| Submit your comments on this article |
| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Blocking Aid to Damascus Camp May Be War Crime |
| 2014-01-18 |
| [An Nahar] refugee camp in southern Damascus might be considered a war crime, U.N. rights chief Navi Pillay said Friday. "Impeding humanitarian assistance to civilians in desperate need may amount to a war crime," Pillay, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... , said in a statement. Rebels control swathes of Yarmuk, but for months Syrian government forces have imposed a suffocating siege on the camp, where some 20,000 Paleostinians live despite terrible shortages. "Government forces and affiliated militias appear to be imposing collective punishment on the civilians in Yarmuk," Pillay said. Over the past four months, numerous attempts by the U.N. and other organizations to bring convoys of food and medical aid to Yarmuk have been thwarted, while very little aid was getting through for the nine months prior to that, she noted. "Civilians, including many women and kiddies, are caught in a quagmire between besieging Syrian government forces and affiliated militias surrounding the Yarmuk camp, as well as anti-government gangs operating inside," Pillay said. She pointed to repeated reports of deaths from starvation, from the consumption of rotten food, and because of the chronic shortage of medical supplies and expertise. The camp-dwellers also have to deal with severe water shortages, a lack of power, plus ongoing fighting and sporadic aerial attacks. "The extent of malnutrition, and the numbers who have died directly or indirectly because of it, are not known for sure," Pillay said. "But it is crystal clear that the situation in Yarmuk is now extremely desperate, and that civilians are dying as a result," she added. The laws of war prohibit the starvation of civilians as a method of combat, as well as banning attacks on food stocks or drinking water installations, among other things considered indispensable to the survival of the population. Pillay also protested that aid convoys had come under fire, saying that intentional attacks against humanitarian personnel and supplied were also a war crime. "All parties to the conflict must urgently facilitate unimpeded access to humanitarian relief to the civilians trapped in Yarmuk, before more children die," she said. "In addition, immediate action needs to be taken to ensure safe passage for all those civilians wishing to leave," she added. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #7 Selling chocolate covered cotton to your troops is a war crime, blocking aid to the Pali Peeps, not so much. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2014-01-18 22:56 |
| #6 War crimes, schmor crimes. It's the 'racism' of international politics. Like the man said, in the future everyone will commit war crimes for 15 minutes. I can hardly wait my turn! |
| Posted by: SteveS 2014-01-18 22:11 |
| #5 Do not be dissing the Fiji man. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2014-01-18 20:37 |
| #4 My suggestion is that the UN Human Rights Quick Reaction Force should escort the food shipments into the camp. The UNHR-QRF, of course, is a combination of Bengladeshi and Fijian troops led by the mighty Uruguayans. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2014-01-18 11:29 |
| #3 well you march right in, Navi, and tell them off |
| Posted by: Frank G 2014-01-18 10:25 |
| #2 Let the Moslems take responsibility for getting the relief in. If they won't do it for their OWN then obviously the Love and Peace we all associate with the great Religion of Peace and Love ( that's Islam for you ) must be seen for what it is...just a big load of Love and Peace. The UN can load it all on camels and raise a Red Crescent flag and march down the middle of the road playing on the Sackbutt, the Snake flute and the Queezy horn, the National anthem of the Holy City of Mecca and ...just see what happens. Where is your Faith? It doesn't matter what you believe if you just have "Faith"....and if you can't have faith in Allah ( PBUH ) who can you have faith in? Be honest. |
| Posted by: Spereting Tingle4064 2014-01-18 07:06 |
| #1 Common Navi, it isn't like Juice been doing it! |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2014-01-18 04:18 |