Al-Jaafari: Sovereignty of International Law Undermined by Selectivity, Double Standard Policies

NEW YORK- Experience has proved that the challenges facing the sovereignty of international law were caused by the selectivity and double standard policies being adopted by certain influential countries when dealing with the international law to impose hegemony and unilateral decisions on other countries, Syria’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations Bashar al-Jaafari has underscored.

Al-Jaafari, who was speaking on Wednesday, at a Security Council session titled “Enhancing the Sovereignty of Law in Keeping International Peace and Security”, said the sovereignty of law is an indivisible issue, because it is not possible to focus on the sovereignty of law at the national level while ignoring it at the international one.”

“Respecting the principles of international law and UN charter is the corner stone of enhancing the sovereignty of law in general,” stressed al-Jaafari.

He said that “respecting the sovereignty of law at the international level creates the suitable environment to achieve the sovereignty of law at the national level, thereby keeping international peace and security.

“Likewise, the absence of the sovereignty of law at the international level leaves the door opened for foreign intervention in countries’ affairs and cause destabilization,” he added.

Al-Jaafari clarified that “Syria is an evident example for the blatant foreign intervention in countries’ internal affairs. Such intervention is embodied in some countries’ financial and military support for terrorist extremist groups and mercenaries to fight against Syria and threaten its security and territorial integrity,” al-Jaafari said, stressing that these anti-Syria policies violate even the simplest rules of international law, UN Charter and international conventions, particularly those connected with terrorism fighting.

He added that some Security Council member countries have turned a deaf ear to Syria’s repeated calls over the past two years for adopting a responsible UN stance against the terrorism which Syria has been exposed to and which threatens the entire world.

He pointed out that “these Security Council member states have ignored the need to attain the sovereignty of law through not holding the countries, which support terrorism and issue takfiri and extremist fatwas, accountable for the dissemination of terrorism.”

Syria’s Permanent UN Representative clarified that Saudi Arabia, which was keen on exporting terrorism and takfiri thinking to Syria and the world, has recently tried to improve its image at the international public opinion circles through adopting some alleged legislations providing for pursuing the terrorists coming back from Syria, as if the kingdom’s intelligence body weren’t aware of the thousands of Saudis who came to Syria for what they call “holy war” with direct incitement by the Saudi Foreign Minister.

   Al-Jaafari referred to the concerns expressed by some foreign and Arab politicians over the danger of the foreign terrorists coming back from Syria on their countries, stressing that those terrorists were incited by evil takfiri fatwas to fight in Syria.

“Instead of unifying international efforts to fight terrorism, secret meetings for Arab and Western intelligence bodies are held to provide military support for what they call “Syrian opposition” in a blatant violation of international law principles.

Concluding his statement, al-Jaafari stressed Syria’s support for efforts aiming to enhance the sovereignty of law at the international and national levels, calling for not turning this issue into a tool for political pressure on countries.

H. Mustafa