13 February 2012 – The General Assembly this morning began meeting at United Nations Headquarters in New York to discuss the situation inside Syria, where thousands of people have been killed as a result of the Government’s ongoing crackdown against a pro-democracy uprising.

Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, will brief Member States on the latest developments, while representatives of more than a dozen countries are also scheduled to address the meeting.

The 193-member Assembly will also discuss the report of the UN Human Rights Council from December last year in which that body strongly condemned abuses by Syrian authorities carried out as part of the crackdown.

More than 5,000 people have been killed since the uprising – part of the broader Arab Spring movement across North Africa and the Middle East – began in March last year, and senior UN officials have repeatedly urged the Government to stop the violence and hold dialogue with opposition groups.

Source: United Nations