Syria crisis: UN assembly adopts Arab-backed resolution
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Friday, February 17, 2012
The UN General Assembly has voted in favour of a resolution condemning human rights violations in Syria and calling for an end to the violence.
The Arab-backed initiative, which also calls on President Bashar al-Assad to resign, is the latest of several attempts to bring an end to the crisis.
Syria said the move would only worsen the crisis and encourage "terrorists".
Earlier, China said it was sending a senior envoy to Damascus to negotiate a "peaceful and proper" solution.
The non-binding resolution adopted by the General Assembly backs an Arab League plan aimed at stopping the killings. It was modelled on an earlier resolution in the Security Council that was vetoed by Russia and China.
Unlike its precursor, the resolution endorsed by the assembly has no legal authority, but the BBC's Barbara Plett, at the UN, said its backers hope it would increase political pressure on Damascus to end the violence.
'Promoting civil war'
Egypt introduced the resolution to the chamber and urged delegates to reach a consensus which would send a strong message to the Syrian authorities.
"We demand that the Syrian government heed the demands of the Arab and Syrian people and staunch the bloodshed," said deputy ambassador Osama Abdelkhalek.
But Syria's ambassador Bashar Jaafari said a yes vote would only be a message of support to the "extremists and terrorists" Damascus declares it is fighting.
Mr Jaafari said the resolution "would only lead to a tightening of the crisis, and more violence in the region as a whole".
As expected, China and Russia again voted against the measure. Both have firmly opposed what they see as forced regime change and have raised concerns about the possibility of international military involvement.