The UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has warned that Syria’s people feel increasingly abandoned by the world as their country’s crisis enters its fifth year, and he called on Bashar al-Assad by name to take decisive steps to end the conflict.
In a statement, Ki-moon described the international community as “divided and incapable of taking collective action” in the civil war. Ki-moon warned of the “fearsome prospect of the total collapse of this country” and its effects throughout the region.
He said the lack of accountability in the conflict has led to an exponential increase in war crimes and crimes against humanity.
“Each day brings reports of fresh horrors,” he said, including executions, systemic torture, the use of indiscriminate weapons like barrel bombs on civilians, siege and starvation and the use of chemical weapons.
The UN chief’s statement came as more than 20 international aid groups issued a joint condemnation of the Security Council for its failure to back up the resolutions it passed last year to help get aid to millions of Syrians and protect civilians from the fighting.
The aid groups, including the International Rescue Committee, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Handicap International, called on UN members to ensure the resolutions are fully implemented.
The Syrian Coalition calls on the UN Security Council to pass a resolution under Chapter VII of the UN Charter so becomes a real obligation for the Assad regime and imposes a fair solution which includes immediate steps to ensure the protection of civilians in Syria in accordance with international law.”
“The Assad regime continues to violate truces and agreements held with rebels in many areas across Syria, even those sponsored by international bodies, like what happened in Al Waer district in Homs when regime forces opened fire on convoys of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as they were evacuating civilians,” Meslet said.
“The large-scale successive regime offensives and the war crime that accompany then prove beyond doubt that the Assad regime cannot be trusted as a partner in any political solution,” Meslet stressed. (Source: Syrian Coalition)
