The Syrian opposition will not attend peace talks due to begin in Geneva on Friday reports Reuters.

An opposition council that convened in Riyadh said it would not be in Geneva on Friday after failing to receive convincing answers on its demands for good will gestures including an end to airstrikes and sieges.

Another representative of the opposition, said the decision could change if the outlined goodwill gestures were made or committed to.

A member of the opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) George Sabra, said,

Racism and ethnic intolerance must be combated with “all our might” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al Hussain, in a message released to mark the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust.

“The Holocaust will forever remain a terrible scar on the human conscience,” said the UN human rights chief, adding that the “hideous reality of planned and deliberate mass murder must lead us to deep reflection on the roots and spread of such violence”.

Though the High Commissioner paid tribute to those who resisted the Holocaust, he added that “at every stage of this massive crime against humanity, millions of others assisted, supported, or shied away from protesting the steps that led to genocide”.

The Syrian Opposition said they await a UN response to their demands before confirming that they will attend peace talks scheduled to take place with the Assad regime in Geneva, reports Reuters.

The opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC), an opposition council of opponents of Assad, on Saudi TV said,

“We are waiting for the response of de Mistura first, and then Secretary General Bank Ki-moon, which is the most important..If it is positive maybe there will be an agreement to go.”

The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned Israel’s settlement activities as ‘provocative acts’ that raise questions over the nation’s commitment to a two-state solution.

Israel confirmed on Thursday that it would appropriate a large tract of fertile land in the occupied West Bank, reports Reuters.

The US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said Washington strongly opposed the settlement activity.

Speaking at the council, she said,

Canada confirmed for the first time on Tuesday that it will lift sanctions on Tehran and allow its aircraft maker Bombardier Inc to export to the country.

 Speaking with the press on Tuesday, Canada’s Foreign Minister Stephane Dion said,

“If Airbus is able to do it, why Bombardier will not be able to do it? In which way it’s helping Canada or Iranian people, or Israel, or anyone, that Canada is hurting its own industry?”

Iran announced plans to buy over 160 European planes last week.

Speaking at the House of Commons, Mr Dion, said,

Opposition groups have signalled that they will stay away from UN sponsored peace-talks with Assad regime unless the Syrian government and Russian allies halted air strikes and lifted sieges on towns.

A spokesperson for one of the rebel groups in the opposition High Negotiating Committee (HNV) said it was impossible for the opposition to attend as long as rebel territory were besieged and hit by airstrikes.

The main opposition groups added that they would only attend if they were able to choose their own representatives, reports Reuters.

A senior commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army faces 70 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, as a trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) began on Friday.

Dominic Ongwen, a former child soldier, facing charges for activities between 2002 and 2005, stands accused of murdering civilians, forcibly entrapping sex slaves, recruiting child soldiers and even acts of cannibalism.

Prosecutor Benjamin Gumpert told the court that "large numbers lost their lives in indiscriminate acts of murder."

"Some were tortured in cruel ways. Hundreds were abducted to carry away the loot. And, if they could not walk fast enough, they were beaten."