Security Council calls for immediate implementation of Annan's peace plan

UNITED NATIONS, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Li Baodong, the Chinese UN ambassador who holds the rotating UN Security Council presidency for June, on Tuesday called upon all Syrian parties to carry out the six-point plan proposed by Kofi Annan, the joint UN and Arab League special envoy for Syria, and relevant council resolutions " immediately and without any condition" in order to bring an early end to the 16-month crisis in the Middle East country.

Li made the call as he was speaking to reporters here after Major General Robert Mood, head of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS), and UN under-secretary-general for peacekeeping operations Herve Ladsous briefed the UN Security Council on the latest development in Syria.

"Members of the council also reiterated their call to all parties in Syria to implement Kofi Annan's six-point plan in its entirety, as well as UN Security Council resolutions 2042 and 2043, immediately and without any condition," he said.

Annan's six-point plan, widely backed by the international community and accepted by the Syrian government, calls for an end to violence, access for humanitarian agencies to provide relief to those in need, the release of detainees, the start of inclusive political dialogue that takes into account the aspirations of the Syrian people, and unrestricted access to the country for the international media.

Li said the 15-nation council had taken note of the recent UNSMIS decision to halt its work due to intensified violence and worsening security situation in Syria, where a crisis broke out in March 2011. Over the past weeks, the mission's convoy came under several attacks.

"The Council members urged all parties in Syria to ensure the safety of UNSMIS" in order to pave the way for their efforts to carry out its mandate in the unrest-ridden Syria, he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Ladsous told reporters here that despite the current difficulties, the United Nations has decided to stay in Syria.

The world body has decided "not to touch, not to modify, but rather to maintain the integrity" of the UN mission, which is made up of some 300 unarmed UN observers to monitor the implementation of Annan's six-point peace plan, Ladsous said.

Meanwhile, Bashar Ja'afari, Syria's permanent representative to the United Nations, said UNSMIS "is very important to the security and safety to the Syrian people."

"Syria attaches great importance to the UN mission," he said, adding that the Syrian government is trying very hard to protect the UN observers in his country.

Meanwhile, UN officials said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was "gravely concerned" about the rising death toll in Syria as the violence continued unabated.