The United Nations Human Rights Council opened an emergency session on Syria yesterday, with the support of Saudi Arabia and Jordan. The council passed a resolution ordering an investigation into the human rights violations in Syria, and called for an immediate end to the violence. The resolution was opposed by China, Russia, and Cuba. And a statement on the Chinese Foreign Ministry website on Tuesday criticized foreign pressure on Syria. State Department ...

Syria's opposition is participating in a two day meeting in a hotel in Istanbul to launch a "national council" in an effort to enhance their fight against President Bashar al-Assad's regime. Participants included opposition from inside and outside Syria, who planned to set up working groups to draft "measures aimed at ousting Assad."  The council's objective is to "make the voice of the Syrian revolution and its demands heard by the ...

Nasrin Sotoudeh, a human rights lawyer and women's activist sentenced to 11 years in prison sent a letter in March 2010 to the head of Iran's judiciary.  The letter was released for the public today: "Your Judge confirmed that Iranian women cannot be ignored under any pretext," Sotoudeh wrote.  Isa Sahahrkhiz, an Iranian journalist and one of the founders of the Society for the Defense of Press Freedom in Iran ...

In an attempt to thwart attention away from Iran's human rights record, Iran plans to try 26 U.S. officials in absentia for "violating human rights."  According to Lawmaker Esmail Kosari, after officials are tried their files will be passed to international tribunals.   The identity of the U.S. officials that will be tried in absentia were not revealed, but it is likely that it will include officials that are listed ...

The United Nations is preparing for contingency plans that would include the deployment of about 200 unarmed U.N observers that would monitor a cease-fire in Libya in the wake of Colonel Moammar Gadhafi's fall.  The United Nations is also preparing to approve a later deployment of an armed, multinational force, which would involve troops from nations including, Turkey and Jordan.  If Gadhafi does leave Libya, the Security Council would have ...

The UN Human Rights Council appointed Ahmed Shaheed, former Maldivian foreign minister, as the human rights monitor, or special rapporteur on June 17 as human rights violations continue to increase in Iran.  Though the Human Rights Committee of the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) announced that the rapporteur would be barred from entering Iran, Shaheed is expected to report to both the council and to the General Assembly. The appointment of the human rights ...

Assistant Secretary Michael H. Posner remarked on his visit to Bahrain last week, emphasizing the strong relationship between the U.S. and Bahrain, and calling for the Bahraini government to "begin an engagement that will start to rebuild tolerance, mutual respect and a process for navigating divisions." Posner emphasized that while "it is for the Bahraini people to forge their own future," the U.S. is prepared to provide assistance in building a ...

The United Nations condemned the crackdown in Syria, in a report commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council in April. The report expresses the UN's "grave concern," documents the "dire human rights situation," demands access for a fact-finding mission, and concludes that "the alleged breaches of the most fundamental rights on such a broad scale require thorough investigation and, with respect to the perpetrators, full accountability." In a Joint Statement issued yesterday at ...

David Schenker and Andrew Tabler of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy argue that to force President Bashar al-Assad to step down, the U.S. should work with its allies to increase economic pressure on Syria, further the regime's international isolation, and support domestic opposition.  Economically, the U.S. should target the oil industry on which the regime depends, target businesses supportive of the regime to encourage elite defections, and increase unilateral sanctions. To ...

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appointed a new caretaker Oil Minister after being threatened with judicial action over his self-appointment. However, his appointment of Mohammad Aliabadi, the current head of the Physical Education Organisation and the Olympic Committee, is also seen as a close ally of President Ahmadinejad and has little apparent experience in the energy industry. Hamid-Reza Katouzian, the head of parliament's energy committee described the appointment as "the worst choice for the oil and ...