Here the UN must reaffirm its “responsibility to protect” doctrine, not as a justification for military intervention, but as a fundamental principle agreed by all countries: governments must protect their citizens. If Assad’s Ba’ath party cannot uphold that responsibility, it forfeits its own legitimacy as a participant in any future government.
上述标准必须包括当事方允许人道主义援助流向控制区域的所有叙利亚民众、结束大面积袭击医务工作者、饿死被围困民众和处决战俘等战争及反人类罪行。联合国必须在此重申其“保护责任”原则，这样做不是为了军事干预寻找借口，而是强调政府对民众负有保护责任这项各国达成共识的基本原则。如果阿萨德的阿拉伯复兴社会党无法承担这样的责任，它就自动放弃了参与未来任何政府的合法理由。