More than 50 countries, led by Switzerland, will ask the U.N. Security Council Monday to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court, a move that would clear the way for war crimes prosecutions.
A letter obtained by the Associated Press cites the findings of a U.N. expert panel documenting torture, sexual violence and summary executions that have occurred in Syria since the start of the uprising in March 2011.
As the violence continues, humanitarian groups are calling on the international community to increase aid for refugees driven from their homes by the crisis.
The International Rescue Committee issued a new report Monday warning that the region faces a "staggering humanitarian disaster." It outlines the challenges refugees face in accessing health care, as well as what it calls "horrific levels" of sexual violence that many families cited as their reason for fleeing Syria.