Sino-Western conflict on the U.N. Syrian resolution

‘Human rights over sovereignty’ was an effective measure to solve the problems in Kosovo as well as Milosevic of Serbia. Now that this U.N. Security Council resolution to protect the Syrian people has been vetoed by Russia and China over and over, it may be necessary to resurrect the idea of ‘human rights over sovereignty’ from the U.N. 

There have been several occasions where the West carried out wars without U.N. authorisation, without serious consequences. This would still be the case should the West do the same again.

In the past two decades, the West has criticised the human rights record of China. Such criticisms and ‘expressions of concern’ are nowhere near enough. Essentially, the Chinese issue is not simply about human rights, but more about its government and political system.

Is it not clear to the West that to expect an authoritarian regime to improve its human rights record in compliance with international conventions will always be a fruitless effort? Yes, the West is fully aware of this. But due to shortsightedness and a tendency to give priority to economic benefits, the West chooses to remain in denial, at the cost of many human lives.

The Syrian issue marks a struggle between the West and the autocracies of Russia and China. China is determined to defend its own regime regardless of the attitude of Russia, and will continue this struggle to the very end.

Now, this situation will force the West to adopt a new method to resolve the Syrian crisis. By definition, the mechanism must be one that does not hinge on the approval of China or Russia, and one that will perhaps spawn true universal jurisdiction by enforcing ‘across the board’ accountability from national governments and leadership regimes. This could make the well-respected universal objectives of the U.N. become achievable. These unfortunate vetoes may have forced the hand of the West to establish a truly universal base standard, and a more stable framework within which the international criminal court can operate. 

The West must resolve this Syria crisis, and in doing so, may consequently build a more stable foundation for universal jurisdiction to achieve the objectives of peace and justice promoted by the currently incapacitated U.N. organisation.