UNSC Approves Syria Humanitarian Resolution
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a humanitarian resolution to improve aid access in Syria and threatens to take further steps in the case of non-compliance.
The resolution also condemns rights abuses by both the Syrian government and opposition armed groups committed during the ongoing civil war.
Russia and China, which have shielded Syria’s government on the 15-member Security Council during the country’s three-year-long civil war, voted in favour of the resolution. They had previously vetoed three resolutions that would have condemned Syria’s government and threatened it with possible sanctions.
The resolution asks Ban to report back to the council in 30 days on the implementation of the resolution and “expresses its intent to take further steps in the case of non-compliance.”
Still, diplomats say Russia is unlikely to agree to any action against Assad’s government if is it found to be in non-compliance, AFP reported.
“This resolution should not have been necessary. Humanitarian assistance is not something to be negotiated; it is something to be allowed by virtue of international law,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the council.
“Profoundly shocking to me is that both sides are besieging civilians as a tactic of war,” he said after the vote.
Western members of the Security Council have been considering a humanitarian resolution for almost a year. After months of talks, the council adopted a non-binding statement on Oct. 2 urging more access to aid, but that statement produced only a little administrative progress.
