The UN Security Council [official site] on Saturday failed [press release] to adopt two measures meant to protect the Syrian people from continued warfare. Russia used its veto power and Venezuela voted against a French and Spanish measure to immediately cease airstrikes and military bombardment missions in the area. In turn many Western nations voted against the Russian resolution that would have begun a multilateral approach to ending the conflict. The resolution differences [Reuters report] rested in the timeframe of the ceasefire and the correct way to end the crisis.

The continued destruction during the war in Syria continues as an international human rights disaster. US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday called [JURIST report] for an investigation of alleged war crimes committed against Syrian civilians by both Russia and the Syrian regime. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein cautioned [JURIST report] Russia Tuesday against the continued use of incendiary weapons in the fight for Aleppo. A UN children’s rights expert on Monday stated [JURIST report] that Syria’s continued infliction of harm on children is a “brutal abdication of human rights obligations they have committed to respect.”