4 June 2013 Last updated at 08:42 ET
...Children have been taken hostage (click here) or forced to watch torture, it says, while others have been killed while fighting.
...Children have been taken hostage (click here) or forced to watch torture, it says, while others have been killed while fighting.
It says it suspects there are "reasonable grounds" to believe chemical weapons have been deployed.
And it urges foreign powers not to increase the availability of arms in Syria.
The issue of arms has been high on the international agenda of late, with the EU lifting an embargo on the sale of arms to Syria while Russia has insisted it is going ahead with the sale of an advanced S-300 surface-to-air missile defence system to Syria.
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the contract had not yet been fulfilled and Russia did not want to "disturb the balance in the region".
He said he was "disappointed" by the EU move.
The international powers are struggling to set a date for a peace conference on Syria, where the conflict is believed to have cost at least 80,000 lives....
None, too soon. Make them sit at the table. Both sides of the equation have to put down their arms and negotiate a future for their children without first killing them in a hideous and heinous civil war.
This is a war of ethnicity. It is more than sectarian. The Taliban are sectarians, but, this Syrian war is one of ethnicity. If one group is armed in favor of another it would mean ethnic cleansing. That can't be tolerated by any nation, including the European Union.
The first order of the peace process is to bring humanitarian assistance to all those that need it. The desperation of food, water, shelter against the elements and medical supplies has to end to first place an incentive for peace. All impetus to war has to be addressed, but, ending the neediness of the people for a day to day survival is paramount before any of them will be willing to negotiate.
None, too soon. Make them sit at the table. Both sides of the equation have to put down their arms and negotiate a future for their children without first killing them in a hideous and heinous civil war.
This is a war of ethnicity. It is more than sectarian. The Taliban are sectarians, but, this Syrian war is one of ethnicity. If one group is armed in favor of another it would mean ethnic cleansing. That can't be tolerated by any nation, including the European Union.
The first order of the peace process is to bring humanitarian assistance to all those that need it. The desperation of food, water, shelter against the elements and medical supplies has to end to first place an incentive for peace. All impetus to war has to be addressed, but, ending the neediness of the people for a day to day survival is paramount before any of them will be willing to negotiate.
The Obama administration has decided (click here) that it will sign a new U.N. treaty on arms regulation despite resistance from members of Congress who are concerned the new resolution will lead to stricter gun control in the United States.
Secretary of State John Kerry made the announcement on Monday, saying the U.S. "welcomes" the next phase for the treaty.
"We look forward to signing it as soon as the process of conforming the official translations is completed satisfactorily," Kerry said. He called the treaty "an important contribution to efforts to stem the illicit trade in conventional weapons, which fuels conflict, empowers violent extremists, and contributes to violations of human rights."
Countries that accept the treaty would be required to establish regulations for transferring conventional weapons and arms components, and to control arms dealers. The treaty will not control the use of weapons in any country, but gun-rights advocates are concerned that it will lead to further gun regulation....
