2-2012 to 8-2012

On February 24, 2012, Kofi Annan, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, was appointed as a special envoy for the Arab League and the United Nations to Syria, tasked with mediating efforts to stop all acts of violence and human rights violations and to encourage a peaceful resolution to the Syrian crisis.

On March 16, 2012, Kofi Annan proposed a plan that he considered a pathway to resolving the Syrian crisis, consisting of six points, which included “developing internal political solutions that take into account the aspirations and concerns of the Syrian people.” The Syrian regime agreed to Annan’s plan, and on April 14, 2012, the UN Security Council issued a resolution to send military observers to monitor the ceasefire; however, they suspended their mission after two months due to escalating violence.

In June 2012, the “Action Group for Syria,” composed of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Turkey, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, the European Union, and the United Nations, issued the “Geneva 1” statement. This statement endorsed Annan’s six-point plan and called for “the establishment of a transitional governing body that provides a neutral environment for political transition in the country, possessing full executive powers and potentially including members of the current government, the opposition, and other groups based on mutual agreement.”

In July 2012, Russia and China used their third veto against a Western draft resolution that incorporated elements of Annan’s plan under Chapter VII, which effectively eliminated the possibility of Annan’s plan serving as a way out of the Syrian crisis. Kofi Annan announced his resignation shortly thereafter on August 2, 2012, and Lakhdar Brahimi took over his duties.