Remarks by Ambassador Rosemary A. DiCarlo, U.S. Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, at the Security Council Stakeout after a Briefing on Human Rights and the Humanitarian Situation in Syria

Rosemary A. DiCarlo
Deputy  Permanent Representative to the United Nations 
U.S. Mission to the United Nations 

New York, NY

August 18, 2011

AS DELIVERED

Note: This transcript is edited to include only remarks by U.S. Deputy Permanent Representative Rosemary DiCarlo. She was joined at the press conference by the Deputy Permanent Representatives from the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Portugal.

Good evening. I’ll be very brief.

I just wanted to say that I subscribe to what my colleagues said: the briefings that we heard today are truly, deeply disturbing.

The President and Secretary of State made very clear this morning that the United States supports the universal rights of the Syrian people and condemns the ferocious brutality leveled against them by the regime.

They also made clear that the future of Syria must be determined by its people and that President Assad is standing in their way.

Just in the past two weeks, many of Syria's neighbors and partners in the region have joined the chorus of condemnation. The steps that—the measures that President Obama announced this morning will further tighten the isolation around the regime.

We expect that states in the region and other members of the international community will amplify these steps, both through their words and their actions.

I’d like to stress that we support further action in the Security Council through a resolution. More than ever, the Council should increase pressure on Assad's regime. We must again call for an immediate end to the violence, call for unhindered and sustained access for humanitarian and human rights workers and the media, and we must take collective measures against the Assad regime.

Thank you.

Reporter: …and I had a question for the U.S. Will you sponsor this draft resolution?

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Ambassador DiCarlo: Thank you. First of all, let me say that we’re committed to working with our partners on the resolution. We think it’s extremely important. We will work with our partners here on the Council, and we look forward to working with European Union representatives. When you talk about sponsorship, of course, we would be prepared to sponsor support and work hard to make this happen.

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Reporter: Secondly, on other matters…did you have a reaction to the attack today in Israel?

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Ambassador DiCarlo: I’ll take the second part. You referred to the bombings today in Israel. A Council reaction to that is under discussion and we would certainly hope that the Council would condemn what was a premeditated attack on civilians.

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Reporter: Do you have any reaction from the region…do you…[inaudible] the leaders of the Arab region to join you in calling for the President of Syria to step down?

Ambassador DiCarlo: First of all, I think it’s very clear that we’ve seen a lot of condemnation in the last couple of weeks. From the region, from elsewhere. We anticipate increased reaction as well. That’s as much as I will say.

I think it’s very clear that, despite our comments, our statements, our Presidential Statement, some of the dialogue that has taken place, that we haven’t seen an improvement in what’s happened on the ground. And that’s of utmost concern to a number of countries.

Reporter: Do you anticipate that a resolution involving sanctions can or will be adopted?

Ambassador DiCarlo: I think what I can say, if I can just repeat what Philip has said, we are going to work toward that. We think it’s important to have a strong resolution. I’m not going to presuppose how our colleagues will react, but that is an issue that is a very important objective for us.

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