OTTAWA -- The Green Party of Canada is urging Russia and China to re-join other UN Security Council members in trying to prevent a catastrophic civil war in Syria before it is too late.
Canada should not be surprised by China and Russia choosing to veto a UN Security Council resolution calling for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down. “We predicted that Russia and China would be very reluctant to approve a future UN Responsibility To Protect (R2P) mission in Syria after the mission creep in Libya turned it into an active regime change exercise,” said Green Leader Elizabeth May (Saanich-Gulf Islands). “The needed Security Council trust around the use of R2P was imprudently damaged.”
NATO's mission creep in Libya eventually resulted in heavy continuous bombing of Tripoli to effect regime change, though the original R2P Security Council resolution was only to take limited military action in Libya to protect civilians in imminent danger.
“Russia and China must surely recognize that their own interests are not served by the growing internal violence in Syria and need to quickly re-engage in crafting a new Security Council Resolution that prevents R2P mission creep,” added Eric Walton, Green International Affairs Critic. “Time is quickly running out for diplomacy - even for direct Russian efforts" added Mr Walton.
Pro-democracy protests in Syria have been underway since early last year, with massive civilian casualties. President Bashar al-Assad has responded to the protests with lethal military force.
-30-
MEDIA CONTACT:
Rebecca Harrison
media@greenparty.ca
613-614-4916