Qatar Urges UN Security Council to Protect Civilians in Syria

New York, February 13 (QNA) - The State of Qatar has urged the UN Security Council to fulfill the role assigned to it in the UN Charter as a keeper of international peace and security, and to promptly respond to the threat posed to civilians in Syria. In a statement delivered by the acting deputy permanent representative of Qatar mission to the United Nations, Yousef Sultan Larm, before the UN security Council which discussed the item entitled "Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict", called on the UN to take all the necessary measures to protect the Syrian civilians in light of the Security Council's failure in finding a solution to the crisis in Syria. He stressed that the situation in Syria is, regrettably, one of the most prominent cases in which civilians are exposed to danger, citing the deaths of around 70 thousand Syrian citizens during the past two years, in addition to the thousands wounded and imprisoned, millions of displaced and refugees in neighboring countries and other civilians who suffer from shortage of basic food and medicine. In his statement, on behalf of the Arab Group at the United Nations, chaired by Qatar for this month, the Deputy Permanent Representative, Yousef Sultan Larm, said that the continued failure of the conflicting parties for full compliance with the legal obligations relating to the protection of civilians, due to either, culture and attempts to impunity, should not be tolerated as being one of the most important factors that encourage the conflicting parties to expose civilians the to risk of conflict. He stressed the importance of applying the necessary laws for the protection of civilians during armed conflicts, without discrimination or selectivity, and the necessity of emphasis on the rule of law at the international and national levels. (QNA)