Video: UN: crimes against humanity likely committed in Syria Addressing UN delegates in New York, Ms Pillay said the failure of the Security Council to agree on collective action after Russia and China's veto of a UN resolution had, "emboldened the Syrian government to plan an all out assault in an effort to crush resistance with overwhelming force." "I am particularly appalled by the ongoing violence in Homs," she added, describing the humanitarian situation as, "simply deplorable." The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said the UN Human Rights Council had tried to keep track of the number of deaths reported in the Syrian uprising, but she said during the past two months the task had become "almost impossible." She reiterated her hope that the Security Council would refer the Syrian repression to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, saying that, "the nature and scale of abuses committed by Syrian forces indicate that crimes against humanity are likely to have been committed." The EU had earlier backed the Arab League's "bold" plan for a peacekeeping force to be sent to Syria but Russia said the violence must end first.