UN Assembly deplores Security Council's Syria failure

The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution Friday criticizing the Security Council's failure to act on the Syria conflict, which UN leader Ban Ki-moon said has become a "proxy war."

The resolution also condemning President Bashar al-Assad's use of "heavy weapons" in the civil war was approved by 133 votes, with 12 countries against and 33 abstaining.

Members deplored "the Security Council failure to agree on measures" to make the Syrian government carry out UN demands to end almost 18 months of fighting, the text read.

Russia and China have vetoed three UN Security Council resolutions on Syria and many diplomats said the assembly resolution was a show of frustration and anger at the lack of international action on the conflict.

The measure condemned "the Syrian authorities' use of heavy weapons including indiscriminate shelling from tanks and helicopters" and demanded that the government refrain from using its chemical weapons.

Ahead of the vote, Ban told the assembly that Syria had become a "proxy war" and also turned on the Security Council, which he said had become "paralyzed" by divisions over the conflict.

"Now, with the situation having worsened, they must again find common ground. The immediate interests of the Syrian people must be paramount over any larger rivalries of influence," the UN secretary-general said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/un-assembly-deplores-security-councils-syria-failure-171932567.html

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