19/79 Report of the High Commissioner on the implementation of Human Rights Council resolution S-17/1

GE.11-17415

Human Rights Council Nineteenth session

Agenda items 2 and 4 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner

for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the

High Commissioner and the Secretary-General

Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention

Report of the High Commissioner on the implementation of Human Rights Council resolution S-17/1

Summary

The present report provides information on the implementation of Human Rights Council resolution S-17/1. It reviews the key paragraphs of resolution S-17/1 and the status of their implementation.

United Nations A/HRC/19/79

General Assembly

Distr.: General 16 December 2011

I. Background

1. At its seventeenth special session on 23 August 2011 the Human Rights Council adopted resolution S-17/1, entitled “Situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic”. In paragraph 18 of the resolution, the Human Rights Council requests the High Commissioner to present a report on the implementation of the resolution to the Council at its nineteenth session. The present report is submitted pursuant to this request. It contains information on the status of implementation of resolution S-17/1 as of 5 December 2011.

II. Implementation of Human Rights Council resolution S-17/1

2. In paragraph 13 of resolution S-17/1, the Council decides to dispatch urgently an independent international commission of inquiry, to be appointed by the President of the Human Rights Council, to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law since March 2011 in the Syrian Arab Republic, to establish the facts and circumstances that may amount to such violations and of the crimes perpetrated and, where possible, to identify those responsible with a view to ensuring that perpetrators of violations, including those that may constitute crimes against humanity, are held accountable.

3. In response to paragraph 13, on 12 September 2011 the President of the Human Rights Council appointed three high-level experts as members of the commission of inquiry: Paulo Pinheiro (Chairperson), Yakin Ertürk and Karen Koning AbuZayd. The commission of inquiry started its work on 26 September 2011.

4. In paragraph 14 of resolution S-17/1, the Council requests that the report of the commission of inquiry be made public as soon as possible and, in any case, before the end of November 2011, and also requests it to present a written update to the report on the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic at the nineteenth session of the Human Rights Council, in an interactive dialogue with the participation of the High Commissioner.

5. The report of the independent international commission of inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic was presented to the President of the Human Rights Council on 28 November 2011. The commission of inquiry will submit a written update on the human rights situation in Syria to the nineteenth session of the Council, under agenda item 4.

6. In paragraph 15 of resolution S-17/1, the Human Rights Council decides to transmit the report of the commission of inquiry and the update thereto to the General Assembly, and recommends that the Assembly transmit the reports to all relevant bodies of the United Nations.

7. The President of the Human Rights Council transmitted the report of the commission of inquiry on 28 November 2011 to the President of the General Assembly.

8. In paragraph 17 of resolution S-17/1, the Council requests the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner to provide the full administrative, technical and logistical support needed to enable the commission of inquiry to carry out its mandate.

9. In response to paragraph 17, the High Commissioner appointed a secretariat with a broad range of expertise in the field of human rights investigations and international law to support the mandate of the commission of inquiry.