Ms Clark met with Prime Minister John Key in New York today and spoke to media briefly.
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Vladimir Putin does appear to be playing a shrewd game, while the United States has had to backtrack and accept that the murderous Assad will have to stay in the meantime.
He confirmed Trade Minister Tim Groser had now travelled from New York to Atlanta to attend the negotiations – something Mr Groser previously said he would not do if the parties were still so far apart a deal did not seem possible.
Outside the focus on Isis, it has been a good week for this country’s image with the announcement of a vast marine reserve around the Kermadecs.
Mr Key pointed to the long list of other conflicts around the globe including in Yemen and South Sudan, and to the stalled Middle East Peace Process as other areas where the Council needed to lead.
In the case of Syria, Russian Federation and China have used their veto four times to block security council action, three times to strike down threats of sanctions against the government of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and another resolution that would have referred the Syria conflict to the worldwide Criminal Court for possible crimes against humanity. The council’s agenda is lengthy and contentious.
He reiterated New Zealand would continue to support a French and Mexico led proposal to ensure veto rights are limited in cases of mass atrocities. “And of taking no action when one of the five does not agree”.
TPP leaders will meet at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in the Philippines in mid-November, which Key said was “probably the last opportunity for 2015” to close the trade deal, already been more than five years in the making. Its time for its members to set aside their vested interests and historical alliances in order to stop the violence and end the suffering, he declared.
Mr Key said the council could work well, such as implementing the Iran weapons deal.
Its time for the Council to do its duty for those who have lost their lives and loved ones, and for the millions who have been displaced.
According to Amnesty global New Zealand is ranked 90th in the world, with 0.3 refugees for every 1000 people.
“We can not afford to let the Council go from an institution with failings to a failed institution”. There must be a political solution to the conflict in Syria.
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“It should address all issues and involve all relevant actors, from within the region and beyond”.
