U.N. General Assembly expected to pass Syria resolution

15.5.2013 – MESOP – The United Nations General Assembly is expected to approvean Arab-backed draft resolutionon Syria in a vote on Wednesday. The draft resolution condemns the Syrian government and accepts the Syrian National Coalition as a party to a potential political transition.

The draft resolution is opposed by Russia, a strong ally of the Syrian regime, and is not expected to win as many votes as an August 2012 resolution, which passed with 133 countries in favor. A senior western diplomat said that the Islamist factor has added complications and it is not as clear to countries now that the opposition is the winning side. According to another senior diplomat, this draft resolution is stronger than the earlier one, and Russia has complained that it is unbalanced. The draft resolution condemns violence from all sides, and demands that the Syrian government allow for a U.N. inquiry into chemical weapons allegations.

Unlike U.N. Security Council resolutions, General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding and cannot be enforced. However, the three Western-backed Security Council resolutions aimed at pressuring the Assad regime have been vetoed by Russia and China. The United States and Russia have been planning for an international conference on Syria they hope to hold in June.

Speaking from Sweden on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said progress is being made” on bringing together representatives from the Syrian government and opposition. According to Kerry, Assad’s regime has given Russia a list of officials that would attend the potential talks. Meanwhile, Syria’s Internet is reportedly down for the second time in two weeks. According to Syrian residents and the U.S.-based Internet monitoring company Renesys Corp., Syria went offline at 10:00 a.m. local time Wednesday. Syria’s state news agency, SANA, said there were technical problems and maintenance teams were working on the issue.