Turkey Calls for Formation of a Coalition to End Violence in Syria
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called for an international coalition to be formed in order to stop Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s deadly crackdown from escalating any further. Davutoglu stressed that “clear and decisive statements” needed to be delivered to the Syrian regime from the broader international community. Davutoglu is scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington to discuss alternative measures. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with ...
Revised U.N. Draft Removes Delegation of Power
U.N. Security Council may vote as early as Friday as intense negotiations take place at the U.N. Headquarters in New York. The U.S. and its Arab and European allies have reportedly made concessions concerning the text of the draft in exchange for a commitment from Russia to allow the adoption of the resolution. Western leaders discussed President Bashar Al-Assad's exile from Syria in hopes of ending the bloody conflict. Reportedly, ...
Pressure Amounts on Russia at the U.N.
On Tuesday, world leaders met at the U.N. Security Council to discuss a draft resolution proposed by Morocco calling for President Bashar Al-Assad to relinquish power beginning the transition to a democracy representative of the Syrian people. Western leaders arrived intent on convincing veto-yielding Russia, who opposes the current draft revolution, of approving an Arab led initiative which aims for the formation of a unity government followed by elections. In her remarks, Secretary of State Hillary ...
Britain Warns Russia Against Blocking Security Council Vote
On Tuesday, the U.N. Security Council will take up a draft resolution calling on Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to step down and transfer power. The meeting will take place amid increasing violence which brought an end to the Arab League observation mission over the weekend. Syrian opposition, which claims to have 15,000 constituents, have been increasingly involved in violent clashes as Syrian authorities attempt to re-take control of the suburbs surrounding Damascus. Arab ...
Escalating Violence in Syria
The Syrian military launched an offensive attack in the surrounding suburbs of Damascus to attempt to regain control. Five civilians were killed on Sunday, raising the death toll to 17 in this most recent attack, and sending many ...
January 29, 2012
Category: Arab League, Featured, Political transition, Protests, Syria, UN Security Council
U.N. Gives Syria 15 Days to Comply
There is a new resolution being discussed in the U.N. Security Council that "calls on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to hand over power to his deputy and says additional measures would be taken if he doesn't comply within 15 days." ...
January 28, 2012
Category: Arab League, Featured, Political transition, Protests, Syria, UN Security Council
Gulf States Withdraw Observers from Syria
On Tuesday, the Gulf Cooperation Council (G.C.C) announced that it withdrew its monitors from the Arab League Mission observing the situation in Syria. The Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal explained "it is not right that we should be false witnesses to what is happening in ...
January 24, 2012
Category: Arab League, Gulf Cooperation Council, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Nations
Syria Rejects Arab League’s Proposal
On Sunday, the Arab League released a proposal to Syrian Authorities following the end of the Arab League's month long observation mission last Thursday. The proposal, outlined by Qatari Foreign Minister Hamid Bin Jassima Al-Thani, called for President Bashar Al-Assad to concede power to his vice president who would then be responsible for forming a "national unity government" before upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections. The proposal called for "dialogue with the ...
U.S. Considers Closing Embassy in Damascus
The Obama administration is considering evacuating all personnel and closing down the U.S. embassy in Syria. Although a final decision has yet to be made, President Barack Obama has said the embassy could close within a few weeks unless ...
Questions Surround Credibility of Arab League Monitors’ Report
With the end of the Arab League's month-long observation mission serious concerns have been raised about the credibility of the monitors' report, which is scheduled to be released January 22, at Arab League headquarters in Cairo. The objective of the Arab League initiative was to assess the ongoing crisis in Syria, and determine if the Syrian Government was committed to ending its violent crackdown. The Human Rights Watch sent a letter to Arab League Secretary General Nabil El Araby demanding that the monitors' report ...
POMED Notes: The Transformation of the Middle East
On Wednesday, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars hosted a lecture offering an analysis of the impact of the Arab Spring on the international community, focusing on the U.N. Security Council response to the events in the Arab world in 2011. The lecturer was His Excellency Ambassador Dr. Peter Wittig, permanent representative of Germany to the United Nations since 2009. The moderator was Michael Van Dusen, vice president of ...
January 19, 2012
Category: Arab League, Event Notes, Featured, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Libya, Syria, Yemen
Syria Would Accept Extending Arab League Mission
This Thursday, the Arab League observer team is expected to release a report that details the findings of its mission in Syria since December 26. Although the monitor's mandate is scheduled to expire with the release of the report, Arab foreign ministers will meet again to discuss potentially renewing the mission on January 22. A source within the Arab League stated, "the outcome of the contacts that have taken place ...
Qatari Emir Considering Sending Troops to Syria
In an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes," the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, said he would be in support of Arab military intervention in Syria. His comments come in the time of rising violence in Syria. Although ...
France Suspects Manipulation in Journalists’Death
French President Nicolas Sarkozy requested that Syrian authorities "shed light" on the attack against the convoy transporting journalists, among them Gilles Jacquier who was killed. A source close to the President declared that they believed a manipulation occurred, but emphasized that there is ...
First Western Journalist Killed Amid Escalating Violence
Amid continued civil unrest in Syria, the first Western journalist was killed. Gilles Jacques, a journalist from France who also covered conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, was one of eight people killed in an attack at a pro-government ...
Ex-Arab League Monitor Calls Mission a ‘Farce’
An Arab League Monitor, Anwar Malek has resigned from the observer mission, declaring it to be a farce and describing Syria as a "humanitarian disaster." Malek believed the mission was not acting independently of the government, and was actually serving ...
January 11, 2012
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Category: Arab League, Featured, Human Rights, Syria, UN Security Council
Arab League Calls for Additional Monitors in Syria
In Cairo, the Arab League foreign ministers have agreed to increase the number of monitors in Syria. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim al-Thani, also head of the ministerial committee of the Arab League, has called Syria to ...
Arab League Observers “Reassured” in Syria
Following the Arab League observatory mission's initial visit to Homs, the head of the monitoring group Sudanese General Mustafa Dabi said, "Some places looked a bit of a mess but there was nothing frightening." Dabi added that "the ...
