U.N. chief calls for reduction in Syria observers, put more stress on political efforts

U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon urged the U.N. Security Council on Friday to reduce the number of unarmed military observers in Syria and put more stress on political efforts to end the conflict.

Ban recommends in a report, obtained by Al Arabiya, that the mission in Syria with a “reduced military observer component” be redeployed to the capital Damascus, from regional cities where the conflict has grown in recent weeks.

The divided Security Council must make a decision on the future of the 300 unarmed military observers and more than 120 civilian staff in Syria by July 20.

Tension in the debate on the future of the U.N. Supervision Mission in Syria is likely to increase in the wake of western calls for sanctions against President Bashar al-Assad despite the opposition of veto-wielding council members Russia and China.

The U.N. leader expressed alarm at the “dangerous trajectory of the conflict and the destructive dynamics at play” between the government and opposition.

He said the UNSMIS mandate should remain unchanged, though with the focus shifting from monitoring a ceasefire that has never taken hold toward a more political role.

“If UNSMIS were re-oriented in this manner, the mission would redeploy from the field to the capital to minimize risks, retaining core civilian and military observer capacities to focus on the spectrum of initiatives feeding into the political process,” said the report, according to AFP.

Ban and U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan want the mission to deal more with efforts to persuade the government and opposition to halt the violence, which activists say have left more than 16,500 dead in the past 16 months.

“From a central hub in Damascus, the civilian component would continue liaison and dialogue with opposition and government representatives in the provinces as security conditions allow.”

“A reduced military observer component would support these civilian-led activities with military liaison and, as it does now, conduct visits to incident sites,” said the report.

UNSMIS was sent to Syria in April with an initial 90-day mission to support a peace plan that Annan agreed with Assad, but was never implemented.

The United States said when the mission was approved that it could not rule out blocking an extension. According to U.N. officials, several of the approximately 50 countries that provided observers have expressed fears about their safety and indicated they could withdraw them.

UNSMIS suspended its patrols on June 15 and this week, chief Major General Robert Mood announced that he was closing observer offices in Hama, Idlib and Tartus, in a move to retrench to regional offices.

Mood has also ordered a first temporary reduction in the number of observers.

Ban said the spiraling violence now exceeds levels that preceded Assad's agreement to cease hostilities.

He warned that if the security and political conditions in Syria become “untenable,” the U.N. would have to consider closing the mission.

Shutting down UNSMIS was one of the options under consideration, Ban said, warning this would “signal a loss of confidence” in the ability of the international community to influence events.

The U.N. chief said he had also considered expanding the number of military observers or adding armed guards to protect them. But Ban doubted that Assad’s government would agree to either option.

“The risk of exposure would increase in tandem with expansion, as well as unrealistic expectations of UNSMIS protective and intervention capacities,” said the report.

The U.N. observers say they have already faced hostility from some Syrian groups because they have not halted violence since they were deployed.

The council is expected to meet Wednesday to review the mission’s mandate, which expires July 20. Annan is expected to attend, and according to the report he will soon return to Syria and other countries in the region, The Associated Press reported.

Meanwhile, at a meeting in Paris Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged world government to pressure Russia and China to use their U.N. veto powers to force Syrian President Bashar Assad into abiding by a cease-fire and the transition strategy unveiled by Annan last week.

Russia and China, which have twice blocked U.N. attempts to sanction Syria, did not attend the meeting.

Also Friday, the U.N.’s top human rights body added to the pressure on Syria with a resolution condemning the violence and demanding that authorities cooperate with a U.N. investigation into “widespread, systematic and gross violations of human rights.” The Human Rights Council resolution also calls on Assad’s regime to release all political prisoners and allow independent monitors to visit detention facilities, AP reported.

On Thursday, the head of the U.N. observer mission in Syria said violence there had reached unprecedented levels and that the mission would be restructured. Norwegian Maj. Gen. Robert Mood insisted a cease-fire was needed in order for his teams to resume their work.

Mood urged both sides of the conflict to have the “moral courage to break out of the cycle of violence” and engage in dialogue.