Photo Courtesy Creative Commons

In the last week President Obama, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and various European heads of state have condemned the use of violence and called on Syrian leaders to find a peaceful solution.

On Wednesday the United States attempted to push through a UN Security Council resolution condemning the government attacks.  The move was blocked by Russia and China.

Russian Deputy Ambassador Alexander Pankin told Bloomberg the situation “does not present a threat to international peace and security,” which is the standard for Security Council involvement.  Both China and Russia have expressed displeasure about UN intervention in Libya, though they did not block that vote, opting to abstain from the Security Council vote instead.

The Secretary-General called for an independent investigation into possible human rights violations in Syria.  The BBC reports Syrian ambassador to the UN, Bashar Jaafari, said Syria has nothing to hide and will conduct its own investigation.

European Union members are expected to discuss Syria during a Friday meeting in Brussels and there is a possibility the organization will enact sanctions against Syria.

Also on Friday, the UN Human Rights Council will hold a special session to discuss the human rights situation within the country.  The session may create tension between council members as Syria is a current member of the Human Rights Council.   Libya and Bahrain – two other countries facing allegations of human rights abuses – are also members of the Human Rights Council.

Supporters of the Syrian government warned that any support for the opposition would lead to a civil war.  But the National Initiative for Change, a group of Syrian opposition activists issued a statement saying the future of Syria was in the government’s hands.

“If the Syrian president does not wish to be recorded in history as a leader of this transition period, there is no alternative left for Syrians except to move forward along the same path as did the Tunisians, Egyptians and Libyans before them,” the statement said.

Reach Christine Detz here