Press Briefing Notes: Syria, Sri Lanka and Mauritania

Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Rupert Colville
Location: Geneva
26 April 2011

(1) Syria
It seems that more than 100 people were killed in Syria between Friday and Sunday. In addition to the list of 76 people killed during protests on Friday (referred to in the press release issued by the High Commissioner yesterday*), this morning we received more lists of individuals killed in the Syrian Government crackdown over the weekend. It appears that at least 31 people were killed in seven towns and cities across the country on Saturday and Sunday (April 23-24): namely seven in Jebla; three in Douma; five in Berza; five in Saqba; five in Daraa; one in Jisreen; and five in Hama. There were also a large number of arrests.

Yesterday (Monday 25 April) more arrests and killings are reported to have taken place, but we have not yet been able to verify information on these.

In a meeting with the High Commissioner last week, the Syrian Ambassador invited us to send a mission to the country, subject to certain conditions. We look forward to being able to visit and independently assess the situation on the ground. In the meantime, we repeat our call to the Government to exercise restraint and to fulfill its promises to investigate the killings that happened earlier this month, as well as those over th past few days.

As the High Commissioner noted in her statement yesterday*, the Government's resposne has been erratic, with announcements of welcome reforms, such as the lifting of the decades-long state of emergency, followed a few days later by tanks in the streets and more killing

* http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=10958&LangID=E

(2) Sri Lanka
We welcome the release late yesterday in New York of the report of the Secretary-General's Panel of Experts on Accounatability in Sri Lanka. This report goes a long way towards providing a more accurate view of what happened during the last few months of the conflict which ended in May 2009. The report is 214 pages long, very thorough and detailed and can be accessed on the UN website at http://www.un.org/News/dh/infocus/Sri_Lanka/POE_Report_Full.pdf - We will probably issue a press release on this later today.

(3) High Commissioner to visit Mauritania
The High Commissioner is leaving later today for a two-day visit to Mauritania (27-28 April) at the invitation of the Government. She is due to meet the President, the Prime Minister, a number of other senior ministers, the Speaker of the House, national institutions and NGOs, including those working on anti-slavery programs. She will also open the seventh Regional Workshop of Arab national institutions.

ENDS

For more information or interviews, please contact spokesperson Rupert Colville (+41 22 917 9767 or rcolville@ohchr.org ) or press officer Ravina Shamdasani (+ 41 22 917 9310 or rshamdasani@ohchr.org)