syria-un-20120131 3

S/PV.6710 12-21919 3 On 26 October 2011, at its extraordinary session in Cairo, the League of Arab States reiterated the Arab position in a resolution calling for an immediate and complete end to the violence and killing, the elimination of armed elements, and the rejection of a security-based solution in a bid to avoid further casualties and exacerbating the conflict among the various factions of the Syrian people, preserve the civil peace, protect civilians, and maintain the unity of the Syrian people. The resolution called on the Council of Ministers of the League of Arab States to establish, at that session, an Arab Ministerial Committee — under my chairmanship and with the Foreign Ministers of Algeria, Egypt, the Sudan and Oman and the head of the Arab League as members — mandated to liaise with the Syrian leadership in an effort to halt all acts of violence and killing. The Committee requested the Sudan and Egypt to persuade the Syrian leadership to withdraw all military presences and launch a dialogue between the Syrian people and opposition in order to implement political reforms that would meet the aspirations of the people. The resolution also called for the establishment of necessary contacts with the Syrian Government and opposition in order to prepare for a conference of inclusive national dialogue at the headquarters of the League of Arab States and under its auspices that would realize the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people. On 26 October 2011, the Ministerial Committee held discussions in Damascus with President Bashar Al-Assad. In a meeting held with the Syrian side in Doha on 30 October 2011, the Committee agreed on a plan of action that was welcomed at the resumed extraordinary session of the League of Arab States, held at the ministerial level at the League’s headquarters on 2 November 2011. The agreement was annexed to the resolution. The plan confirmed the official Syrian approval of the following: first, to end all acts of violence committed by all sources in order to protect the lives of Syrian citizens; secondly, to free detainees held as a result of the current events; thirdly, to withdraw all military elements from the cities and residential neighbourhoods; and fourthly, to provide the relevant agencies of the League of Arab States and Arab and international media free access throughout Syria in order to report on developments there and monitor the situation. The plan called on the Ministerial Committee to conduct, in parallel with concrete progress made by the Syrian Government towards meeting its commitments, necessary contacts and consultations with the Government and various factions of the Syrian opposition with a view to convening a national dialogue conference within two weeks of the date of the adoption of the resolution. Unfortunately, the Syrian Government did not fully or immediately meet its commitments to the League’s initiative of 2 November 2011. Consequently, the Ministerial Council decided on 12 November 2011 to adopt a host of measures, including the imposition of economic and political sanctions on the Syrian Government and calling on all opposition factions to meet in Cairo for three days to agree at a forthcoming conference on a transitional phase for Syria. After the idea of dispatching an Arab observer mission to Syria took shape — not to give any party an opportunity to buy time but rather to stop the violence and the bloodshed — the Ministerial Council approved, at a meeting held in Rabat on 16 November 2011, a draft protocol on the legal status of the mission, whose mandate was to verify the implementation of the Arab plan in order to solve the crisis and protect civilians. Should the Syrian Government fail to sign the protocol or violate any of its provisions — including those calling for an end to the violence and killing and the release of detainees — the resolution called for convening the Economic and Social Council of the League of Arab States to consider imposing economic sanctions on Syria. The resolution was communicated to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and requested him to take necessary action in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations to support the League’s efforts. On 27 November 2011, the Ministerial Council adopted a package of sanctions, including halting flights to Syria, that would not directly affect the Syrian people. At a meeting held in Doha on 3 December 2011, the Ministerial Committee agreed on the details of the sanctions and relevant action. It is worth mentioning that the Arab Ministerial Committee continued its meetings aimed at following up on developments in the Syrian situation; it met in Doha on 17 December 2011 and in Cairo on 8 January 2012. Despite all those efforts, including contacts with the Syrian Government, the Syrian side resorted to introducing one amendment after the other to the draft protocol, and asking all kinds of questions, to whic