UN condemns Syria, calls for Assad to step down

Feb. 16, 2012: In this photo provided by the United Nations, Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar Ja'afari can be seen on the monitor as he addresses the U. N. General Assembly. (AP)

UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Thursday for a resolution backing an Arab League plan calling for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down and strongly condemning human rights violations by his regime.

The vote in the 193-member world body on the Arab-sponsored resolution was 137-12 with 17 abstentions. Several countries complained immediately afterward that they were unable to vote due to problems with the U.N.'s voting machine.

Supporters were hoping for a high "yes" vote to deliver a strong message to Assad to immediately stop the bloody crackdown that has killed over 5,400 people and hand power to his vice president. The measure had over 70 co-sponsors and won support from more than two-thirds of the General Assembly.

"Today, the U.N. General Assembly sent a clear message of the people of Syria: the world is with you," U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said in a statement. Assad "has never been more isolated. A rapid transition to democracy in Syria has garnered the resounding support of the international community. Change must now come."

There are no vetoes in the General Assembly and while their resolutions are not legally binding, they do reflect world opinion on major issues.

The transfer of power to Syria's vice-president is part of the Arab League plan for a transitional government which was adopted on Jan. 22. It calls for the establishment of a national unity government within two months to prepare for internationally supervised parliamentary and presidential elections.

Russia and China, who vetoed a similar resolution in the Security Council, voted against the General Assembly measure along with North Korea, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba and others who heeded Syria's appeal to vote "no."

Syria's U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari warned that the resolution will send a message to extremists that "violence and deliberate sabotage" are acceptable and will lead "to more chaos and more crisis."

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov called the assembly resolution "unbalanced," saying "it directs all the demands at the government, and says nothing about the opposition," according to Russian news agencies.

The resolution condemns "all violence, irrespective of where it comes from, and calls upon all parties in Syria, including armed groups, to immediately stop all violence or reprisals," as called for by the Arab League.

But Arab countries on Tuesday rejected amendments proposed by Russia, which has been one of Syria's strongest backers since the Cold War when the president's late father, Hafez Assad, led the country.

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said his country voted against the resolution because its proposed amendments were ignored.

One called on "all sections of the Syrian opposition to dissociate themselves from armed groups engaged in acts of violence" and urged countries with influence to prevent continued violence by such groups. The other demanded that the withdrawal of all Syrian armed forces from cities and towns -- which is called for in the Arab League plan -- take place "in conjunction with the end of attacks by armed groups against state institutions and quarters of cities and towns."

Arab sponsors couldn't accept these amendments because they sought to equate the Assad regime's crackdown on civilian protesters with the opposition that rose up to confront the violent attacks. U.N. diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the discussions were private.

Churkin stressed that the key to resolving the Syrian crisis is "through an inclusive political process led by the Syrians themselves."