UN rights body sharply condemns Syria violence and extends mandate of investigators
GENEVA - The U.N.'s top human rights body has sharply condemned Syria's bloody crackdown on opposition groups and extended the mandate of a U.N. expert panel tasked with reporting on alleged abuses in the country.
The 47-member U.N. Human Rights Council voted 41 to three in favour of an EU-sponsored resolution that was backed by Arab nations and the United States. China, Russia and Cuba voted against. Two countries abstained and one didn't vote.
The resolution condemns "widespread, systematic and gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms perpetrated by the Syrian authorities" including summary executions, torture and sexual abuse of detainees and children, and other abuses.
Syria ambassador Fayssal al-Hamwi rejected Friday's vote as "biased."
