The United Nations human rights chief said yesterday that no amnesty should be available for those suspected of committing war crimes or crimes against humanity, while Geneva hosted troubled talks aimed at ending Syria's war."We do have a principled position within the United Nations that no amnesties should be considered for those suspected of having committed crimes against humanity, or war crimes," U.N. Rights Chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein told reporters in Geneva. He spoke while indirect U.N.-brokered talks between Syria's warring parties, which had been scheduled to start last week, are struggling to get off the ground.Zeid said the talks must move forward and secure a swift end to the violence. "Naturally after five years of this most gruesome spectacle, of seeing the Syrian public subjected to public executions, we hope and pray that the talks being mediated by [U.N.'s Syria envoy] Staffan de Mistura will lead to the end of all of these horrific abuses, human rights abuses, and violations of international humanitarian law," he said.He condemned the tragic scenes unfolding in the besieged city of Madaya, where 46 people have starved to death since December, according to reports from the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity, which warned on Saturday that dozens more were on the verge of death. Madaya is besieged by pro-Syrian government forces."Clearly when looking most recently at the forced starvation of the people of Madaya, and knowing there are 15 other besieged towns and cities, this is not just a war crime but a crime against humanity, if it can be proven in court," said Zeid.Blockades have been common throughout the nearly five-year-old civil war, which has killed an estimated quarter of a million people, while much of the country's population has been forced to flee from their homes.While urging a swift end to the civil war in Syria, Zeid said negotiations needed to steer clear of offering amnesty for the worst of the crimes that have been committed. "It is clear that in some circumstances, when looking at the end of the conflict, amnesties are being considered, and there is much discussion in many contexts about this," he said. "In the case of Syria, we are here to remind everyone that where allegations reach the threshold of war crimes or crimes against humanity, amnesties are not permissible."