Syrian delegation holds official meetings at UN headquarters; UN commission to investigate war crimes in Syria
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    • Reports noted that Syria’s Deputy Prime Minister Walid Al-Moallem headed the Syrian delegation to the UN for the 67th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York last week. Al-Moellem held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, on bilateral relations, and consultations on supporting the UN mission headed by special envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi. Al-Moallem also met the Russian foreign minister; Russia has stressed its support for Syria through the current crisis.1

    Meanwhile, following a meeting between the Russian and Iraqi foreign ministers on the sidelines of the UNGA session, both sides have reiterated their rejection of foreign interference in the Syrian conflict and the need for a political solution to the crisis. 2

    Separately, the Saudi Arabian deputy foreign minister, in his address to the UNGA, said that inaction by the Security Council on the Syrian issue had given President Bashar Al-Assad the “green light” to attack his own people.3

    In other developments, according to reports, a United Nations commission is set to investigate war crimes committed in Syria over the course of the 18-month old conflict in the country. The probe was initiated by a resolution in the UN Human Rights Council a year ago, in which China, Russia and Cuba abstained from the vote. The commission has been gathering evidence against suspected individuals and military units that have committed human rights abuses during the Syrian conflict, has documented massacres and has so far interviewed more than 1,100 victims, refugees and defectors. The commission has been denied access to Syria. Syria rejected the Council’s resolution last year calling it “highly politicised and selective”. 4

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