The United Nations recently announced that the total death toll in Syria has passed 60,000. In summer of 2011, roughly 1,000 people lost their lives per month. The figure has now risen to 5,000.  It is said to be a conservative estimate with the actual numbers likely to be far higher.

Compared to other conflicts, the number of Syrian casualties now equals the total killed in the Arab-Israeli conflict since 1948 or, put differently, Assad butchered half the number of people over 22 months that Milosevic killed between 1992-1995 in the Balkans.

The uprising in Syria reached a whole new level yesterday when former Secretary-General of the United Nations and Special Envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan announced that he was to resign his position due to a lack of unity amongst countries at the UN Security Council. His announcement was made on the day that President Putin of Russia visited Prime Minister Cameron in the UK where no doubt the topic of Syria was raised. There has been a lack of any international military action in Syria due to both Russia and China vetoing proposals that are put forward. It is worth noting that the Russians have said they will continue to honor previous arms contracts to the Syrian government and this is likely to be one of the reasons why they reject military action.

The crisis in Syria has been ongoing for some 17 months, thousands of civilians have been brutally murdered and thousands more have been forced to flee the war torn country. As President Assad tries to grip onto power his days must surely be numbered as senior members of his team either defect or are killed. The international community must get a grip and agree on the right action now rather than sitting on the sidelines condemning the Syrian regime – actions speak louder than words. Kofi Annan’s 6 point peace plan which was also agreed with the Arab League has been ignored by President Assad and it is little wonder that Mr Annan has felt he has had to resign.

The very fact that the Assad regime has also threatened to use Weapons of Mass Destruction in the event of a foreign attack shows that the UN must tread carefully. Russia and China need to agree at least to minimal military force and additional sanctions on the country in order to bring an end to the murders of innocent civilians. We must remember why the United Nations was formed; to bring about peace amongst countries and prevent war. China, Russia and Syria are all members of the UN, they have signed up to the fundamental aims of the United Nations therefore they must work to promote peace.

The resignation statement from Kofi Annan is below.

“Five months ago, I was asked to take on the role of Joint Special Envoy for Syria, in order to seek a peaceful solution to the crisis, an end to the killings of civilians, the human rights abuses, and a path towards a political transition. I accepted this task, which some called “Mission Impossible” – for I believed it was a sacred duty to do whatever was in my power to help the Syrian people find a peaceful solution to this bloody conflict.

The severity of the humanitarian costs of the conflict, and the exceptional threats posed by this crisis to international peace and security, justified the attempts to secure a peaceful transition to a political settlement, however daunting the challenge.

The increasing militarization on the ground and the clear lack of unity in the Security Council, have fundamentally changed the circumstances for the effective exercise of my role.

Yet the bloodshed continues, most of all because of the Syrian government’s intransigence, and continuing refusal to implement the six-point plan, and also because of the escalating military campaign of the opposition – all of which is compounded by the disunity of the international community.

At a time when we need – when the Syrian people desperately need action – there continues to be finger-pointing and name-calling in the Security Council.

The Geneva Communiqué, endorsed by the Action Group for Syria on 30 June, provided an international agreement on a framework for a political transition. This should have been automatically endorsed by the Security Council and something the international community should have built on.

Without serious, purposeful and united international pressure, including from the powers of the region, it is impossible for me, or anyone, to compel the Syrian government in the first place, and also the opposition, to take the steps necessary to begin a political process.

You have to understand: as an Envoy, I can’t want peace more than the protagonists, more than the Security Council or the international community for that matter.

I have therefore informed the Secretary-General of the UN and Secretary-General of the Arab League today that I do not intend to continue my mission when my mandate expires at the end of August.

My central concern, from the start – and I think I mentioned it to you – has been the welfare of the Syrian people. Syria can still be saved from the worst calamity – if the international community can show the courage and leadership necessary to compromise on their partial interests for the sake of the Syrian people – for the men, women and children who have already suffered far too much.

I would like to extend my appreciation and gratitude to both the Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon and Secretary-General ElAraby of the Arab League for their unflinching support and the grace and cordiality that they extended to me, having given me the opportunity to serve the cause of peace once again.”

(Resignation statement taken from the Kofi Annan Foundation)

Every day in Syria civilians are slaughtered by the Assad regime, the international community can do little more than stand back and condemn the attacks until Russia and China agree that enough is enough. As each day passes the Assad regime becomes weaker and weaker. The bombing on Tuesday that killed three of the most senior Syrian military officials including President Assad’s brother in-law was a blow to Assad who remains adamant that he can hold onto power. One thing is clear and that is that President Assad is quite unlikely to quash his enemies, as the former Syrian Ambassador to Iraq Nawaf Fares warned after he defected on 11th July “chemical weapons may have already been used.”

There is something that is alarming about the claims from Mr Fares. If Assad has used a chemical weapon in Syria or if he is open to using a chemical weapons against his people then the United Nations must tread carefully and be united in removing this murderous dictator. Two countries have prevented military action so far; China and Russia. Recently Russia said it will continue to honour previous arms contracts to the Syrian government.

It is clear that military action is needed. It was needed in Libya and it is needed now in Syria. Assad cannot hold onto power for long and the international community need to up the game and be prepared to send in the military to free the Syrian people.

The people of the Falkland Islands are to vote on the political status of their islands it was announced by the Falklands government. UK Prime Minister David Cameron has said Britain would support the outcome of the vote regardless of what that result may be. The move by the government of the Falkland Islands comes 30 years after the Falklands war ended between Britain and Argentina in which 255 British soldiers died.

I have blogged about the Falkland Islands many times and the dispute between Britain and Argentina. The Falkland Islanders are almost certain to support the status quo however one does not think the Argentines would support the result of the vote simply because they are hell-bent on forcing the Argentine flag on the Falklands. As long as the people of the Falklands want to remain under the British flag, Britain must vow to fight for them.

The referendum on the future of the Falklands was announced by Gavin Short of behalf of the legislative assembly. His statement read “I have no doubt that the people of the Falklands wish for the Islands to remain a self-governing Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom.  We certainly have no desire to be ruled by the Government in Buenos Aires, a fact that is immediately obvious to anyone who has visited the Islands and heard our views.  But we are aware that not everyone is able to come to these beautiful Islands and to see this reality for themselves.  And the Argentine Government deploys misleading rhetoric that wrongly implies that we have no strong views or even that we are being held hostage by the UK military.  This is simply absurd.”

“We have thought carefully about how to convey a strong message to the outside world that expresses the views of the Falklands people in a clear, democratic and incontestable way.  So we have decided, with the full support of the British Government, to hold a referendum on the Falkland Islands to eliminate any possible doubt about our wishes.  This referendum will be organised by the Falkland Islands Government and will take place in the first half of 2013.  We will invite independent, international observers to observe the process and verify its outcome.  Exact timings, the specific wording of the question, and other details will be announced in the coming weeks.”

“We are holding this referendum not because we have any doubts about who we are and what future we want, but to show the world just how very certain we are about that.”

For the last few months we have seen the horrific images on our television screens and in the newspapers from Syria. The Syrian government under the control of President Assad have been murdering innocent men, women and children and those who dare question the President’s authority. The United Nations have condemned the massacres in Syria and have recently sent former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to Syria in order to work with the government to end the violence. His 6 point peace plan has so far not yet been implemented despite the Syrian government pledging to implement the recommendations.

Russia has constantly defended Assad and his government and that is one of the reasons why military intervention has not yet been authorised. However the US ambassador to the UN was quite right in saying that if the Syrian government does not end the violence then outside countries may have to act outside of the UN in order to end the ongoing violence. One thing is clear and that is the international community can simply not sit back and these massacres to happen, it is our duty to intervene and protect human life. The United Nations needs to be putting pressure on Russia to influence Assad to stop the attacks on his people.

Whilst I think military intervention should be considered I am incredibly cautious about intervention without United Nations backing. Any reaction to Syria should be done within the UN and be backed by the majority of UNSC members. The international community need to act and act fast, human lives depend on it.