By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL, United Nations Headquarters – On Thursday Russia and China exercised their veto power as permanent members of the Security Council by vetoing a resolution to refer the crisis in Syria to the International Criminal Court for possible prosecution of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by actors on both sides of the conflict during the country’s three-year civil war. The remaining 13 members of the United Nations Security Council voted in favor of the resolution.
More than 60 UN Member states have signed on to support the French-drafted measure before the vote was held, Gerard Araud, the French Ambassador to the United Nations said that a potential veto would “cover up all crimes. A veto, he said, would be “vetoing justice.”
The resolution would have condemned the “widespread violation” of human rights and international humanitarian law by both Syrian officials and non-state armed groups over the past three years and would have referred Syria’s crisis to the world’s permanent war crimes tribunal for investigation of possible war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The veto’s marked the fourth time Russia, a close ally of the Assad Regime, has used its power as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to block resolutions related to the Syrian Civil War which has left more than 150,000 people dead over the past three years.
Prior to the vote, Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s Ambassador to the United Nations, questioned why the resolution was put to a vote. He told the press that his counties shares the “emotions” shared by the states who supported the resolution bud said that his country’s vote would be “boringly predictable” and claimed the resolution was a “publicity stunt.” Churkin told the Security Council “the draft resolution rejected today reveals an attempt to use the ICC to further inflame political passions and lay the groundwork in the end for eventual outside military intervention.”
The Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations, Wang Min, defended his country’s veto saying that Beijing had reservations about the council referring conflicts to the International Criminal Court.
In response to the veto British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant criticized the action saying “It is to Russia and China’s shame that they have chosen to block efforts to achieve justice for the Syrian people.”
Samantha Power, the United States’ Ambassador to the United Nations also condemned the veto saying the victims of the deadly conflict “deserve to have history record those who stood with them and those who were willing to raise their hands to deny them a chance at justice.”
After the vote Powers addressed the council condemning the veto and asking how future generations will judge the way the international community has responded to the three year crisis. She said; “our grandchildren will ask us years from now how we could have failed to bring justice to people living in hell on earth.”
For more information please see:
ABC News – Russia, China Veto UN Move to Refer Syria to ICC – 22 May 2014
CNN International – Russia, China Block Syria from Facing International Criminal Court – 22 May
Amnesty International – UN: Russian and Chinese Vetoes of Syria ICC Resolution ‘Callous’ – 22 May 2014
The Guardian – Russia and China Veto UN Move to Refer Syria to International Criminal Court – 22 May 2014
