US Mission Geneva

The United States stands ready to work with every member in this chamber to pass a resolution that supports the Arab League’s efforts, because those are the efforts that are well thought out, and focused on ending this crisis, upholds the rights of the Syrian people, and restores peace to Syria.

“We welcome the Arab League’s … efforts to facilitate a transition and broker a political solution to the more than 10 months of brutality by the Assad regime,” Rice said in remarks to the Security Council.

“I want to congratulate you Mr. Prime Minister and the people of Libya for wresting control of your future from a brutal dictator and charting a path to freedom that is an inspiration to many around the world. And I want to commend you and the NTC on your commitment to reconciliation, national unity, human rights, and the rule of law.”

“Today’s votes show that the international community will continue to side with the UN’s founding values, as articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and against violators of human rights.”

Last year, the United States joined over 60 other governments to establish through the Human Rights Council the mandate for the Special Rapporteur for the Rights of Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association. These freedoms have always been central to healthy civil society and to the democratic process. New technologies such as the Internet and mobile phone networks help people to assemble and associate, both in person and online, and have become important tools for the exercise of these universal human rights.

Our engagement at the UN is remarkably profitable and makes enormous sense for American businesses and the workers they employ.

The situation is grave, over 11 million lives at risk, and in need of assistance. This is indeed a crisis situation, and one that has been exacerbated quite directly by the refusal of al-Shabaab to allow critically needed humanitarian assistance to reach over 60 percent of the people who need it most, over the course of the last year.

It goes without saying that the UN is very far from perfect. But it delivers real results for every American by advancing U.S. security through genuine burden-sharing. That burden-sharing is more important than ever at a time when threats don’t stop at borders, when Americans are hurting and cutting back, and when American troops are still in harm’s way.

Ambassador Rice: “This resolution should send a strong message to Colonel Qadhafi and his regime that the violence must stop, the killing must stop, and the people of Libya must be protected and have the opportunity to express themselves freely.”