|
 The aid official, Valerie Amos, also appealed to the council to
mandate the United Nations' commission of inquiry on Syria to
investigate besieged areas, the militarization of schools and
hospitals, and attacks on those facilities.
The United Nations says about 440,000 people are besieged in Syria's
civil war, now in its fifth year. Of those, 167,500 are trapped by
government forces, 228,000 by Islamic State militants and the rest
by other armed groups.
Syria's U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari characterized claims that
the Syrian government was besieging areas and preventing aid
delivery as "naive and misleading."
Actress and director Jolie, a special envoy of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees, appealed for unity and accountability for
some 4 million Syrian refugees. She has made 11 visits to Syrian
refugees in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Malta.
 "We cannot look at Syria, and the evil that has arisen from the
ashes of indecision, and think this is not the lowest point in the
world's ability to protect and defend the innocent," Jolie told the
15-member Security Council.
"Those refugees cannot come to this council, so please, will you go
to them," said Jolie, who also berated the council for failing to
overcome divisions to end the war.
A Syrian troop crackdown on a pro-democracy movement in 2011 led to
an armed uprising. Islamic State militants have taken advantage of
the chaos to declare a caliphate in Syria and Iraq.
The United Nations says some 220,000 people have been killed and an
estimated 7.6 million are internally displaced. Amos asked the
council to "send perpetrators a clear message that their crimes will
not go unpunished."
[to top of second column] |
"The government, armed and terrorist groups, continue to kill, maim,
rape, torture and take Syria to new lows that seemed unimaginable a
few years ago," said Amos. "We need the numbness to the senseless
violence and the apparent apathy to end."
The council failed last year to refer Syria's war to the
International Criminal Court for possible prosecution of war crimes
and crimes against humanity. Syrian ally Russia, backed by China,
vetoed the move.
"Any impartial observer would see clearly that today terrorism is
the essential issue and threat in Syria," Russia's U.N. ambassador,
Vitaly Churkin, said on Friday.
Russia, with the support of China, vetoed three other council
resolutions that threatened President Bashar al-Assad's government
with sanctions. Western diplomats say there are no indications
Moscow would be willing to support sanctions now.
(Editing by Grant McCool and Jonathan Oatis)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
