BBC, United Nations, 26 Sep 2012 – Prime Minister David Cameron has urged world leaders to do more to stop the “atrocities” of president Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria.
In the keynote speech to the United Nations General Assembly, he cited a recent report documenting torture and murder of children by regime forces.
It was a “stain on those who have failed to stand up” to Syria, he said.
Mr Cameron also urged leaders to back the emerging democracies of the Arab Spring.
Addressing Syria, Mr Cameron said: “The blood of these young children is a terrible stain on the reputation of this United Nations.
“And in particular, a stain on those who have failed to stand up to these atrocities and in some cases aided and abetted Assad’s reign of terror.
“If the United Nations Charter is to have any value in the 21st century, we must now join together to support a rapid political transition.”
Assets frozen
He also pledged a further £7.4m ($12m) in UK humanitarian aid for civilians caught up in the civil war in Syria.
And he offered Egypt financial support and help with security.
Later, Mr Cameron is due to appear on one of American’s best-known television talk shows, the Late Show with David Letterman.
Before his address to the General Assembly, Mr Cameron held talks with Libyan President Mohamed Yousef el-Magariaf.
And he met Egypt’s first democratically-elected leader, President Mohamed Mursi, of the Muslim Brotherhood, at New York’s Waldorf Astoria.
He was expected to offer Britain’s advice on how to manage the area of the Sinai, which has seen recent clashes between security forces and militants.
Chief of the Defence Staff Sir David Richards is due to take part in discussions about security in the Sinai when he visits Cairo later in the year.
’Bang the drum’
The UK prime minister also promised to help repatriate about £100m of Egypt’s assets – stolen by ousted president Mubarak and frozen in the UK during last year’s upheavals – with a new task force supporting Arab Spring countries.
Under EU sanctions still in place, Britain cannot inform Cairo about exactly what assets are being held.
Mr Cameron, who was also scheduled to speak to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, also took part in talks with Afghan president Hamid Karzai and Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari.
The two leaders agreed to work together on a framework for co-operation following the withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan in 2014.
Mr Cameron is expected to use his appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman to “bang the drum” for investment and tourism in Britain.
He will be the first serving British prime minister to be interviewed on the late night talk show – a fixture on US screens for 30 years which attracts a daily audience of about three million.