UN Backs Russia’s War against ISIL / Da’esh
UN Security Council resolution authorises 'all necessary means' to be used against grops associated with al Qaeda
Russia’s diplomats have been as busy as Russia’s military.
They have now obtained UN Security Council as well as Syrian government approval for Russia’s military campaign.
They have also got the UN Security Council to scotch the myth of the “moderate jihadis” once and for all.
Back in September, when it became clear the Russians were intending to act in Syria, Russia Insider
predicted the Russians would try to get a Resolution from the UN
Security Council to give additional legal cover for their
military action.
This is in contrast to the US, which
avoids the Security Council whenever it can, and which usually prefers
to act unilaterally without a UN Security Council mandate.
Thus US bombing of the Islamic State in
Syria was doubly illegal under international law because it was carried
out without permission from either the UN Security Council or from the
Syrian government.
Russia’s military action by contrast is
completely legal. It has the permission of both the UN Security Council
and the Syrian government for it.
It took weeks for the Russians to get
their Security Council Resolution. This was because the US did
everything it could to stand in the way. However, after weeks of hard
work, Russia’s diplomats have finally got the Resolution Russia wanted.
What changed the position was the terrorist outrage in Paris.
After the Paris attack the French backed
Russia’s proposal for a UN Security Council Resolution. At that point
the US could no longer block it. The US cannot veto a Resolution backed
by its own ally France, especially in the immediate aftermath of a
terrorist attack.
Something that suggests some people in
the US might be unhappy with this development is the absence from the
Security Council table of one person who would normally be expected to
be there for such an important vote.
This was Samantha Power – the US’s UN
ambassador – a hardline liberal interventionist and one of the most
aggressive voices within the US administration calling for regime change
in Syria and confrontation with Russia.
Her relations with Vitaly Churkin,
Russia’s exceptionally able UN ambassador, are said to be poisonous (see
the photo at the top of this article).
It looks as if voting for the Resolution was more than Samantha Power could bear. That probably explains why she stayed away.
In her absence it was left to her deputy, Michele Sison – a career diplomat – to speak and vote for the US.
The full text of the Resolution – which is not limited to Syria – is below.
The UN has also released – along with the full text of the Resolution – a summary of the debate in the Security Council that preceded the vote.
The key words in the Resolution are these:
“(The Security Council) Calls upon Member States that have the capacity to do so to take all necessary measures, in compliance with international law, in particular with the United Nations Charter, as well as international human rights, refugee and humanitarian law, on the territory under the control of ISIL also known as Da’esh, in Syria and Iraq, to redouble and coordinate their efforts to prevent and suppress terrorist acts committed specifically by ISIL also known as Da’esh as well as ANF, and all other individuals, groups, undertakings, and entities associated with Al-Qaida, and other terrorist groups”
The Security Council has not only backed
Russia’s military campaign (“all necessary means”), but it has also
made clear that Russia is fully entitled to extend this campaign to “all
other individuals, groups, undertakings, and entities associated with
Al-Qaeda, and other terrorist groups”.
The Resolution names amongst these terrorist groups the Al-Nusrah Front.
Russia is therefore fully authorised to bomb all the various jihadi groups in Syria that it is bombing.
Even the US has been forced to admit –
at least in the Security Council – that the talk of Russia bombing the
wrong people – the “moderate jihadis” – is nonsense.
Transcript of the Security Council’s Decision
“The Security Council,
“Reaffirming its resolutions 1267
(1999), 1368 (2001), 1373 (2001), 1618 (2005), 1624 (2005), 2083 (2012),
2129 (2013), 2133 (2014), 2161 (2014), 2170 (2014), 2178 (2014), 2195
(2014), 2199 (2015) and 2214 (2015), and its relevant
presidential statements,
“Reaffirming the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations,
“Reaffirming its respect for the
sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence and unity of all States
in accordance with purposes and principles of the United
Nations Charter,
“Reaffirming that terrorism in all forms
and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to
international peace and security and that any acts of terrorism are
criminal and unjustifiable regardless of their motivations, whenever and
by whomsoever committed,
“Determining that, by its violent
extremist ideology, its terrorist acts, its continued gross systematic
and widespread attacks directed against civilians, abuses of human
rights and violations of international humanitarian law, including those
driven on religious or ethnic ground, its eradication of cultural
heritage and trafficking of cultural property, but also its control over
significant parts and natural resources across Iraq and Syria and its
recruitment and training of foreign terrorist fighters whose threat
affects all regions and Member States, even those far from conflict
zones, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as
Da’esh), constitutes a global and unprecedented threat to international
peace and security,
“Recalling that the Al-Nusrah Front
(ANF) and all other individuals, groups, undertakings and entities
associated with Al-Qaida also constitute a threat to international peace
and security,
“Determined to combat by all means this unprecedented threat to international peace and security,
“Noting the letters dated 25 June 2014
and 20 September 2014 from the Iraqi authorities which state that Da’esh
has established a safe haven outside Iraq’s borders that is a direct
threat to the security of the Iraqi people and territory,
“Reaffirming that Member States must
ensure that any measures taken to combat terrorism comply with all their
obligations under international law, in particular international human
rights, refugee and humanitarian law;
“Reiterating that the situation will
continue to deteriorate further in the absence of a political solution
to the Syria conflict and emphasizing the need to implement the Geneva
communiqué of 30 June 2012 endorsed as Annex II of its resolution 2118
(2013), the joint statement on the outcome of the multilateral talks on
Syria in Vienna of 30 October 2015 and the statement of the
International Syria Support Group (ISSG) of 14 November 2015,
“1. Unequivocally condemns in the strongest terms the horrifying terrorist attacks perpetrated by ISIL also known as Da’esh which took place on 26 June 2015 in Sousse, on 10 October 2015 in Ankara, on 31 October 2015 over Sinaï, on 12 November 2015 in Beirut and on 13 November 2015 in Paris, and all other attacks perpetrated by ISIL also known as Da’esh, including hostage-taking and killing, and notes it has the capability and intention to carry out further attacks and regards all such acts of terrorism as a threat to peace and security;
“2. Expresses its deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims and their families and to the people and Governments of Tunisia, Turkey, Russian Federation, Lebanon and France, and to all Governments whose citizens were targeted in the above mentioned attacks and all other victims of terrorism;
“3. Condemns also in the strongest terms the continued gross, systematic and widespread abuses of human rights and violations of humanitarian law, as well as barbaric acts of destruction and looting of cultural heritage carried out by ISIL also known as Da’esh;
“4. Reaffirms that those responsible for committing or otherwise responsible for terrorist acts, violations of international humanitarian law or violations or abuses of human rights must be held accountable;
“5. Calls upon Member States that have the capacity to do so to take all necessary measures, in compliance with international law, in particular with the United Nations Charter, as well as international human rights, refugee and humanitarian law, on the territory under the control of ISIL also known as Da’esh, in Syria and Iraq, to redouble and coordinate their efforts to prevent and suppress terrorist acts committed specifically by ISIL also known as Da’esh as well as ANF, and all other individuals, groups, undertakings, and entities associated with Al-Qaida, and other terrorist groups, as designated by the United Nations Security Council, and as may further be agreed by the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) and endorsed by the UN Security Council, pursuant to the statement of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) of 14 November, and to eradicate the safe haven they have established over significant parts of Iraq and Syria;
“6. Urges Member States to intensify their efforts to stem the flow of foreign terrorist fighters to Iraq and Syria and to prevent and suppress the financing of terrorism, and urges all Members States to continue to fully implement the above-mentioned resolutions;
“7. Expresses its intention to swiftly update the 1267 committee sanctions list in order to better reflect the threat posed by ISIL also known as Da’esh;
“8. Decides to remain seized of the matter.
The original source of this article is Russia Insider
Copyright © Alexander Mercouris, Russia Insider, 2015
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