US and Allies Want Tough UN Resolution on Syria

The US and European powers will work to get the Security Council to bring more pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad even as the UN prepares a mission to Syria this weekend to gather information on the crisis there.

“We support further action in the Security Council through a resolution.”  US Deputy Ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo told reporters after senior UN officials briefed the Security Council on the  situation. “More than ever, the Council should increase pressure on Assad’s regime.”

German, French, Portuguese and British diplomats at the UN joined the US in announcing they would be negotiating the adoption of a Security Council resolution to increase pressure on Syria,where security forces have been cracking down on demonstrators for months, possibly killing as many as 2,000. 

The proposed resolution may run into resistance from Russia and China, permanent members of the Security Council.

British Deputy Ambassador Philip Parham said he didn’t want to rule out any elements of a possible resolution the Council might be able to agree on, but said they would likely be based on the type of measures adopted by the EU.

“Asset freezes and travel bans on individuals and entities particularly involved in perpetrating the violence and arms embargoes, those are the kind of measures which we believe will help to discourage those who are responsible and make it harder to continue the violence.” he said. 

A UN Human Rights Council fact-finding report on Syria found evidence Syrian security forces carried out “widespread” and “systematic” human rights violations that could amount to crimes against humanity, Navi Pillay,  UN Human Rights Chief told the Council members in closed door consultations. Pillay also suggested Council members consider referring the situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The UNHRC report examines the situation in Syria from March 15th until mid July. Its fact finding team did not have access to Syria, but worked in neighboring countries, basing its findings on video evidence and eye witness accounts. Syrian ambassador to the UN Bashar Jaafari condemend the report for ignoring his government’s version of the events.

Pillay told reporters afterwards she was pleased the Security Council condemned the violence against civilians, but wasn’t holding out much hope it would act on a referral to the ICC. The UN Rights Chief says Security Council members seemed to be looking to President Assad to begin his political reform agenda and argued UNHRC should have a monitoring presence on the ground to ensure the implementation of reform measures she says have so far been undermined by continued right violations. 

The UN, aid agencies and International media organizations have largely been shut out of Syria since violence broke out in March.

 UN Humanitarian Coordinator Valerie Amos told reporters she expected a humanitarian mission led by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to go to Syria this weekend and that the UN has been guaranteed full access for the Assad government.

“We would want to concentrate on those places were there have been reports of fighting so we can see for ourselves what is going on.” she said after the briefing.

The UN Security Council session on Syria  comes as the Obama administration announced today it was officially calling for Assad to leave office and strengthening sanctions against the Syrian authorities and their business interests. 

European leaders Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy and David Cameron also released a joint statement calling on Assad to step down.

 Pressure against the Assad government has been slowly mounting since the Security Council agreed to issue a Presidential statement on August 3rd, condemning the use of force against civilians and calling for an immediate end to all violence. 

Saudi King Abdullah and Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan have since both called on Assad to put an end to the government crackdown.

The violence reportedly intensified in Hama and Homs over the past week, and military strikes in the port city of Latakia have allegedly killed several dozen and displaced thousands more since Saturday.

Despite the August 2nd Security Council Statement, a significant number of Council members have been hesitant to condemn the Syrian crackdown too strongly and argued the destruction of state property and death toll suffered by Syrian forces were evidence dangerous armed elements were part of the protests. 

India,Brazil and South Africa, a new diplomatic group referred to as IBSA, have also resisted Western led initiatives to exert more pressure on Syria at the UN. Last week diplomats for all three countries met with Assad to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis.

Syrian Ambassador Bashar Jaafari, speaking to reporters after the Security Council, accused Western powers of using the UN to promote their own interests but said other Security Council members would not support attempts to undermine Syrian sovereignty.

“There is no concrete outcome from this session because, thank God,we still have wise guys inside this Council, who do have different information and who do have contradictory information and do have solid and credible reports…since we are talking about reports.”

US Vetoes Security Council Resolution On Israeli Settlements

The Obama administration Friday made its first use of its veto at the UN Security council, blocking a resolution condemning Israeli settlements.

The United States was the lone UN Security Council member to veto the resolution that identified Israeli settlements as illegal and called for an end to further construction in the Occupied Territories. 

US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice said her country believed a Security Council resolution would further complicate negotiations between parties, but insisted the US veto was in no way a sign of support for Israeli settlements.

“Continued settlement activity violates Israel’s international commitments, devastates trust between the parties and threatens the prospects of peace. “ Rice told the Security Council,  “Every potential action must be measured against one overriding standard; will it move the parties closer to negotiation and an agreement. Unfortunately this draft resolution risks hardening the position of both sides. It could encourage the parties to stay out of negotiation, and if and when they did resume, to return to the Security Council whenever they reach an impasse.”

Media reports through out the week indicated Rice had been working to convince Palestinian and Arab leaders not to introduce the resolution, offering instead to issue a Security Council Presidential statement and further promises of diplomatic pressure on Israel as alternatives.

“In recent days, we offered a constructive alternative course forward, that we believe would have allowed the council to act unanimously to support the pursuit of peace. We regret that this effort was not successful”

Negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian officials broke down in again in September, after the Israeli government refused to extend a freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank