Confrontation at the Security Council? New UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) Report on Syria is “Biased and Selective”
Geneva – Syria’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Dr. Faisal al-Hamwi slammed the new international Commission of Inquiry (COI) report on Syria as biased and selective.
”We have been presented today with a new draft resolution that is biased and selective, whose patrons have rebuffed every overture for cooperation and constructive contribution offered them by the delegations…a resolution that has overstepped the jurisdiction of the the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the UN Security Council and a number of humanitarian organizations,” Dr. al-Hamwi said.
Delivering Syria’s statement before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Friday during a session to discuss a COI draft resolution on Syria, al-Hamwi said that the draft resolution revolves around the international Commission of Inquiry which was illegally founded and “has been pursuing a policy of bias and disinformation for two years, depending on false testimonies and media outlets lacking in credibility.”
“The Commission has repeatedly stressed that it obtained information confirming the involvement of many sides in the crisis. Nonetheless, it continues to focus its campaign and accusations on the Syrian government and remains tight-lipped over the crimes of the prime instigators of killing in Syria, first and foremost, the US, Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.”
Dr. al-Hamwi added ”We have advised the Committee to maintain neutrality and impartiality. Nonetheless, it continues to gloss over the role of Turkey that has left 900 km of its borders open to tens of thousands of foreign mercenaries and al-Qaeda members to sneak into Syria and kill its people.”
“The Commission is also providing a cover to Qatar that has disbursed billions of dollars to arm and train those mercenaries and, when realizing its failure, it embroiled Saudi Arabia in the mission,” Syria’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva said.
Al-Hamwi regretted the about-face in the role of Saudi Arabia that has moved from pretending to be the mentor to publicly supporting killing, violence and destruction.
Al-Hamwi said that Syria has received the Commission’s chief in June 2012 in the hopes that dialogue with him will lead to establishing common ground ”but instead, he continued to show hostility towards the Syrian people through ignoring the role of terrorism supporters in his reports.”
“A month ago, we extended an invitation to the UN investigator Carla Del Ponte to visit Syria, but the Commission’s chief has prevented it, in what calls to mind his attitude regarding her brave statements last May when she pointed a finger at the armed terrorist groups in Syria for using sarin gas and how, having succumbed to pressure, he rushed to refute them.”
Al-Hamwi affirmed that Syria will not acknowledge any resolution that it is not consulted about and whose patrons refuse wise amendments to it by the other Council members ”and so will do about any resolution adopted by countries which believe they can buy conscience, votes and stances.”
”These countries are hypocrites when they feign sorrow for the suffering of the Syrian people as they are arming mercenaries and takfiris, and inciting foreign military intervention to destroy Syria,” Dr. al-Hamwi pointed out.
Syria reiterates that it is ready to cooperate with the Commission so long as it maintains neutrality and objectivity and makes public its information on the unethical role of the prime instigators of the killing and violence in Syria, al-Hamwi said.
He called on the Council’s member states to vote against the draft resolution ”to prove to their nations that they are taking a firm line against terrorism and its backers and that they are striving for constructive dialogue and genuine peace efforts.’‘
M. Ismael
