Activists Urge U.N. to Refer Syria to International Court, Impose Arms Embargo, and Freeze Assad's Assets
Contact: Suzanne Trimel, 212-633-4150
(New York) — On Wednesday, November 30 outside United Nations headquarters, Amnesty International activists will urge the Security Council to end its shameful silence about the bloodshed in Syria and act to prevent more people from dying. The organization will set up a "memorial banner" onto which activists will place the individual names of some of the more than 3,000 people who have died in the Syrian uprising.
The action will start at 1 p.m. at 1 Dag Hammskjold Plaza across from the U.N. building.
The activists will demand that the Security Council respond to the serious human rights abuses in Syria that Amnesty International considers crimes against humanity.
Amnesty International and Syrian activists will be calling for a referral of the situation to the International Criminal Court. Amnesty International also wants the United Nations to impose an arms embargo and a freeze on the assets of President Bashar al-Assad and other public figures involved in committing human rights violations.
The rally is part of Amnesty International's ongoing Eyes on Syria (www.eyesonsyria.org) campaign, which monitors the serious human rights violations committed in the context of the eight month uprising. Since the beginning of the uprising, more than 3,000 civilians have been killed. The rally comes shortly after the release of the report by the United Nations Human Rights Council's Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria, which raises concerns that crimes against humanity have occurred in context of the uprising.
What: Rally to encourage the United Nations to respond to human rights violations in Syria
When: Wednesday, November 30 at 1 PM
Where: 1 Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, New York
Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than three million supporters, activists and volunteers who campaign for universal human rights from more than 150 countries. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.
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For more information, visit www.eyesonsyria.org