Government defends position on Syria

The Donald Ramotar administration has defended its abstention on a vote on one of the UN General Assembly resolutions regarding the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic. The Foreign Affairs Ministry in a statement on Friday said that as some local reporting has illustrated, the situation is evidently complex with multiple interests being prosecuted by various actors, both internal and external. The United Nations General Assembly on August 3, voted overwhelmingly in support of the resolution. Gravely concerned by the escalating violence in Syria, the UN General Assembly on July 30 strongly condemned Damascus’ indiscriminate use of heavy weapons in civilian areas and its widespread violations of human rights, demanding that all parties “immediately and visibly” commit to ending a conflict that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called “a test of everything this organisation stands for”.

The ministry’s statement added that Guyana’s abstention vote on August 3 must be seen in the context of the evolving situation on the ground, the urgent need for a political settlement and for an efficacious response by the international community within the framework of the United Nations Charter and international law.
Government said that it had on two previous occasions supported resolutions of the General Assembly strongly condemning violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law by the Syrian authorities.
This was although the said resolutions paid scant regard to the actions of other parties. According to the statement, the most recent of these was General Assembly resolution 66/ 253 A, which mandated the appointment of a joint special envoy of the United Nations and the Arab League. “A number of changes have taken place on the ground, which have led to a reconsideration of Guyana’s position.”
The ministry explained that the situation has become increasingly militarised and the presence of terrorist elements has been recognised as contributing to the intensification of the conflict. It added that the international community has grown more divided, resulting in the inability of the security council to agree on an appropriate response. “As the outgoing joint special envoy of the United Nations and the Arab League has observed, the challenges within Syria have been compounded by the lack of unity on the part of the international community.”
The government said it has been following with grave concern the unfolding situation in the Syrian Arab Republic and the increasingly heavy toll it is taking on the people of that country.
According to United Nations reports, serious violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law have been perpetrated by all sides to the conflict.
Government is of the view that the interests of the Syrian people will be served by an immediate end to the violence and bloodshed by all parties and the provision of the necessary humanitarian and other support as envisaged in the six-point plan endorsed by the security council.
The resolution welcomes an Arab League resolution calling on the president of Syria to step down, a call that Guyana could not logically support since this was outside the accepted international norms of democratic governance processes. The resolution also encourages cohesion among the opposition, many of whom are unknown to the international community, and some of whom are identified by the UN Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry with the perpetration of human rights violations, and with contributing to the escalation of the conflict. The Guyana government said that it could not blindly support opposition elements under such circumstances.
“The government of Guyana believes that the situation in Syria is a complex one exacerbated by differing interests of the many actors on the ground that has seen the people of Syria being the greatest casualties. As a concerned member of the international community, Guyana continues to urge a peaceful resolution in accordance with the principles of international law,” the statement said.