UNSC votes for 30-day ceasefire in Syria to allow ‘safe’ deliveries of aid

The ten elected non-permanent members (E10) of the UN Security Council pushed the five permanent members (P5) to reach a compromise and got an unanimous vote on a resolution ordering a 30-day ceasefire "without delay" in Syria to allow humanitarian aid to reach areas under siege. After two days of delays and several postponements, Russia and the three western permanent members -Britain, France and the United States -- agreed on Saturday, on the final version negotiated by Kuwait and Sweden with the backing of the P10. Kuwait's Permanent Representative Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi, who is the Council President for the month, said after the resolution passed that the unanimous vote was a "sign that the Security Council is united" and this could pave the way for finding a lasting political solution to the seven-year conflict.

Hoping to shame the permanent members locked in a standoff and push them to a compromise, all the the E10 representatives lined up together and held a news conference on Friday while the negotiations were on. "We want to show you the solidarity of the E10," AlOtaibi declared: "We are all united, we want the resolution to be adopted." The unrelenting push by Al-Otaibi and Sweden's Permanent Representative Olof Skoog won praise from every one of the Council members. It was a rare instance of the E10 bending the P5, instead of the other way around, reports IANS.

Besides the nation-wide ceasefire, the resolution calls for the lifting of all sieges, facilitation of medical evacuations, and permitting convoys of the UN and its partners carrying humanitarian supplies free access.