Geneva, 2 June 2012 (WAM) - UAE's Permanent Representative to the UN and other organisations Obaid Salem Al Zaabi in Geneva attended here last night a special session held by the Human Rights Council (HRC) to examine the recent killings in Syria's El Houleh which claimed 108 lives, including women and children.

Addressing the session, Al Zaabi offered condolences to the families of the victims, saying that the UAE had strongly condemned the massacre.

He added that the UAE Foreign Minister H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan had clearly said the massacre targeting of the civilians could not be condoned as it is a violation to our humanity that symbolised failure of collective Arab and international efforts to put an end to the violence against the civilians in Syria.

"His Highness had also called for an emergency meeting of the Arab League to discuss repercussions of the massacre," he said.

Al Zaabi indicated that the UAE had been offering humanitarian assistance to the people displaced by violence in Syria with a UAE Red Crescent Authority deployed at Syria's borders with Lebanon and Jordan to help ease the suffering of the Syrian people.

He also urged the HRC to work toward halting the killing and protecting innocent civilians in Syria and called for a comprehensive and independent investigation that will identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice as per international standards.

WAM/MAB