U.N. General Assembly Votes 133 to 12 to Slam Security Council’s Inaction on Syria
The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution Friday criticizing the Security Council’s failure to act on the Syria conflict, which U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon said has become a “proxy war”.
The resolution, which condemned President Bashar Assad’s use of “heavy weapons” in his battle against the rebellion against his rule, was passed by 133 votes with 12 countries against and 31 abstaining.
Russia and China, which have vetoed three U.N. Security Council resolutions on Syria, were among high profile opponents of the resolution.
Many diplomats said Friday’s vote was a show of frustration and anger at the lack of international action on the conflict.
Though the resolution is not legally binding, there was increased attention on the General Assembly action after the resignation of U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan and the mounting battle for the Syrian city of Aleppo.
The resolution said members deplored “the Security Council failure to agree on measures” to make the Syrian government carry out U.N. demands to end almost 18 months of fighting.