The diplomat stated that "the stake on the military change of regime in Syria at any cost became the original cause for protraction of the crisis and it undermines the Geneva talks."
The Russian ambassador warned that the decision to put a one-sided project to vote did harm to the unity of five permanent members of the Security Council - Russia, China, the United Kingdom, the United States and France.......[voiceofrussia.com]
22/5/14
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Related:
Syrie : Moscou et Pékin bloquent une résolution sur la saisine de la CPI
Russia would veto referral of Syria to criminal court. - France circulated a draft resolution
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Russia and China vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution Thursday that would have referred grave human rights abuses in Syria for investigation to the International Criminal Court at The Hague.....
ReplyDeleteThe draft resolution received 13 votes in favor, had 65 co-sponsors among U.N. member states and the support of more than 100 nongovernmental organizations. But the effort to seek accountability for mass murders, rapes, torture and other grave crimes committed by all parties to the conflict failed because Russia and China exercised their right of veto.
It was the fourth time since the conflict began in March 2011 that the two council members blocked action on Syria in the council.
U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power said the outcome of the vote was just as much about accountability for the 15-nation council, which has a responsibility to stop atrocities, as it was about justice for the Syrian people.
“Sadly, because of the decision by the Russian Federation to back the Syrian regime no matter what it does, the Syrian people will not see justice today. They will see crime, but not punishment,” Powers said.
She noted that the vetoes protect not just President Bashar al-Assad and his “henchmen” but also terrorist groups operating in Syria.
A moral act
France drafted the resolution. Ambassador Gérard Araud urged council members ahead of the vote to support it, saying it was a moral act, not a political gesture.
“In the face of this denial of values represented by this organization, nothing is worse than silence, because silence is acquiescence, it is consent, it is complicity,” he said.
Araud reminded council members of the more than 150,000 dead, the millions of refugees and internally displaced people, and the barbarity of crimes committed against civilians. He dismissed criticisms that a referral to the International Criminal Court could hurt peace talks between the parties, noting there is no chance for negotiations to resume in the short or medium term.
Russian envoy Vitaly Churkin questioned France’s motives in bringing the resolution to the council, saying it was fully aware of “the fate it would meet.”
“The draft resolution rejected today reveals an attempt to use the ICC to further inflame political passions and lay the groundwork in the end for eventual outside military intervention.”..............http://www.voanews.com/content/russia-china-veto-un-resolution-referring-alleged-syria-abuses-to-icc-/1920349.html
22/5/14
China says passing Syrian issue to ICC now harms efforts for political solution ....
ReplyDeleteIt will jeopardize the international efforts to push ahead with resolving the long-drawn Syrian crisis via political means if the issue of Syria is referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) forcibly under current situation, said a Chinese envoy Thursday.
Wang Min, the deputy Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations, made the remarks after UN Security Council's meeting where Russia and China, two permanent members of the Council, vetoed a draft resolution intended to refer the Syrian civil war to the ICC Thursday morning.
"China believes that any action to seek recourse to ICC for prosecuting perpetrators of serious violations should be conducted based on the premise of respecting state judicial sovereignty and respecting the principle of complementary," Wang said.
Though the efforts to seek political settlement to the issue of Syria have encountered difficulties, the international community should be patient and firm with confidence, and stick to the overall direction of the political settlement, he said.
"What is most urgently needed now is to urge the government of Syria and opposition to immediately start a ceasefire and end violence so that the third round of the Geneva negotiations can be resumed to push forward the political process and start the political transition," Wang went on.
"Under the current circumstances," he stressed, "to forcibly refer the situation of Syria to the ICC is neither conducive to building trust among all the parties in Syria, or to the early resumption of the negotiations in Geneva, it will only jeopardize the efforts made by the international community to push forward the political settlement."
The envoy emphasized that at a time when there is "a serious divergence of views" concerning the draft resolution among all sides, the Council should continue to hold consultations, rather than simply push for a vote on the draft resolution, so as not to undermine the unity of the Council or obstruct the coordination and cooperation in dealing with problems such as Syrian crisis and other major issues.
The Chinese diplomat also reiterated China's position that all parties in Syria should respect human rights and international humanitarian law, and make every effort to prevent harming innocent civilians during the conflict.
"China is firmly opposed to all acts of violation of international humanitarian law or serious violations of human rights committed by all parties to the conflict in Syria," he said.
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/861845.shtml
23/5/14
A humanitarian resolution on Syria may be put to the vote at the UN Security Council on June 19, Vitaly Churkin, Russia's Ambassador to the UN, told journalists on Tuesday....
ReplyDeleteChurkin said if the Western members of the UNSC agree to the Russia-proposed formula for the deliveries of humanitarian aid, the formula which envisages the opening of four border-crossing stations on Syria's borders, a final version of the text would be introduced in the course of the day. "In case of consent, we shall vote for it the day after tomorrow (June 19)," he said.
Churkin pointed out that Damascus had already agreed to open border-crossing stations within the scope of the Russia-proposed concept.
http://en.itar-tass.com/world/736513
18/6/14