UNSC urges chapter 7 UN resolution on Syria

US Permanent Representative to the United Nations, at the Security Council, Ambassador Susan Rice has reiterated that violence in Syria must, urging the transition process. Rice said the UN Security Council is working closely and constructively in support of Joint Special Envoy Annan and his plan to put the' weight' of this Council behind the Six-Point Peace Plan and what was agreed in Geneva. 'Our view is that this Council needs to put that kind of plan under Chapter VII' of the UN charter, she said, adding that the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) is 'a tool to implement the Annan plan.' At the United Nations, Britain, France, Germany and the United States submitted a draft text that would give Assad 10 days to implement UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan's ceasefire plan or face tough new sanctions. If Security Council members the resolution would allow for non-military sanctions under Chapter VII of the UN charter if Syrian government forces keep up their offensive on cities. The resolution condemns "the Syrian authorities' increasing use of heavy weapons, including indiscriminate shelling from tanks and helicopters."