United Nations: The disagreement in the Security Council on a resolution that backed an Arab plan to resolve the Syrian crisis in which thousands of people have been killed over the past year has been criticised by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Barring two members China and Russia, both permanent ones the others of the 15-member powerful Security Council, on which currently India is a non-permanent member, voted for the draft resolution submitted by Morocco. The resolution was rejected on Saturday because of the double veto. All the five permanent members (the others being the US, the UK and France) wield the veto power.
‘This is a great disappointment to the people of Syria and the West Asia, and to all supporters of democracy and human rights,’ the UN chief said in a statement issued by his spokesperson later in the day.
‘It undermines the role of the United Nations and the international community in this period when the Syrian authorities must hear a unified voice calling for an immediate end to its violence against the Syrian people. Mr Ban said that following the vote, it has ‘become even more urgent’ for the international community to redouble its efforts to seek a Syria-led political transition to a democratic, plural political system. (UNI)
He promised that the UN would step up efforts to ‘find a peaceful and durable solution which will bring the violence and the killing in Syria to a halt.’
General Assembly President Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser later added his voice to the concern, in a statement.
‘The longer the Security Council remains divided in adopting a consensus position on developments in Syria, the more difficult the situation becomes, with more Syrians being killed daily,’ the statement said. Mr Al-Nasser urged the Arab League to continue its efforts to find a solution and called on President Bashar al-Assad to ‘listen to the voices and aspirations of his people.’
The draft resolution backed an Arab League plan of January 22 to try to resolve the crisis in Syria, which began in March last year after widespread public protests began in the West Asian country. UN human rights officials have said more than 5,000 people have been killed.