UNITED NATIONS, Apr 11 (APP):The Security Council, voting today on three separate draft resolutions in response to recent allegations of a chemical weapons attack in the Syrian town of Douma, failed to rally the votes needed to launch an independent mechanism of investigation into the incident, as delegates voiced frustration over the continued paralysis and the expanding rifts between nations.
Days after alleged chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburb of Douma, the UN Security Council failed to adopt two competing resolutions that would have established a mechanism to investigate use of such weapons in Syria, as well as another concerning a fact-finding mission in the war-torn country.
Had one of the two mechanisms proposed in the drafts been approved, it could have filled the vacuum left by the Organisation for Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) when its mandate expired last November.
The first draft considered Tuesday “ penned by the United States “ which would have established a new investigative mechanism for one year, as well as identify those responsible for the use of chemical weapons, was rejected as Russia exercised its veto power.
The draft received 12 votes in favour, two against (Bolivia and Russia) and one abstention (China).
A negative vote “ or veto “ from one of the Council’s five permanent members “ China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and the United States “ blocks passage of a resolution.
Tuesday’s meeting marked the twelfth time Russia has used its veto to block Council action on Syria.
Similarly, a competing draft “ penned by Russia “ which would have established the mechanism for one year as well but would have given the Security Council the responsibility to assign accountability for the use of chemical weapons in Syria, was also not adopted.
This draft received six Council members’ vote in favour (Bolivia, China, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan and Russia), seven against (France, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States) and two abstentions (Ivory Coast and Kuwait).
The Council rejected a third text “ also proposed by Russia “ which concerned the work of the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission (FFM).
The draft received five votes in favour (Bolivia, China, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan and Russia), four against (France, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States), and six abstentions (Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Peru, and Sweden).
Ahead of the Security Council meetings Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had repeated his call on 15-member body to find unity on the issue of use of chemical weapons in Syria and ensure accountability.
“The norms against chemical weapons must be upheld. I appeal to the Security Council to fulfil its responsibility and find unity on this issue,” he said.
“I also encourage the Council to redouble its efforts to agree on a dedicated mechanism for accountability.”
The U.S. has claimed that the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad is responsible for the attack. Moscow, however, has denied the Syrian government was behind the strike, and has instead said the attack was staged by militants.
Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., condemned Russia’s veto on Tuesday, saying that Moscow had chosen Assad over the Security Council.
“The record will not be kind to one permanent member of this council. Unfortunately, Russia has chosen the Assad regime again over the unity of this council,” Haley said.
“We have said it before that Russia will stop at nothing to shield the Assad regime.”
Her statement comes a day after she issued a blistering condemnation of Russia over the alleged chemical attack, saying Moscow’s hands are “covered in the blood” of Syrian children.
Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov said Monday that specialists sent by Moscow to Douma had determined that no chemical weapons were used in the area, contradicting the findings of aid workers.
US President Donald Trump on Monday said he would make a decision in the next 48 hours regarding a potential military response to the alleged chemical strike in Douma.
The Joint Investigative Mechanism, which was established in 2015 to look into chemical weapons use in Syria, came to an end last year after Russia voted in the Security Council not to renew its mandate.