Iran says UN resolution will complicate situation in Syria

TEHRAN,May 18(MNA) – Iran on Thursday condemned the new UN resolution against Syria, saying it would complicate matters further in the crisis-hit country in a situation where the country is in dire need of peace. According to Reuters, the UN General Assembly condemned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and praised the opposition on Wednesday. While the non-binding text has no legal force, resolutions of the 193-nation assembly can carry significant moral and political weight. There were 107 votes in favor, 12 against, and 59 abstentions - a drop in support compared with a resolution condemning the Syrian government that passed in August with 133 votes in favor, 12 against, and 31 abstentions. The resolution was drafted by Qatar and other Arab nations. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Araqchi criticized the resolution, saying, “This move and certain paragraphs of the resolution will not only not help resolve the problem but also will intensify the activities and (aggravate) the crimes of extremist groups in the country and go against international efforts to find a peaceful solution.” The Iranian ambassador to the UN also issued a statement on Wednesday before the adoption of the resolution, in which he said that the draft resolution was a deviation from the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and the international law. Following are the main points of the reasons Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee enumerated for Iran’s objection to the draft resolution: 1. It is ironic that in the draft there is no reflection of recent Israeli regime attacks against Syria. The Israeli air strikes on 3rd and 5th May 2013 and other previous attacks were all blatant acts of aggression and a clear and serious violation of the norms and principles of the United Nations Charter including its Article 2 (4) on the prohibition of the use of force against any Member State. 2. We believe that the United Nations has an important role to play in search for a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis. In view of my delegation, the Draft Resolution, demonstrates a rather confrontational approach vis-à-vis Syria and in no way helps to bring the parties to a platform of dialogue, with a view of finding a peaceful way to resolve the crisis in a manner that would benefit the Syrian people as a whole. We need to help and facilitate engagement of the Syrian political groups with Syrian Government for a Syrian-lead political process. 3. Despite some changes, the main elements in the final draft still supports the decisions taken outside the United Nations and include frameworks and mechanisms that do not correspond to the peaceful initiatives that the UN should pursue under agreed processes, including the framework of the Geneva Action Group for Syria and the regional framework that we pursue with some countries in the region aimed at achieving the prescribed peaceful goals. The Draft contains a language that contradicts a comprehensive political process with the support of regional and international initiatives and the mandate of the Special Envoy. This is also interpreted as being in line with certain attempts to alter or to impose illegitimate demands on the mandate of the Special Envoy. 4. The “acknowledgment” referred to in the draft intrudes on the provisions of the Charter regarding the respect for the sovereignty and integrity of Member States. It also represents a dangerous precedent that violates the most elementary principles of the international law. 5. It now becoming more clear that certain elements of the Syrian armed opposition groups used chemical weapons resulted in the death and the injury of a number of innocent civilians in that country as testified by the UN Human Rights Council appointee Mrs. Carla Del Ponte. 6. The draft is not explicit in recognizing the responsibilities of the armed groups in their recourse to atrocious act and violence. We believe, it is important that the decisions by the UN General Assembly to be objective and balanced. 7. The Draft violates the authorities and jurisdiction of the General Assembly where particularly it makes implicitly references to Rome procedures on the International Criminal Court. 8. Finally, it is important that any proposal before this Assembly should be based on the broad consultations and consent of the wider membership. It seems that the drafters did not heed the substantive proposals and amendments presented by the representatives of other regional groupings.