Why the United Nations cannot end wars in the Arab world

EVEN AFTERUN nearly a decade of carnage, Syria’s civil war still manages to shock. More than 700,000 people have fled a regime offensive in Idlib, the country’s last rebel-held pocket. Shelter is scarce; with temperatures near zero, families sleep rough on the roadside. Desperate to keep millions of refugees from crossing its southern border, Turkey has deployed thousands of troops to slow the Syrian advance, risking conflict with Russia, which backs Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s dictator, with jets in the sky and mercenaries on the ground. At least a dozen Turkish soldiers have been killed.Against this backdrop Geir Pedersen, the United Nations special envoy, is pressing ahead with a committee meant to redraw Syria’s constitution—a body Mr Assad has already said he will ignore. As the regime draws closer to Idlib, as another 1m civilians prepare to flee, the has staked time and prestige on an effort that was doomed from the start.