ANKARA
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday spoke of the world’s “shame” at the failure to halt to civil war in Syria.
In a statement to mark the third anniversary of the Geneva Communique, which aims to end the bloodshed that has resulted in the deaths of 220,000 Syrians by establishing a transitional government, Ban pleaded that it was “time to find an exit from this madness.”
He said: “It should shame us all that, three years since the adoption of the Geneva Communique on resolving the cataclysmic conflict in Syria, the suffering of the Syrian people continues to plumb new depths."
Ban added: “Civilians face a barrage of barrel bombs and other horrendous violations of human rights such as torture and prolonged detention of tens of thousands. There must be no impunity for such inhumanity… Syria is on the brink of falling apart, putting at even further risk what is already the most unstable region in the world.”
The former South Korean diplomat appealed in the “strongest possible terms” to the international community to work for the implementation of the Geneva Communique “before further irreparable damage is done to Syria, its people and the region.”
The UN special envoy on Syria, Staffan de Mistura, is currently negotiating with Syrian parties and international and regional powers to implement the Geneva Communique and end the four-year conflict.
