Evidence links Assad to Syria war crimes

Evidence collected by UN inspectors investigating Syrian war crimes implicates senior government officials and, most crucially, President Bashar al-Assad, the UN human rights chief has said.

Navi Pillay, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said in Geneva on Monday that Syrian government officials, including Assad, were also responsible for crimes against humanity.

Her blunt remarks about the head of state were at odds with a policy of keeping the identity of alleged perpetrators under wraps pending any judicial process.

The UN investigators, who collect testimony in utmost secrecy and independently from Pillay, have previously said the evidence points to the highest levels of Syria's government, but have not named Assad or any other officials publicly.

The inspectors have compiled secret lists of suspects and handed them to Pillay for safe storage, in the hope that one day suspects will face trial for crimes including torture and mass killings.

The inquiry has also previously reported it has evidence that rebel forces in Syria have been guilty of human rights abuses.

However, the investigators have always said the Syrian government appears to be responsible for the majority, and that the systematic nature of the abuse points to government policy.

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad was dismissive of Ms Pillay's remarks.

"She has been talking nonsense for a long time and we don't listen to her," he told AP.

Mekdad was in The Hague at a meeting of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to discuss the effort to destroy Syria's chemical weapons.

Pillay said the UN commission of inquiry had compiled a list of those believed to be directly responsible for serious human rights violations.

It is assumed that senior figures in the Syrian military and government are on that list, however, the names and specific evidence relating to them remain confidential pending a possible prosecution for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

She has previously called on the UN Security Council to refer Syria to the ICC.

Syria is not a state party to the ICC and therefore any investigation into the conflict would need to be mandated by the Security Council.

However, Russia and China have a veto on the council and would be highly unlikely to let such a move pass.