Yesterday, Saudi Arabia, a country that won a seat on the Security Council, rejected that seat as a form of protest over the UN handling of Syria. The Saudi foreign ministry issued this statement:
“Work mechanisms and double-standards on the Security Council prevent it from carrying out its duties and assuming its responsibilities in keeping world peace, therefore, Saudi Arabia… has no other option but to turn down Security Council membership until it is reformed and given the means to accomplish its duties and assume its responsibilities in preserving the world’s peace and security.”
The decision stunned the UN. This is the first time in its history a country rejects a seat on its Security Council.
Protecting the Assad terror has its limits and the divide this man has caused between Sunnis and Shias has now spilled over amongst nations in New York itself.
The French UN Ambassador Gerard Araud offered some important words to highlight the deep frustrations many countries feel towards Russia for the impasse it caused on Syria:
“We think that Saudi Arabia would have brought a very positive contribution to the Security Council, but we do also understand the frustration of Saudi Arabia. The fact is that the Security Council has been unable to act now for more than two years,”
For their part, the Russians reacted with a strong statement of their own slamming the Saudis.
“We are surprised by Saudi Arabia’s unprecedented decision. In this way, Saudi Arabia has excluded itself from collective work within the Security Council to support international peace and security. The kingdom’s arguments arouse bewilderment, and the criticism of the UN Security Council in the context of the Syrian conflict is particularly strange.”
The Russian foreign ministry failed to explain the words “collective work” in light of its repeated veto power to protect the Assad regime of terror.
The score is Saudi Arabia 1, Russia 0.
What Saudi Arabia has done may seem counterproductive to many, but this unprecedented step has opened the door wide open to fissures in the UN dam that may cause the organization to collapse. The UN’s inability to solve the most difficult of problems facing humanity when it comes to protecting the innocent is embarrassing really. If the UN was a business, it would have long been bankrupt.
Furthermore, Russia, inadvertently, may have caused the only international body it has any power over to weaken as a result of Putin’s mishandling of Syria and the Assad terror that remain unabated. Their angry statement against Saudi Arabia shows their concerns.
Some countries, like Saudi Arabia, are stirred by the fact that Assad has gassed his own people and continues to terrorize and starve children and women. Honestly, we applaud their courage and their stand on these principles. Women may not be able to drive in Saudi Arabia, but at least they do not have snipers, like Iran and Assad do, who target the uteri of pregnant women with their high powered rifles.
Saudi Arabia is realizing that being an ally of the United States has a far steeper price than it is willing to pay. This move may shake heads, but we believe it will also have deep repercussions as a tool of protest other countries may use to pressure the Permanent Members to find a solution to a system long on speeches and short on action when humanity demands it the most.
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