28-03-2024 11:13 PM Jerusalem Timing

UN Rights Chief Says Syria War Death Toll Topped 191,000, Slams Int’l Paralysis

UN Rights Chief Says Syria War Death Toll Topped 191,000, Slams Int’l Paralysis

United Nations rights chief Navi Pillay said Friday that more than 191,000 people have died in Syria, as she criticized "international paralysis" on the nearly three-and-a-half year conflict.

United Nations rights chief Navi Pillay said Friday that more than 191,000 people have died in Syria, as she criticized "international paralysis" on the nearly three-and-a-half year conflict.

Pillay said the death toll of 191,369, recorded between March 2011 whenthe crisis broke out and April this year, was nearly double that given a year ago, and was likely an underestimate.

United Nations rights chief Navi Pillay The South African wraps up her six-year stint as UN rights chief at the end of this month, and has slammed world leaders for their lethargy on a wide range of conflicts.

After on Thursday lashing out at the UN Security Council for what she called a lack of resolve in ending crises, Pillay said in a statement the dwindling global interest in Syria was "scandalous".

"I deeply regret that, given the onset of so many other armed conflicts in this period of global destabilization, the fighting in Syria and its dreadful impact on millions of civilians has dropped off the international radar," said Pillay.

She said "the killers, destroyers and torturers in Syria have been empowered and emboldened by the international paralysis."

Pillay said there had been "serious allegations that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed time and time again with total impunity" but that the deadlocked UN Security Council had failed to refer the case of Syria to the International Criminal Court "where it clearly belongs."