British and American envoys to the United Nations on Friday welcomed the General Assembly resolution on Syria that condemns the 17-month crackdown by the government of Bashar al-Assad. In a statement after the vote, U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said, “The United States welcomes the strong message that the United Nations General Assembly delivered today both to the Syrian regime and to the Syrian people." “Today's General Assembly resolution, supported by an overwhelming majority of U.N. member states, strongly condemns the Syrian authorities' increasing use of heavy weapons and its ongoing and intensifying human rights abuses," Rice added. Rice also welcomed that the resolution made clear that Syrian authorities must ensure its stockpile of chemical weapons remains secure. “The United States is pleased that the General Assembly has made it abundantly clear that Syria's chemical weapons must remain secure and that members of the regime will be held accountable in the event such weapons are used," Rice said in the statement. Rice also said that while the United States will work within the United Nations to end the violence and it will also work with partners outside the U.N. framework.
