic" was convened at the request of the United States, backed by 15 other member states of the council, many of them strong allies to the U.S. in human rights issues, such as Belgium, France, Japan, Norway, Spain and Britain.
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