Riyadh – Saudi Arabia refused on Friday (18) a non-permanent seat in the United Nations (UN) Security Council, in protest to the organisation’s incapacity to end the conflict in the Middle East, especially the crisis in Syria.
“Saudi Arabia has no other option but to turn down Security Council membership until it is reformed and given the means to accomplish its duties and assume its responsibilities in preserving the world’s peace and security,” said the Foreign Affairs Minister of Saudi Arabia, in a press statement.
Saudi Arabia was elected non-permanent member of the Security Council for the first time on Thursday (17). Chad, Chile, Nigeria and Lithuania were the other chosen countries. The two-year mandate of these countries begins in January 2014. The Saudi minister considers the fact that the Security Council allows the Syrian regime to kill its people and attack it with chemical weapons without sanctions clear proof of the organisation’s lack of power to comply with its mandate and take on its responsibilities.
In the press statement, Saudi Arabia also criticised the Security Council’s “double standards” and pointed out that the Palestinian question has remained unsolved for 65 years and that the UN organisation has failed to solve the problems of chemical weapons in the Middle East.
*Translated by Mark Ament
