Ambassador Nikki Haley, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, delivered remarks at a UN Security Council briefing on chemical weapons use in Syria.
“The news out of Syria this morning is following a troubling pattern. There are reports of yet another chemical weapons attackon Sunday. Victims of what appears to be chlorine gas are pouring into hospitals.
"Few things have horrified my country and the world as much as the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons against its people. This Council has been outspoken on ending Syria’s use of chemical weapons, and yet, they continue… We spent much of last year in this Council watching one country protect the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons by refusing to hold them responsible. So what do the American people see? What do people of all countries see? They see a Council that can’t agree to take action, even after the investigative mechanism created by this Council found that the Assad regime used chemical weapons.
“It’s a true tragedy that Russia has sent us back to square one in the effort to end chemical weapons use in Syria. But we will not cease in our efforts to know the truth of the Assad regime and ensure that that truth is known and acted on by the international community. That is why we hosted all 15 members of this Council at the U.S. Holocaust Museum last week. The exhibit was called: ‘Syria: Please Don’t Forget Us.’ All of us saw undeniable evidence of the Assad regime’s atrocities and human rights violations.
"We cannot and should not forget the Syrian people. The United States will not forget them. While this Council has not yet been able to act to provide real accountability for chemical weapons use in Syria, the United States will not give up on the responsibility to do so.”