As the crisis in Syria deepens, UNA-UK has partnered with Oxfam International and others to petition President Obama and President Putin to set a date for a peace conference in Geneva, and to do everything in their power to ensure that talks are successful in stopping the bloodshed.
The petition takes the form of an open letter, urging leaders to undertake the following:
- US President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin and UN/Arab League Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi must use their political influence to get all parties to the Syria conflict around the table for peace talks
- For talks to be a success, they must include representatives of the peaceful majority of Syrians, including women’s groups and refugees, who want this nightmare to end
- The talks should be backed unequivocally by the international community, which must refrain from any acts or statements which risk undermining them
While world leaders dither and no date for peace talks has been set, the death toll rises and the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate. The UN Refugee Agency recently reported a massive escalation in numbers of Syrians fleeing the country, with over one million Syrians registered as refugees since the beginning of 2013.
UNA-UK has been calling on its members and supporters to join more than 11,000 people who have already signed this petition in support of a sustainable solution to this crisis in Syria.
This call for action builds on successive UNA-UK initiatives for a negotiated peace settlement in Syria.
Image: Mock airline boarding passes for Presidents Obama and Putin to travel to Syria peace talks in Geneva.
