U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk called on Wednesday for a Syrian national reconciliation process to ensure justice for crimes committed over the past five decades of iron-fisted rule by the Assad family.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said the extent of atrocities committed in Syria is hard to believe and said transitional justice is "crucial" after the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

United Nations rights chief Volker Turk on Wednesday said transitional justice was "crucial" for Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, during the first-ever visit by someone in his post to the country.