Syria must implement reforms now: UN chief

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MONTEVIDEO: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must implement reforms in response to protests in the country "before it is too late."

"These are moments of changes and hopes," said Ban during a speech to Uruguay's General Assembly. "Transformations that we might have not imagined in our lifetime are happening in the blink of an eye."

The secretary general said he remained "deeply concerned about the situation in Syria."

"I urge President Assad of Syria and his authorities to protect their people, respect their rights, listen to their voices, what are their aspirations, what are their challenges, create the conditions for refugees to return, implement reforms now before it is too late," he said.

On Wednesday, the UN's Human Rights Council reiterated its call for the Syrian government to authorize a UN mission into the country to investigate human rights violations there.

More than 1,200 persons have died and some 10,000 detained in Syria since the country erupted in violence in mid-March. More than 8,500 Syrians are living in tents just inside Turkey, and another 5,000 Syrians have fled to Lebanon.

Ban was in Uruguay as part of a week-long tour of several South American countries designed in part to garner support for his re-election bid as UN Secretary General, a contest he is expected to win handily. (AFP)