UN rights chief urges ICC referral of Syria crimes

Geneva, Dec 2 (AP) Syrian authorities cracking down on opposition protesters have killed at least 307 children, the United Nation's human rights chief said today, urging world powers to refer these and other allegations of Syrian "crimes against humanity" to the International Criminal Court. Syria's President Bashar Assad -- trying to defeat an eight-month-old revolt challenging his autocratic rule -- faces widespread international condemnation and sanctions over the bloody crackdown. The UN says more than 4,000 people have died. Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said new reports of violence in Syria reinforced the need for the Security Council to submit the situation in the country to the Hague-based court. "In light of the manifest failure of the Syrian authorities to protect their citizens, the international community needs to take urgent and effective measures to protect the Syrian people," Pillay told an emergency meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. A draft resolution backed by African, European, Asian, Arab and American members of the 47-nation rights council calls for the establishment of a special investigator on Syria, but leaves open the issue of whether the Security Council, the UN's most powerful arm, should refer the country to the ICC. The council's session today comes amid mounting international pressure on Syria. The UN says the nation is on the verge of civil war, and the Arab League, European Union, Turkey and the United States have all approved measures to sanction the Syrian economy, which relies on oil and tourism. Russia and China have held back support for the resolution. (AP) ASY