(Transcript from World News Radio)
The Syrian government says it is ready to cooperate in its implementation, but only if the resolution respects its state sovereignty.
Marina Freri reports.
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A rare moment of unity in the United Nations Security Council has led to the adoption of a potentially life-saving resolution for civilians in Syria.
The Security Council, which has been sharply divided over other aspects of the nearly three-year-long conflict, unanimously agreed on Saturday to call for humanitarian aid convoys to be given access across the war-torn country.
Resolution 2139, which was drafted by Australia, Jordan and Luxembourg, also demands that all warring parties immediately cease attacks against civilians.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says the move should not have been necessary, because humanitarian assistance is not something to be negotiated.
"Profoundly shocking to me is that the both side are besieging civilians as a tactic of war. Some 200,000 people are under siege in government-controlled areas and 445,000 in opposition-controlled areas. More broadly, this resolution highlights again the urgent need to end the conflict."
The Syrian government says it is ready to cooperate in implementing the non-binding resolution, but on one condition: that its state sovereignty and principles of neutrality are respected.
It also insists that the causes of the country's humanitarian crisis are the rebel insurgence and the sanctions placed on President Bashar al-Assad's regime by Western and Arab countries.
Syria's ambassador to the United Nations, Bashar Ja'afari, has urged the Security Council to address what he calls "foreign-backed terrorism" in Syria.
"Supporting Syrians in the humanitarian field, ladies and gentlemen, cannot be carried out effectively and truly unless it is also accompanied in word and deed with non-politicisation of humanitarian topics and putting an end to terrorism. The activities of the armed terrorist groups including those associated with al-Qaeda are the main reason for the humanitarian suffering of the Syrian people."
Permanent Security Council members Russia and China had previously vetoed three resolutions that would have condemned the Syrian government and threatened it with possible sanctions.
But they have supported Resolution 2139, expressing concerns for the worsening of the humanitarian situation.
However China's envoy to the UN, Liu Jieyi, has also pledged to work for a political solution.
"While we're talking about the humanitarian situation in Syria, we mustn't lose sight of the larger picture and that is the political process to seek a fundamental solution to the problem we face in Syria. Nothing short of a political solution will offer a durable, comprehensive hope for the Syrian people to live in peace with prospects of development."
Australia's Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop, has welcomed the UN support for the Australian co-sponsored resolution, but warns it's only a first step.
Ms Bishop says the resolution must be fully implemented on the ground, and the primary responsibility for that lies with the Syrian authorities.
The US Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, agrees.
"As hard as it was to finally achieve a Security Council resolution, passing today's resolution was the easy part. The hard and desperately necessary part is implementation. The world now needs to stand united on behalf of implementation so that there are no more broken promises, no more delays, no more coupling minor concessions with cruel and shameless attacks on civilians."
Since what was a peaceful uprising began in Syria in March 2011, an estimated 140,000 people have been killed and millions more have been displaced.
Aid group Save the Children says it hasn't seen a humanitarian crisis like the Syrian one in more than 20 years.
Save the Children Australia chief Paul Ronalds says while the UN resolution is welcome, aid groups need immediate access to Syrian families caught in the conflict.
"We've got large numbers of people who've had to flee the country with nothing more than what they can carry across the border and of course we've got millions more who are extraordinarily short of food, whose shelter has been destroyed and children of course who haven't been at school for now going up to two or three years. So the situation is absolutely dire."
