"The New York Times": UN declares that Syria is in state of civil war.

The commissioner, Navi Pillay, estimated that more than 4,000 people, including 307 children, have been killed in the nearly nine months since the uprising erupted against the government of President Bashar al-Assad. Ms. Pillay, who has emerged as a forceful voice on Syria, estimated that at least 14,000 people have been detained.

“The Syrian authorities’ continual ruthless repression, if not stopped now, can drive the country into a full-fledged civil war,” Ms. Pillay told a special emergency session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. “In light of the manifest failure of the Syrian authorities to protect their citizens, the international community needs to take urgent and effective measures to protect the Syrian people.”

“All acts of murder, torture and other forms of violence must be immediately stopped,” she added.

Ms. Pillay also warned of the danger posed by increasingly bold attacks by army defectors against security forces loyal to the government. In the latest such attack, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group in exile, said Friday that a group of defectors known as the Free Syrian Army killed at least eight people in a strike on a building for intelligence forces in the northwestern province of Idlib, near Turkey.

American officials have estimated that the number of defectors reached 10,000 soldiers over the summer, while human rights activists in Syria and elsewhere have put the number in the low thousands. Syria has banned most foreign journalists from covering the conflict, making it difficult to confirm reports independently.

The emergency session of the rights council, the third held on Syria since April, was called by the European Union, with support from the United States and Arab countries. In August, Ms. Pillay called for the United Nations Security Council to refer Syria to theInternational Criminal Court for committing crimes against humanity.

“The need for international accountability has even greater urgency today,” she said on Friday.

The European Union imposed a series of sanctions on Thursday against Syrian officials and companies, including oil companies and media companies that European officials say provide sensitive equipment to a research center that supports the crackdown on protesters.

Friday’s rights council session followed a report issued on Monday by an independent commission sponsored by the United Nations that found that Syrian military and security forces had committed crimes against humanity, including killings, torture and rape of adults and children. The committee, which was not allowed to enter Syria, based its investigation on interviews with 223 victims, witnesses and deserters from the army.

“The extreme suffering of the population inside and outside Syria must be addressed as a matter of urgency,” Paulo Pinheiro, a Brazilian human rights expert who led the commission, told the emergency session. “Victims expect nothing less from the United Nations and its member states.”

Syria’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Faysal Khabbaz Hamoui, reacted angrily to Ms. Pillay’s comments, saying that the crisis in Syria can only be solved internally.

“The Syrian problem is one that can be resolved only by Syrians,” Mr. Hamoui said during the session. “The solution cannot come from the corridors of the international community. It is only resolutions trying to put more oil on the fire.”

After the talks, the European Union drafted a resolution condemning the continued violence but did not ask the Security Council, which can refer countries to the International Criminal Court, to take any action against Syria. The resolution also called for sending the report to Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general.

Ms. Pillay’s comments came as protesters across Syria took to the streets after noon prayer on Friday in demonstrations labeled “a buffer zone is our demand.” Syria has witnessed growing calls from the opposition inside the country and abroad for international intervention against the leadership of Mr. Assad.