09 Apr 2017

Government of Botswana remains deeply concerned about the ever increasing brutality and crimes against humanity in Syria.

 

A press release from the Ministry of International Affairs and Cooperation states that Botswana strongly condemns the continued massacre of innocent civilians by the Assad regime and its allies, including the alleged use of chemical weapons in the recent attack in Idlib province.

 

Botswana calls upon the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as the organ tasked with the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security to re-double its efforts in finding a lasting solution to the protracted conflict in that country.

 

It urges members of the UNSC to work towards reaching a consensus on how to effectively resolve this debilitating conflict that has decimated Syrian communities and to give up their partisan positions over the conflict that has resulted in a deadlock in achieving a peaceful

resolution.

 

It states that those members of the UNSC who in the past blocked resolutions to find a political solution to this conflict will reconsider their position in view of the recent atrocities in Syria. 

 

The release notes that if a sustainable solution is not found to this deteriorating security and humanitarian situation, it will remain a dark stain in the collective conscience of all and an adverse failure on the part of the UN and its primary objective of aiding humanity.

 

The recent missile strike by the United States of America on Syrian military targets is an escalation to the conflict, but a necessary intervention that hopefully will send an unequivocal and strong message that the use of weapons of mass destruction whether nuclear, biological or

chemical is totally unacceptable. 

 

Botswana also condemns the indiscriminate use of conventional weapons as it has resulted in the killing of many innocent people including children.

 

The Government of Botswana thus appeals to the UNSC and the international community as a whole to do its part by demonstrating collective unity of purpose aimed at urgently resolving this conflict, states the release. ENDS