UN rights chief urges accountability in Syria, sees huge chance for fair transition

The U.N. human rights chief called on Monday for accountability for perpetrators of abuse under toppled Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, but said there was a "huge chance" for an inclusive political transition, and early signs were promising.

Syrians woke on Monday to a hopeful if uncertain future, after rebels seized the capital Damascus and president Assad fled to Russia, following 13 years of civil war and more than 50 years of brutal Assad family rule.

"Any political transition must ensure accountability for perpetrators of serious violations, and guarantee that those responsible are held to account," U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk told a Geneva press briefing, calling for meticulous preservation of evidence.

Asked specifically whether that included the ousted president, he said: "What needs to happen in Syria itself is to build up a domestic legal system that allows for fair trials, in relation to all those where there are serious grounds to believe that they have committed atrocity crimes. And that goes also for the former president of Syria and whoever was in senior leadership positions," he said.

Turk said there was a "huge chance" for inclusive dialogue on the political transition in Syria's new era.

"I hope that within this current environment ... there will be this inclusive, very inclusive dialogue," he said. "There is a huge chance for this to happen. And what we have seen initially is indeed cooperation."

(Reuters)