The appalling deaths of innocent children, and other civilians, in Syria last weekend has highlighted just how dis-united the United Nations has become.
In a conflict that has been permitted to rumble along for the past year, whilst governments across the globe have been critical in public but apathetic in private, it should have been a rallying point for condemnation and joint action against the governing regime of President Assad. Instead, it did very little to move things any nearer to a peaceful solution.
Whilst not even Russia could defend the massacre of innocents, it did try to excuse it by saying it was carried out by both government forces AND rebel soldiers. In other words, both sides should share the blame – an attitude demonstrative of the self interested ‘compromises’ that are regularly reached by most of the main players within the UN.
It appears that positive action from what was originally designed to be the world’s ‘police force’ is only ever really carried out against countries that offer material gain in terms of commerce, or sources of energy, to the UN Council’s elite membership – the recent debacle in Iraq was one such case.
Since last weekend, our own government has ‘smacked the wrist’ of the Syrian Ambassador and expelled a token number of his diplomats from the UK. There are, also, mumblings from other countries of actively arming the rebels to aid their fight against government forces.
But the biggest threat so far will definitely have the Syrian regime trembling in its collective boots……we might actually ban Syria’s athletes from participating in this Summer’s Olympic Games in London!
While those of us who still have the ability to breathe can demonstrate our shock with an inward gasp of air, the innocents who lost their lives should never cease to be a reminder of just how seriously the present member states of the UN take their responsibility to the ultimate aim of world peace and, most importantly, the protection of the weak and defenceless!
In short, it’s time to wake up!