UN Security Council must act to prevent Syria from becoming failed state: envoy

Lakhtar Brahimi, joint special representative of the United Nations and Arab League for Syria, on Friday urged the UN Security Council to act to save the Middle East country from becoming a failed state. In a briefing to the UN General Assembly on the prolonged Syria crisis, Brahimi said that despite previous difficulties of the 15-member council to reach a resolution on the crisis, "I nevertheless feel that it is here and only here that a credible, implementable process can be put together." Much of the division in the council has derived from dissension among the veto-wielding powers over whether chapter VII of the UN Charter should be invoked to introduce sanctions on Syria. Brahimi said if the creation of a new Syria fails to meet the legitimate demands of its people, "Syria becomes a failed state, with all the predictable dire consequences, for the people of Syria, for the entire region, and for international peace and security." He outlined the necessary building blocks paramount to ending violence and reaching a negotiated political solution, clarifying his view that a resolution from the council is only an initial step. A resolution from the council "must include necessarily a binding agreement on the cessation of all forms of violence," said Brahimi, former Algerian foreign minister and UN trouble shooter. Noting a lack of trust between Syrian parties, he said "for the fighting to stop, a strong, well-planned observation system must be put in place. Such observation can best be organized through a large, robust peacekeeping force." "Naturally, that cannot be envisaged without a Security Council resolution," he added. Stressing the necessity of a unified opposition force, Brahimi said this was in the process of being realized as an agreement on consolidated opposition coalition was signed at a recent meeting in the Qatari capital of Doha. The strengthened coalition is currently "working to develop what I hope will be an ambitious yet realistic and viable political platform," said the peace envoy. But ultimately, ending the violence and producing a negotiated political solution will only come at the insistence of the Syrian people themselves, he said. "Without a true, sincere and total national ownership, the chances of any plan achieving lasting peace will be very poor indeed," he said.