The UN Security Council on Monday cast the spotlight on the Arab Spring, which it said has presented many "challenges and opportunities" to the international community, dpa reported.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in opening the one-day discussion in the 15-nation council that the popular uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East have yet to achieve their goals of democratic aspirations.
He said the unrest in Syria began a year ago with peaceful demonstrations, but has now engulfed the country into violence and destruction.