Syrian Regime Rejects 'Direct Talks' in Geneva

Spokesman for the Syrian opposition Yahya Aridi speaks to the media ahead of peace talks in Astana on January 22, 2017. Sergei Grits/AP Photo
Spokesman for the Syrian opposition Yahya Aridi speaks to the media ahead of peace talks in Astana on January 22, 2017. Sergei Grits/AP Photo
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Syrian Regime Rejects 'Direct Talks' in Geneva

Spokesman for the Syrian opposition Yahya Aridi speaks to the media ahead of peace talks in Astana on January 22, 2017. Sergei Grits/AP Photo
Spokesman for the Syrian opposition Yahya Aridi speaks to the media ahead of peace talks in Astana on January 22, 2017. Sergei Grits/AP Photo

Head of the Syrian regime delegation Bashar al-Jaafari arrived in Geneva on Wednesday to attend the new round of intra-Syrian talks - under pressure from Russia - but he informed UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura that he refused to hold direct talks with the High Negotiation Committee delegation, diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Jaafari also presented to de Mistura a number of conditions to resuming any talks between the two sides.

The head of the Syrian regime delegation said that the regime refuses to engage in any direct talks with the opposition delegation and that the HNC must drop its demand that Bashar Assad leaves during the transitional phase in Syria.

The opposition delegation “wants more pressure on the regime to engage in the negotiation and continue in the negotiation to reach a political solution in six months, as (UN Security Council Resolution) 2254 says,” Reuters quoted Head of the HNC Nasr Hariri as saying.

“Just speaking about a political transition without any advancement, we will lose our trust in the process and our people will lose their trust in us and in the process itself,” he added.

The Syrian opposition delegation in Geneva said things were “positive,” now that the opposition is united.

Yahya Aridi, a spokesman for the opposition Syrian National Commission told Asharq Al-Awsat that the regime was currently left with no other choice than to accept the political operation and to get seriously involved in it, adding that Damascus “is totally convinced that the military and security solutions it followed, have proved to be a big failure.”

Meanwhile, Russian ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya accused the US-led coalition of trying to partition Syria by setting up local governing bodies in areas seized from ISIS.

Speaking at a meeting of the UN Security Council Wednesday, Nebenzya complained that the coalition of Kurdish and Arab fighters that recently liberated Raqqa from ISIS was discussing setting up governing bodies and restoring the economy without the involvement of Russia's ally, the Syrian regime.



Rights Defenders Denounce US Sanctions on UN Expert on Palestinians

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
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Rights Defenders Denounce US Sanctions on UN Expert on Palestinians

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo

Human rights defenders rallied on Thursday to support the top UN expert on Palestinian rights, after the United States imposed sanctions on her over what it said was unfair criticism of Israel.

Italian lawyer Francesca Albanese serves as special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, one of dozens of experts appointed by the 47-member UN Human Rights Council to report on specific global issues.

She has long criticized Israeli treatment of the Palestinians, and this month published a report accusing over 60 companies, including some US firms, of supporting Israeli settlements in the West Bank and military actions in Gaza.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday Albanese would be added to the US sanctions list for work which had prompted what he described as illegitimate prosecutions of Israelis at the International Criminal Court.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged Washington to reverse course.

"Even in the face of fierce disagreement, UN Member States should engage substantively and constructively, rather than resort to punitive measures," he said, Reuters reported.

Juerg Lauber, the Swiss permanent representative to the UN who now holds the rotating presidency of the Human Rights Council, said he regretted the sanctions, and called on states to "refrain from any acts of intimidation or reprisal" against the body's experts.

Mariana Katzarova, who serves as the special rapporteur for human rights in Russia, said her concern was that other countries would follow the US lead.

"This is totally unacceptable and opens the gates for any other government to do the same," she told Reuters. "It is an attack on UN system as a whole. Member states must stand up and denounce this."

Russia has rejected Katzarova's mandate and refused to let her enter the country, but it has so far stopped short of publicly adding her to a sanctions list.

Washington has already imposed sanctions against officials at the International Criminal Court, which has issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister for suspected war crimes in Gaza. Another court, the International Court of Justice, is hearing a case brought by South Africa that accuses Israel of genocide.

Israel denies that its forces have carried out war crimes or genocide against Palestinians in the war in Gaza, which was precipitated by an attack by Hamas-led fighters in October 2023.

"The United States is working to dismantle the norms and institutions on which survivors of grave abuses rely," said Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch.

The group's former head, Kenneth Roth, called the US sanctions an attempt "to deter prosecution of Israeli war crimes and genocide in Gaza".

The United States, once one of the most active members of the Human Rights Council, has disengaged from it under President Donald Trump, alleging an anti-Israel bias.