Opening Statement by Ms. Navi Pillay United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights at the Human Rights Council 24th Session
9 September 2013
Mr. President,
Distinguished Members of the Human Rights Council,
Excellencies and Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Distinguished Members of the Human Rights Council,
Excellencies and Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for this opportunity to address you.
In September two years ago, when I addressed the situation in Syria at this Council, I pointed out that some 2,600 Syrians had already died in the conflict.
Today the number of dead stands at over 100,000. Last week the number of refugees reached two million, and an additional 4 million people are displaced inside Syria. Camps in neighbouring lands are struggling to cope and we are just a few months away from winter. The suffering of Syria’s civilian population has reached unimaginable levels.
