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Secretary-General's remarks to the Informal Meeting of the General Assembly on Syria New York, 14 March 2014 This week, the people of Syria crossed another blood-soaked milestone. The conflict in their country is now raging into its fourth year. The political process, finally launched this January, is in crisis. Two days ago, I appealed to the international community to take a hard look at the horrors of Syria. Before our eyes – before the eyes of the Security Council and the General Assembly -- hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost or destroyed. Children are being deprived of hope. Communities are being threatened and attacked. Millions in Syria have been forced to flee violence and deprivation. Cities and villages have been reduced to rubble. The world’s cultural heritage is under grave threat. And it is only getting worse. Extremists are imposing their radical ideologies, introducing discriminatory practices and limiting people’s freedoms. Adding fuel to the inferno, weapons and fighters continue to flow to warring sides in Syria. Those who believe in a military solution are making a political solution even more distant and elusive. Weapons are being used indiscriminately – mortars, artillery and military aviation. If the arsenal for atrocities was not enough, the Syrian war has introduced a brutal and blatant form of weaponry: Barrel bombs designed to indiscriminately kill and maim. Moreover, Syria has seen the worst use of weapons of mass destruction in the 21st century. The world is united in horror to ensure that chemical weapons will not be used again in Syria. But most of death and suffering in Syria is inflicted with the use of conventional arms. Amid this spreading chaos, grave crimes remain unpunished and thousands remain in captivity without due process. There is no justice. There is no peace. The international community has a responsibility not to allow lawlessness to thrive. We must pursue accountability with all the mechanisms and authority at our disposal. Syria is the world’s biggest humanitarian and peace and security crisis