Dmitriy Anatolievich Medvedev

President of the Russian Federation

ul. Ilyinka, 23

103132 Moscow

Russian Federation

Дежурный пресс-службы









Dear President Medvedev



I am writing to you to urge you to do all within your power to ensure that the Russian Federation does not veto any resolution on Syria before the UN Security Council that would help to end the grave human rights violations being committed there. In this respect it is vital that the draft resolution on Syria includes as a minimum a strong and legally binding position on stopping the flow of arms to Syria, and places accountability for human rights violations at the heart of any political solution to the crisis in the country.



Since the outbreak of the Syrian uprising in March 2011 Amnesty International has documented a pattern of crimes and other human rights violations committed by the Syrian military and security forces and others in Syria which constitute crimes against humanity, including unlawful killings, torture, and arbitrary detention often in conditions amounting to the crime of enforced disappearance.



Amnesty International has for months been urging the UN Security Council to impose an arms embargo on Syria, freeze the assets of President al-Assad and other officials suspected of responsibility for crimes against humanity, and refer the situation to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.



Yet so far the UN Security Council has repeatedly failed to take a decisive and binding action on the situation in Syria, largely due to your government’s position.



According to figures reported to Amnesty International, over 2300 people have been killed in Syria since 4 October 2011 when the Russian Federation vetoed a previous UN Security Council resolution on Syria.



Such shocking figures highlight the urgent need for your government, through its responsibility as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to take this opportunity to uphold the human rights of the Syrian people by adopting a firm and legally binding position aimed at ending the continuing brutal crackdown on dissent in Syria, including by ensuring that persons suspected of perpetrating crimes against humanity and other crimes under international law are investigated in independent and fair processes without the death penalty. Respect for human rights and justice for victims are essential components of any sustainable, effective re solution of this crisis.



Copies of this letter are sent to Mr. Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and H.E. Mr Vitaly I. Churkin, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN.



Yours sincerely,