Geneva: The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution Friday criticizing the Security Council’s failure to act on the Syrian conflict and condemning the government’s use of heavy weapons.
The resolution, drawn up by Saudi Arabia with widespread Arab and Western backing, was passed by 133 votes with 12 countries against and 33 abstaining.
The resolution also had the assembly “deploring the failure of the Security Council to agree on measures to ensure the compliance of Syrian authorities with its decisions.”
It condemned “the Syrian authorities use of heavy weapons including indiscriminate shelling from tanks and helicopters” and demanded that the government refrain from using its chemical weapons.
The anti-Syria resolution easily passed in the 193-member General Assembly after its Arab sponsors de-fanged two key provisions in the original draft — a demand that President Bashar Assad resign, and a call for other nations to place sanctions on Syria over its civil war.
The Assembly was overshadowed by the resignation of former U.N. chief Kofi Annan on Thursday as the joint U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria after his peace proposals failed.
Though the resolution is not legally binding, there was increased attention on the General Assembly action after the resignation of Annan and the mounting battle for the Syrian city of Aleppo.
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