United Nations: Saudi Arabia is pushing the UN General Assembly’s human rights committee to condemn Iranian and Russian intervention in Syria, a move that prompted complaints on Tuesday from the delegations of Iran and Syria.
The non-binding draft resolution, prepared by Saudi Arabia and co-sponsored by Qatar and other Arab nations, the United States, Britain, France and other Western powers, was presented during a meeting of the assembly’s Third Committee, which focuses on human rights.
The Syria resolution and similar declarations on Iran, North Korea and Myanmar are expected to be put to a vote as early as next week, diplomats said. The vote would therefore come after a ministerial meeting on Syria in Vienna of the United States, Russia and other major powers later this week.
Without explicitly naming Russia, the draft would have the committee saying the UN “strongly condemns all attacks against the Syrian moderate opposition and calls for their immediate cessation, given that such attacks benefit so-called ISIL (Daesh) and other terrorist groups, such as Al Nusra Front.”
The language is aimed at Russia, which has been bombing opposition forces in Syria for over a month. Moscow says it is attacking Islamic State but Western officials say over 80 percent of its strikes hit other rebel forces, include Western-backed ones.
A Syrian delegate read a statement criticising the resolution. He said Saudi Arabia and Qatar have no right to lecture anyone on human rights. He said the resolution was an attempt to “politicise” the human rights situation in Syria.
An Iranian delegate echoed the Syrian remarks. Iran and Saudi Arabia are regional rivals. Tehran has strongly condemned the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen.
The Syria resolution would condemn the presence in Syria of “all foreign terrorist fighters ... and foreign forces fighting on behalf of the Syrian regime, particularly the al Quds Brigades, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (of Iran) and militia groups, such as Hezbollah.” The Iranian delegate complained about mention of Iran’s IRGC alongside “terrorist” groups. Iran-backed Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, has fought for years alongside Syrian government forces in the country’s civil war.
The draft resolution demands foreign militias leave Syrian territory immediately.
It would blast Daesh and other Islamist militant groups for widespread rights abuses.
But most of the criticism in the draft is aimed at the government of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, an ally of Russia and Iran whom Western and many Arab nations would like to see ousted. It voiced “grave concern at the disproportionate use of force by the Syrian authorities against its civilians.” The draft says more than 250,000 people have died in the war.
Meanwhile, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir said Arab countries’ rapprochement with South American countries will increase Iran’s isolation in the world ahead of a Latin America-Arab world summit in Riyadh on Tuesday.
Prior to the Summit of the Arab and South American countries, Al Jubeir told Al Arabiya News Channel that South American countries have always supported Arab causes, adding that “Iran seeks to establish relations with these countries due to its weak international stance and because it does not have many friends across the world.”
Al Jubeir added Tehran has become “weak” and “seeks to gain favor from any country.”
Meanwhile, Bahraini FM Sheikh Khaled Al Khalifa called on Iran to stop interfering in Arab countries’ affairs.
“If Tehran wants good relations with Arab countries, it must stop meddling in their affairs,” Khalifa said, adding that Arab countries must defend themselves against these interferences and that this role is being carried out upon the leadership of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz.
Riyad Al Maliki, the Palestinian FM, commented on the summit and told Al Arabiya that Arab foreign ministers participating in the summit in Riyadh were informed of the circumstances of the current Palestinian developments.
“A proposal was suggested on ministers and approved. It includes a number of measures such as heading to the UN Security Council and demanding international protection for the Palestinians,” he said.
