Carla del Ponte, 70, who prosecuted war crimes in Rwanda and former Yugoslavia, has served on the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria for almost five years, chronicling incidents such as chemical weapons attacks, a genocide against Iraq's Yazidi population, siege tactics, and the bombing of aid convoys.
Two years later, she said justice would catch up with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, even if he remained in power under a negotiated peace settlement.
Syria Inquiry co-commissioner Carla del Ponte speaks at a news conference.
"And believe me: I did not see such bad crimes as in Syria in Rwanda or in the former Yugoslavia".
Permanent member Russian Federation, which can veto council actions, is a key backer of Assad's government.
"I can't any longer be part of this commission which simply doesn't do anything".
The UN commission on Syria announced that Del Ponte in June informed her colleagues of her decision to leave the post "in the near future".
Del Ponte served as prosecutor for the global war-crimes tribunals that investigated atrocities in Rwanda and Yugoslavia.
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Summer, said Joseph Krist, a partner at the Brooklyn-based public finance consulting firm Court Street Group Research. The project's primary contractor, Westinghouse, filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year.
"What we have seen here in Syria, I never saw that in Rwanda, or in former Yugoslavia, in the Balkans. But no, it learned nothing".
According to her, "at first in Syria, the opposition were the good ones; the government were the bad ones" - but now, "everyone is bad".
"The government of President Bashar Assad perpetrated disgusting crimes against humanity and used chemical weapons. And the opposition is now made up of extremists and terrorists". "We are powerless, there is no justice for Syria".
The resignation shrinks the commission to two members after Thai professor Vitit Muntarbhorn left a year ago to become the first United Nations independent expert investigating violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The 65-year-old has been a member of the independent commission of inquiry set up under the auspices of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) since September 2012.
Known for her frankness, Del Ponte has repeatedly voiced frustration at the lack of accountability for the horrendous crimes committed in Syria and has slammed the UN Security Council.
The UN Security Council has constantly been plagued by stalemate over the Syrian civil war between its permanent members (the US, UK, France, Russia and China), each of whom hold veto power over any proposed resolution in the council.
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