The U.N. Human Rights Council has voted to condemn Syria for potential crimes against humanity in the crackdown on rebel fighters and opposition protesters. Thirty-seven states voted to back the measure, with three opposed, including Russia and China. The vote came as the new United Nations-Arab League envoy on Syria, former Secretary-General Kofi Annan, said he plans to visit Syria in the coming days to meet directly with Assad.

Kofi Annan: “We haven’t been in touch for a couple of years, and so I will not presume anything. We will make the démarches, and time will tell. But I would plead with him that he should engage, not only with me but with the process that we are launching today.”