Kuwait emir regrets UNSC's failure to solve Syrian conflict

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah regretted UN Security Council's (UNSC) failure to solve the Syrian conflict, urging the GCC countries to double efforts to stop bloodshed in the Arab country. "The humanitarian catastrophe in Syria is still running, and this calls upon us to double our efforts, and our work with the international community, particularly the Security Council, which is, unfortunately, incapable of shouldering its historical responsibility in putting a limit to this humanitarian catastrophe," His Highness Sheikh Sabah said in a speech at the opening of the 34th Summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The Syrian crisis has been ongoing for some three years now killing more than 100,000 people and displacing millions others in and outside the country. The Kuwaiti government and charitable societies have rushed to help the needy Syrians, extending financial and humanitarian assistance to hundreds of thousands of refugees in neighboring countries - Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan - as well as for internally displaced. "We in the State of Kuwait feel the agony of our brothers, and strive to heal their wounds, and provide livelihood for them," noted His Highness the Amir of Kuwait. His Highness the Amir had accepted request of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to host a donor conference over Syria last January. The conference succeeded in pledging more than the USD 1.5 billion target set by the UN. Kuwait also accepted Ban's request to host another conference. "We responded to the call of the UN Secretary General to hold the Second Conference for Supporting the Humanitarian Situation in Syria, which is scheduled to be held in the State of Kuwait in mid-January 2014," said His Highness the Amir. He called upon the GCC leaders to "actively participate, as you always did, in aiding our brothers" in Syria. The international community is preparing for the Geneva II meeting due on January 22. The Syrian opposition and government said they would attend the meeting.