One of the three members of an independent United Nations appointed panel documenting war atrocities in Syria has resigned in frustration, reports the New York Times.
Swiss prosecutor, Carla del Ponte, told reporters that she had hoped the UN Security Council would refer the case in Syria to the International Criminal Court or set up a special tribunal.
“I was expecting to persuade the Security Council to do something for justice. Nothing happened for seven years. Now I resigned. We are going nowhere,” she said on the phone to reporters.
The remaining members of the panel, Paulo Pinnheiro of Brazil and Karen Koning AbuZayd of the United States vowed to continue their work..
“It is our obligation to persist in its work on behalf of the countless number of Syrian victims of the worst human rights violations and international crimes known to humanity. Such efforts are needed now more than ever,” they said in a statement.
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, appointed by the UN, has produced a series fo reports detailing evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the past years. In its work it has also compiled names of perpetrators of the most serious crimes.
