The UN Security Council unanimously adopted the resolution outlining the details of taking under international control and ultimately destroying Syria’s chemical arsenal.
“Today’s historic resolution is the first hopeful news on Syria in a long time,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the council after the vote.
The Syrian sides must engage constructively in the upcoming Geneva 2 conference, which would be a significant step towards the “creation of a democratic state that guarantees the human rights of all in Syria,” Moon said in his address to the Council.
“The regional actors have a responsibility to challenge those who will actively undermine the process and those who do not fully respect Syria’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity,” he added.
The target date for a new peace conference in Geneva was set for mid-November. The Secretary-General said that the Syrian opposition must be represented at the Geneva peace talks in a single delegation,.
If inspectors decide that Syria has failed to fulfill its obligations, the resolution calls for consequences, based on another resolution to be passed in the event of non-compliance.