U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon urged the Security Council to unite to find a solution to end the bloody civil war in Syria. (Reuters)
By AL ARABIYA WITH AGENCIES
U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon made a fresh appeal to members of the Security
Council on Thursday to overcome their divisions and find a solution to
the bloody civil war in Syria.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Ban said it would be an
“abdication” of the world body’s responsibilities if it fails to unify
over the crisis that has claimed more than 60,000 lives.
Russia and China have used their powers as permanent members of the
15-member Security Council to block three resolutions that would have
threatened sanctions against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Embattled U.N. Syria envoy Lakhdar Brahimi is due to brief the full council next Tuesday.
“It will be essential for the Security Council to overcome the deadlock,
and find the unity that will make meaningful action possible,” Ban told
the annual gathering of the global elite in a Swiss ski resort.
“The alternative -- letting the sides fight it out, resigning ourselves
to Syria’s destruction with all its regional implications -- is too
costly and unacceptable,” he added.
“That would be an abdication of our collective responsibility to
protect. The world, and above all the Security Council, must uphold its
responsibilities.”
The U.N. secretary general appealed to world powers to increase their
funding for aid for people displaced by the 22-month conflict, ahead of a
donors conference in Kuwait on January 30.
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