Rights Groups Urge U.N. to Refer Syria Crackdown to ICC

Amnesty International and rights activists on Wednesday called on the U.N. Security Council to refer the Syrian government's deadly crackdown on protests to the International Criminal Court.

A Syrian activist forced into exile by President Bashar Assad's government said there has to be "regime change" in the country, but with no foreign intervention.

Amnesty International is pressing for an arms embargo, an asset freezes against Assad and his associates as well as an investigation by the ICC, said a Middle East campaigner for the rights group, Maha Abu Shama.

"It is high time for the U.N. Security council to take action," Shama told reporters at a briefing also attended by Catherine al-Talli, who was briefly detained by Syrian authorities in May and has since gone into exile.

The lawyer activist backed the calls for sanctions but said "we want the regime to be changed but with no foreign interference."

The mounting agitation for international action against Syria comes as western nations renew calls for condemnation of the Assad government for the crackdown, which the U.N. says has left more than 3,500 dead.

The U.N. Human Rights Council will hold a special session in Geneva on Friday on the Syria following a request by the European Union. U.N. human rights investigators said in a report released this week that crimes against humanity have been committed in Syria.

Arab League foreign ministers are to meet this weekend in Doha and could decide to refer the Syria case to the Security Council. Russia and China vetoed a resolution against Syria last month.

The European powers which proposed the resolution say they are waiting to see how the Arab League advances with its sanctions clampdown on Syria before deciding on whether to ask again for U.N. action against Syria.

Russia will be the president of the Security Council for December.