Western nations want to end the months-long paralysis at the United Nations over Syria by referring the issue of chemical weapons use to the entire UN general assembly, the Guardian newspaper reported on Tuesday. The Russia’s security council veto would not apply at the UN General Assembly.
The idea is to draw on a rarely used route first established in the cold war to transfer responsibility for aspects of the crisis to the 193-member general assembly, the newspaper said.
Russia has used its security council veto powers 11 times to block action targeting its ally the Assad regime.
Ian Martin, a former UN official and Amnesty International chief, said: “The Russian veto need not be the end of efforts for collective action by the UN. The responsibility of asserting accountability for the use of chemical weapons, and for bringing an end to the horrors of the Syrian conflict, rests with the world community as a whole.” (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
