The United States has said that the UN Security Council has been a ‘colossal failure’ in protecting civilians in war-hit Syria.
“The situation in Syria represents a colossal failure by the Security Council to protect civilians,” The Telegraph quoted Susan Rice, US envoy to the United Nations, as saying to the 15-nation body.
“For over a year, this council has not been willing to protect the Syrian people from the brutal actions of their government,” she added.
She said that the Assad Government’s crackdown “has grown ever more reprehensible and ever more dangerous to international peace and security”.
The US has made a new demand for sanctions against President Bashar al-Assad. The council, which is divided on how to end the conflict in Syria, ‘continues to stand by, rather than to stand up,’ Rice said.
The UNSC is to get an update on the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) on Tuesday from Nasser al-Kudwa, deputy to UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan.
“We must take meaningful steps, including by imposing binding sanctions under Chapter VII, to pressure” Assad to comply with Annan’s six-point peace plan and work towards a political transition, Rice added.
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