[i][/i]RIYADH (AFP) – Saudi Arabia rejected
membership of the UN Security Council
on Friday, a day after it was elected to
the body, accusing it of “double-
standards” in resolving world
conflicts. “Work mechanisms and double-
standards on the Security Council
prevent it from carrying out its duties
and assuming its responsibilities in
keeping world peace,” the foreign
ministry said. “Therefore Saudi Arabia… has no
other option but to turn down Security
Council membership until it is
reformed and given the means to
accomplish its duties and assume its
responsiblities in preserving the world’s peace and security,” a
statement said. For the first time ever, oil-rich,
conservative Saudi Arabia won a seat
Thursday on the 15-member council,
which has a key role in dealing with
world conflicts. Saudi UN Ambassador Abdullah al-
Mouallimi said that reflected Riyadh’s
“long-standing policy in support of
moderation and in support of
resolving disputes in peaceful means.” But the foreign ministry said Saudi
Arabia declines to be a member of a
body unable to tackle long-standing
conflicts in the Middle East or rid the
region of the threat of nuclear war. It pointed specifically to the nearly
three-year civil war in Syria and the
protracted Palestinian-Israeli conflict,
as key reasons. “Failing to find a solution to the
Palestinian cause for 65 years” it said,
has led to “numerous wars that have
threatened world peace.” Likewise, it said, “allowing the regime
in Syria to kill its own people with
chemical weapons… without
confronting it or imposing any
deterrent sanctions… is a proof of the
inability of the Security Council to carry out its duties and assume its
responsibilities.” The ministry also criticised the body’s
“failure” to turn the Middle East into a
region free from weapons of mass
destruction, including nuclear arms —
in a reference to Iran and Israel. Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia is a fierce
critic of Shiite Iran’s nuclear
programme, which the West and Israel
suspect of seeking to develop a
nuclear weapon, a charge Tehran
denies. Israel is the sole, if undeclared, nuclear power in the region. Saudi Arabia is a major backer of
rebels trying to topple Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad who is allied to
Tehran. Riyadh has been a vocal critic of the
UN’s handling of the conflict in Syria,
where a peaceful movement that
called for reforms emerged in March
2011 and was met with a brutal
repression. It quickly escalated into civil war. Last month, Saudi Foreign Minister
Prince Saud al-Faisal refused to speak
or even hand out a copy of his speech
at the UN General Assembly in anger
over the Security Council deadlock on
Syria and Palestine. “It was a sign of the frustration felt,”
said Nawaf Obaid, a visiting fellow at
Harvard University’s Belfer Center and
an advisor to Saudi officials. Five countries have permanent seats
on the Security Council — the United
States, Britain, France, Russia and
China. The other 10 seats are awarded
for two-year periods by the General
Assembly, which holds a vote every year for five of the seats. Saudi Arabia was chosen by the 193-
member UN General Assembly, along
with Chile, Chad, Lithuania and Nigeria. Security Council powers had
cautiously welcomed Saudi Arabia’s
election. “Having them on the Security Council
allows you to debate those issues in a
way which you can’t if they are not on
the council,” said one UN diplomat.
www.vanguardngr.com/2013/10/saudi-rejects-un-security-council-seat/

This story 22222222222222222
long na.
@op u no do comprehension &summary for schl? Make i summarize 4 whom it may concern.

Saudi Arabia rejected
membership of the UN Security Council
on Friday, a day after it was elected to
the body, accusing it of “double-
standards” in resolving world
conflicts. “Work mechanisms and double-
standards on the Security Council
prevent it from carrying out its duties
and assuming its responsibilities in
keeping world peace,” the foreign
ministry said. “Therefore Saudi Arabia…has no
other option but to turn down Security
Council membership until it is
reformed and given the means to
accomplish its duties and assume its
responsiblities in preserving the world’s peace and security,”
The foreign ministry said Saudi
Arabia declines to be a member of a
body unable to tackle long-standing
conflicts in the Middle East or rid the
region of the threat of nuclear war. It pointed specifically to the nearly
three-year civil war in Syria and the
protracted Palestinian-Israeli conflict,
as key reasons

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/10/saudi-rejects-un-security-council-seat/.