Saudi Arabia's Efforts at the UN to Condemn Iran's 'Interference' in Syria

Saudi Arabia has submitted a draft resolution to the UN Human Rights Committee condemning the 'interference' of Iran and Russia in the situation in Syria, which has faced objections from representatives of Iran and Syria. According to Reuters, the draft resolution, presented on November 10, was prepared by Saudi Arabia in collaboration with Qatar. The resolution has the support of Arab countries, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and major Western powers. Saudi Arabia and Arab countries opposing Bashar al-Assad have repeatedly accused Iran of interfering in Syria and of military presence in the country, even labeling it as 'occupation.' Tehran claims that its forces in Syria only have an advisory role. At the same time, Iran has condemned the military interventions of other countries in Syria. The draft presented to the UN Human Rights Committee does not directly name Russia but 'strongly condemns all attacks against moderate opposition groups in Syria' and calls for an 'immediate cessation' of these attacks. These attacks are described in the draft as benefiting groups known as 'Islamic State' and 'other terrorist groups like Jabhat al-Nusra.' The Russian army has been conducting attacks in Syrian territory in support of the country's government for over a month. Reports indicate that most of these attacks have been directed not against groups like the Islamic State or al-Qaeda affiliates but against non-extremist Syrian rebel groups. Moscow claims that the aim of its attacks is to target extremist and 'terrorist' groups. The drafted resolution condemns the presence of 'all foreign terrorist groups... and foreign forces participating in battles in support of Bashar al-Assad, especially the Quds Force (the overseas branch of the Revolutionary Guards), the Revolutionary Guards, and militia groups like Hezbollah [Lebanon]' in Syria. The Syrian representative criticized the submitted draft, stating that 'Saudi Arabia and Qatar have no right to lecture others on human rights.' He also claimed that the aim of this resolution is to 'politicize' the human rights situation in Syria. The Iranian representative made a similar criticism. Reuters reports that Iran has also expressed its dissatisfaction with the inclusion of the Revolutionary Guards' name in a joint statement alongside terrorist groups. The Syrian civil war is now in its fifth year. The U.S. Secretary of State has stated that over the years, one in every twenty Syrian citizens has lost their life. Millions of refugees resulting from the war have created an unprecedented wave of asylum seekers in contemporary history. In this context, three more members of the Revolutionary Guards were killed in Syria. A new round of negotiations on Syria will be held on Saturday in Vienna. Syrian government forces have 'broken' the siege of an airbase in Aleppo.