Blog 5: General Assembly Votes to Condemn Syrian Leader

This article by Rick Gladstone is an update on the Syrian situation and the U.N.'s response to the continued bombings and military action against civilian populations inside of Syria.  The article notes that the U.N. has passed a non-binding resolution which condemns the Syrian leader, President Bashar al-Assad's violent crackdown on protesters within Syria.  The article notes that last year 5,400 Syrians were killed, thousands went missing and 25,000 refugees have been displaced in other countries and over 70,000 Syrians have been displaced internally.  The Local Coordination Committee, a Syrian activist group, reported at least 63 deaths on Thursday, but external sources could not verify the situation.  Mr. Ban, the Secretary General of the U.N. has personally condemned the action in Syria, noting that hospitals are being used as torture centers, and children as young as 10 years old are being imprisoned and abused.  The U.N is still trying to organize and distribute humanitarian aid in the country.

While the human rights abuses in Syria are escalating, it is heartening to see the world community moving in the direction to take action to offer humanitarian, and possibly military, aid in the coming weeks.  The violence against the civilian population in Syria is reported to have increased after the Security Council resolution failed to pass last week.  The city of Homs is being attacked relentlessly on a daily basis, and military strikes are concentrated in Idlib and Hama Provinces.  Both protesters and innocent civilian populations are being treated with brutal, indiscriminate force.  As the Secretary General noted, hospitals are being used for torture centers and children are being incarcerated and abused at an alarming rate.  This resolution is a step in the right direction for aiding the people of Syria, but it appears further measures will be necessary to end the violence and human rights abuses.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/17/world/middleeast/secretary-general-ban-ki-moon-castigates-syria-ahead-of-general-assembly-vote.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper