Today the United Nations Security Council will debate Libya. It will take stock of the situation on the ground and assess the steps that have been taken to uphold UNSCR 1973.
At the same time Britain and France will continue their diplomatic efforts to secure support for a UNSCR on Syria. A resolution was tabled last Wednesday, 10 days after the initial draft was circulated to relevant foreign ministries.
The painful process of finding agreement on Syria suggests that France and Britain are paying the penalty for their liberal interpretation of UNSCR 1973. With a vote expected this Friday, France and Britain are watering down their draft resolution to allay the concerns of Brazil, China, India, South Arica and Russia that the resolution is not a prelude to military action.
This reservation is understandable given the unfortunate mission creep in Libya, but it comes at a political and human cost. The complete silence of the UN to date on the worsening situation in Syria is alarming and can only have emboldened the Assad regime in its brutal crackdown against its own people.
Lets just hope that any resolution arrived at is not so toothless that it emboldens the Syrian Government further.
