The U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday adopted a resolution calling for a political transition in Syria and condemning the the Syrian government's increased use of heavy weapons in the escalating conflict.
The non-binding resolution was adopted by the Assembly 107 votes to 12, with 59 abstentions. While China and Russia were among the 12 nations which voted against the draft resolution, those abstained from voting included Brazil, South Africa and India.
The resolution, which was drawn up by Qatar and other Arab states and backed by Western countries, expressed "outrage at the increasing death toll" in the Syrian civil war, and noted that political transition "represents the best opportunity to resolve the situation peacefully."
It welcomed the establishment of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces last year "as effective representative interlocutors needed for a political transition" in Syria.
The resolution also strongly condemned the Syrian government's increased use of heavy weapons, and denounced the ongoing "widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms" in the restive Middle East nation.
The document appealed to the international community to provide "urgent" financial support to host countries to enable them to respond to the growing humanitarian needs of Syrian refugees and affected communities. It also requested the U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to submit a report to the Assembly within 90 days "on the very dire situation" of IDPs in the country.
Wednesday's resolution was the fifth one on the Syrian crisis voted by the 193-member body since 2011, after fighting broke out between the government and opposition forces seeking to oust President Bashar Al-Assad.
Some 70,000 people are believed to have been killed and millions displaced since the armed rebellion began in March 2011. The ongoing civil war has forced about 1.4 million Syrians to seek refuge in neighboring countries, with 4.25 million more displaced internally.
The U.N. estimates that at least 6.8 million people are currently in need of humanitarian assistance as a result of the conflict, which is now threatening to spill over to neighboring nations and increasingly becoming sectarian in nature.
International efforts at finding a solution to the crisis have been hampered by a deep divisions within the U.N. Security Council, with Russia and China backing the Assad regime and the West opposing it.
Nevertheless, the U.S. and Russia agreed earlier this month to convene an international conference to bring representatives of the Syrian government and the Opposition together to find a political solution to the conflict. The announcement came after talks between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.
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