AFP, London, 30 Jan 2012 – British foreign minister William Hague will travel to the United Nations to push for a resolution on Syria, the Foreign Office said on Monday.
London called on the international community to unite on Syria — where rights groups said 80 people were killed on Sunday alone — and expressed its concern that the violence had led the Arab League to halt its observer mission.
‘The international community has repeatedly called on President (Bashar) Assad to stop the killing and repression of civilians,’ the Foreign Office said in a statement announcing Hague was heading to UN headquarters in New York.
‘He has chosen to ignore these calls. As a result there is growing consensus that the world must speak up for the people of Syria.’
It added: ‘Now is the time for the international community to unite, including by agreeing a United Nations Security Council Resolution this week, to make clear to President Assad and his regime that the killing must stop.’
Hague’s French counterpart Alain Juppe will also head to New York, it was announced in Paris.
Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said on Sunday he hoped Russia and China would allow the UN Security Council to issue a resolution backing a new plan from the pan-Arab body to end the crisis.
The plan looks to secure a halt in the violence and Assad transferring power to his deputy ahead of negotiations, but the formula has been flatly rejected by Damascus.
Russia, a veto-wielding member of the Security Council, opposes the draft UN resolution and has proposed its own draft under which Assad and the opposition would be equally blamed for the violence.
The Russian option has been dismissed by the West.