UN Security Council draft statement condemns Syrian force 
Draft censures violations of human rights, use of force on civilians, and calls for immediate end to all violence; statement pending approval of member states, comes as Syrian forces continue to shell Hama. 

By REUTERS
03/08/2011 
JPost
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=232324


UNITED NATIONS - A draft UN Security Council statement that could be adopted on Wednesday would condemn human rights violations and use of force against civilians by Syrian authorities, council diplomats said.

The draft statement comes as Syrian tanks occupied the main Orontes Square in central Hama after heavy shelling of the city on Wednesday, residents said.

Diplomats said the statement had been substantially agreed upon by the council and was being referred to member states' governments for approval. If there were no objections it was expected to be read out by the council president later in the day, they said.

The draft, obtained by Reuters, would condemn widespread violations of human rights and the use of force against civilians by the Syrian authorities and urges Damascus to comply with its obligations under international law.

It would also call for an immediate end to all violence and urge all sides to act with utmost restraint, and to refrain from reprisals, including attacks against state institutions.

That phrase was a gesture to Russia and other countries that had called for a balanced statement that would apportion to both sides blame for the violence in Syria's 5-month-old uprising against President Bashar Assad.
A Security Council resolution on Syria drafted by West European countries had been lying on the council table for two months, blocked by opposition from Russia, China and several non-aligned countries.

The Europeans resurrected it this week, galvanized by weekend violence in the Syrian city of Hama in which more than 80 people died. Russia and its supporters eventually agreed to council action but insisted that it be just a statement, which is weaker than a resolution, diplomats said.

Diplomats said there was uncertainty over the position of Syria's neighbor Lebanon, a council member that has been reluctant to be involved in any action on the issue. They quoted Lebanese diplomats as saying they had referred the matter back to Beirut. Council statements are meant to be unanimously agreed by the body's 15 members.