AJC Applauds UN General Assembly Condemnation of Syria

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Feb 17, 2012, 08:59 ET

NEW YORK, Feb. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC applauded the UN General Assembly condemnation of the Syrian government and call for President Bashar al-Assad to step down. The resolution, endorsing an Arab League plan to end the regime's 11-month brutal assault on its citizens, was adopted by a vote of 137 to 12, with 17 abstentions.

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"The world has spoken, but President Assad remains deaf to the cries of his people and the demands of the international community to end his reign of terror," said AJC Executive Director David Harris.

The General Assembly acted yesterday after a UN Security Council resolution was vetoed by China and Russia. Those voting against the non-binding General Assembly resolution included Bolivia, Cuba, China, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela.

"Shame on the governments who opposed and abstained on this important UN statement of concern and outrage," said Harris. "The Syrian people now know who in the world has little care for their fate."

More than 70 UN member-states co-sponsored the General Assembly resolution. Similar to the failed Security Council resolution, it calls for Assad to step down and transfer power to a vice president, for the regime to end its violence and for negotiations to form a new government.

More than 6,000 Syrians have been killed, according to the UN, though the actual figure is likely higher as the death toll continues to rise daily. The world body acknowledged recently that it has become enormously difficult to keep track of the deaths, as well as the thousands injured and detained.

The Assad regime's pummeling of cities across Syria has been relentless and the severity of the attacks increased in recent weeks as the Arab League, European countries and the U.S. stepped up their pressure for meaningful action to stop the regime's violence.

"Russian and Chinese unyielding support for the bloodthirsty Assad regime, together with military and other assistance from Iran, has made it impossible to even contemplate a practical plan to deliver urgently needed humanitarian aid to the Syrian people," said Harris.