President of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC), Salem al-Meslet, sent a legal memorandum to the UN Secretary-General, President of the UN General Assembly, and President of the UN Security Council for the current session on the blockade that the Assad regime and its backers have recently imposed on Dara’a.
“We would like to inform you of the escalation of hostilities of the Assad regime, Russia and Iran on the city of Dara’a. After a month of siege, the people agreed to the conditions of Russia and the regime. However the regime reneged on the agreement and targeted the city’s neighborhoods, leaving two people killed and dozens wounded, as well as causing the displacement of a large number of families,” the letter said.
Al-Meslet stressed that the people of Dara’a avidly sought to prevent bloodshed and reach a settlement that protects their women and children and prevents their killing or displacement. They have also committed to the terms of the existing understandings and agreements. They have also adhered to their natural, civil and political rights, he added, citing their refusal to vote in the fraudulent presidential elections that the regime held in contravention of UN Resolution 2254 and without the supervision of the United Nations and international standards of integrity and transparency.
Al-Meslet called for registering the memorandum in the UN records as an official document, and refer it to the relevant UN bodies. He also called for condemning the hostile actions of Russia, the regime, and Iran on Daraa, Jabal al-Zawiya and other areas. He also called for announcing effective measures that oblige the regime and its supporters to comply with international resolutions, ensure the protection of civilians in Syria, and ensure that the necessary accountability measures are taken to prevent the impunity of those involved.
Moreover, al-Meslet called for the UN to assume its responsibilities of protecting the population from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity in accordance with the Article 39 of General Assembly Resolution No. 60/1 of 2005, and help the Syrian people build capacity to protect the people from genocide and crimes against humanity that continue to be committed against them.
Al-Meslet called for activating the Uniting for Peace principle to save the Syrian people from war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, and to protect international peace and security, after the Russian veto blocked the Security Council from carrying out its main role.
Moreover, al-Meslet called for suspending the Assad regime from exercising membership rights and benefits in accordance with Article 5 of the Charter, due to its violations of the principles and the Charter of the United Nations, and remove the representative character of the Syrian state from Assad’s government in international forums.
Finally, he called for supporting the efforts of the political process towards achieving a political transition and not to allow the regime to foil it again, given that a comprehensive solution to the humanitarian crisis in Syria requires reaching a political solution with the full implementation of the Geneva Communique and Security Council resolutions, especially 2118 (2013) and 2254 (2015) and the General Assembly resolutions, including 67/262. (Source: SOC’s Media Department)
