World powers were castigated by the U.N.'s human rights chief Friday for failing act over Syria as new analysis put the death toll in the conflict at 191,369. The figure is more than double the number documented a year ago and probably still an under-estimate, according to the office of U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay.
In a statement issued days before she is due to step down from her role, Pillay “deeply” regretted that the “murderous” conflict had “dropped off the international radar” and condemned inaction by the U.N. Security Council -- which includes the U.S., China, France, Russia and the U.K. as well as 10 non-permanent members. “The killers, destroyers and torturers in Syria have been empowered and emboldened by the international paralysis,” the high commissioner said. “There are serious allegations that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed time and time again with total impunity, yet the Security Council has failed to refer the case of Syria to the International Criminal Court, where it clearly belongs.” The latest death toll, covering the period between March 2011 and the end of April 2014, came from the third study of its kind by the U.N. Human Rights Office into deaths in Syria.
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