HE the Foreign Minister Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah has called upon the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution to protect the unarmed Syrian people from brutal massacres being perpetrated against them by the current regime.
HE al-Attiyah stressed that the Security Council resolution should cite the Syrian regime should be refrained from using warplanes against people and enforce it to open safe corridors for relief. Such a resolution, he said, should be included in chapter VII.
Addressing the ministerial meeting of the Group of Friends of the Syrian people, held on Thursday night at the UN headquarters in New York on the sidelines of the General Assembly of the International Organisation, HE al-Attiyah called for measures “to bring about a final solution to achieve the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people to freedom and dignity and the transfer of power according to their will”, stressing the need to hand over the perpetrators of the crimes of using the chemical weapons and other brutal massacres to
international court.
He made clear that despite Qatar’s support to the agreement on the Syrian chemical weapons, it did not live up to the hopes of the Syrian people who had made all kinds of sacrifices over the past two and a half years.
The foreign minister said that the meeting “is being held amid crucial and difficult circumstances the brotherly Syrian people are passing through.”
He cautioned about “the outcome of the deteriorating situation in Syria, with the number of victims reaching to more than 100,000 and millions being displaced, the growing number of refugees, the destruction of property and the use by the Syrian regime of chemical weapons, which has put the credibility of the international community and international legitimacy at stake”.
He said: “The agreement on chemical weapons, although we support it, … remains deficient and falls short of the hopes of the Syrian people who have been making all kinds of sacrifices in blood and property for two and a half years. This was too shocking to the international community and governments which believe in the cause of the Syrian people.”
He said that “it has been possible and it is still possible that there will be provisions in the resolution to be issued in the Security Council where the minimum rate of protection for the unarmed and defenceless people ... For example, the resolution should prevent the regime from using warplanes and helicopters against people… and forcing the Syrian regime to open safe corridors for relief... and that such a resolution should be included in chapter VII.”
He stressed that “the (latest) agreement cannot be a substitute for finding a final solution to achieve the Syrian people their legitimate aspirations for freedom, dignity and the transfer of power according to the will of the Syrian people ... it is not acceptable that this agreement impeding and obstructing the taking of the perpetrators of the crimes of using chemical weapons and other barbaric atrocities to the international criminal justice.”
The foreign minister said: “It is ironic to find international human rights mechanisms lamenting in defence of the freedom of the individual to express his opinion while we find them completely helpless in front of the crimes and the brutal massacres committed by the current regime against the brotherly people of Syria; they are crimes against humanity and are considered a flagrant violation to all norms, international law and
international conventions.
“We are all aware of the size of the mammoth responsibilities and the huge challenges facing the Syrian opposition, as we also realise the human tragedy experienced by the brotherly people of Syria, including the displaced people and refugees, the matter which has made it imperative on the international community to provide all kinds of assistance necessary to stop the bloodshed and eliminate suffering of the Syrian people at home and abroad and to achieve their
legitimate aspirations.
“This in turn makes it imperative upon all of us to reaffirm our commitment to provide all necessary assistance to the Syrian people to get out of this crisis and to urge the sisterly and friendly countries to do likewise.”
