Nations try to oust Syria from UNESCO rights panel (AP)

PARIS ? Several countries are trying to push Syria off a UNESCO committee that deals with human rights, a panel it quietly joined despite its deadly crackdown on Arab Spring protesters.

U.N. Watch, a Geneva-based NGO, and others said Wednesday that a growing group of countries, including the United States, Britain, Germany and Qatar, want to unseat Syria from the Committee on Conventions and Recommendations.

The committee deals with multiple issues but has a strong human rights component.

The NGO said the countries want the issue on the agenda of an Executive Board meeting, from Feb. 27 to March 10, of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

With more than 5,000 Syrians killed in protests, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon has condemned Syria for human rights abuses.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_re_eu/unesco_syria

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