A story this morning in the Guardian entitled “Syria: western nations seek to bypass Russian veto at UN” details a mechanism by which western nations, within the United Nations system, may be able to neutralize Russia in its barbaric approach at protecting Assad at any cost. The western countries working to bypass Russian veto at the U.N.
Patrick Wintour, the diplomatic editor, writes:
Western nations want to end the months-long paralysis at the United Nations over Syria by referring the issue of chemical weapons use to the entire UN general assembly, where Russia’s security council veto would not apply. The idea is to draw on a rarely used route first established in the cold war to transfer responsibility for aspects of the crisis to the 193-member general assembly.
The question to ask is: Why did it take western diplomats 12 Russian vetoes protecting the murderous Assad regime to act on this ‘rarely used route’? That should have been obvious the moment Russia persistently (Over 2 or 3 vetoes) protected the use of chemical weapons. Someone has to ask this relevant question.
Wintour continues to explain what this ‘rarely used route’ amounts to:
Western governments, worried that the impasse is weakening the wider authority of the security council, want to pick up a rarely used route, first set up in the 1950 Korean crisis. Called “uniting for peace”, it would enable nine members of the 15-strong security council to bypass a Russian veto and refer the matter to a full vote at the general assembly. It would then require a two-thirds majority by the general assembly for an attribution mechanism to be agreed.
It is possible that this obscure route age may have had something to do with it. Somebody must have discovered it in the arcane archives of the United Nations.
How the whole concept became a reality, Wintour writes:
The impasse was raised at an annual weekend closed-door retreat attended by security council ambassadors in Sweden, and is now likely to be discussed further at a series of meetings this week. Western powers fear the absence of an attribution mechanism not only gives Syria free range to continue to use chemical weapons, but also to deliver a severe blow to the international world order.
International world order and Vladimir Putin are two oxymoronic terms. One cannot exist with the other.
Let us hope western diplomats have uncovered a potent way to break the Russian veto impasse. Maybe if the ICC prosecutes Assad and finds him guilty, he may think twice about killing civilians with total impunity and lack of accountability.
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