Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has called the United Nations to take a more active stance in order to end the bloodshed in Syria.
"The UN is facing a serious test. This test is about whether the UN can represent the good conscience of the international community and act in accordance with it or not. In other words, whether it can translate humanity into practice or not. So far, the track record has not been promising," Davutoglu told his counterparts in a Security Council meeting in New York on Thursday over Syrian refugees.
Davutoglu proposed a series of urgent measures over the Syrian crisis, adding that greater number of refugees arrived each day in the neighboring countries.
"A visit by the Security Council to the camps in the neighboring countries should be organized to see the impact and to have the first hand information about the situation," he said.
Davutoglu said the focus should be on solving the issue of internally displaced persons within the borders of Syria, adding that if the Syrians would have to continue to run for safety despite such steps, necessary measures should be taken to absorb them internationally.
Highlighting the emergency of the Syrian issue, Davutoglu recalled UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon remarks during a visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina where the UN chief had said, "we should take lessons from Srebrenica."
"We open our doors to every Syrian who runs for safety, regardless of his or her religion, sect or ethnicity. We embrace every Syrian," Davutoglu said, adding that the number of Syrians in Turkey was nearing 100,000 and currently, another 10 thousand were waiting on the Turkish border to enter.
Davutoglu said a joint committee comprising the neighboring countries and the UNHCR could be established to deal with the refugee issue, adding that the committee should be given a mandate by the UN Security Council, and that it could also facilitate the work of the joint special envoy.
Friday, 31 August 2012
