RES/28/20 The continuing grave deterioration in the human rights and humanitarian situation in the Syrian Arab Republic

GE.See S/2014/244, annex. 5-07269 (E)



Human Rights Council Twenty-eighth session

Agenda item 4

Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council

28/20. The continuing grave deterioration in the human rights and

humanitarian situation in the Syrian Arab Republic

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the Charter of the United Nations,

Reaffirming all its previous resolutions on the Syrian Arab Republic,

Reaffirming also its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and

territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic,

Condemning the grave deterioration of the human rights situation and the

indiscriminate killing or deliberate targeting of civilians as such, in violation of

international humanitarian law, and acts of violence that foment sectarian tensions,

Expressing its deepest concern about the findings of the Independent International

Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic and the report into the credibility of

certain evidence with regard to torture and execution of persons incarcerated by the current

Syrian regime regarding the allegations contained in the evidence presented by “Caesar” in January 2014, on the torture and execution of persons incarcerated by the Syrian regime,1

Welcoming the efforts of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Syrian

Arab Republic, and expressing full support for the diplomatic efforts of the Special Envoy

aimed at finding a political solution on the basis of the Geneva communiqué, including for

the formation of a transitional governing body with full executive powers,

Recalling the statements made by the Commission of Inquiry and the special

procedures of the Human Rights Council that crimes against humanity and war crimes are

likely to have been committed in the Syrian Arab Republic, and noting the repeated

encouragement by the Commission to the Security Council to refer the situation to the

International Criminal Court,

Condemning the lack of cooperation by the Syrian authorities with the Commission

of Inquiry,

1. Welcomes the reports of the Independent International Commission of

Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, and notes the importance of the work of the

Commission of Inquiry and the information it has collected in support of the future

accountability efforts, in particular the information on alleged perpetrators violating

international law;

2. Demands that the Syrian authorities cooperate fully with the Commission of

Inquiry, including by granting it immediate, full and unfettered access throughout the

Syrian Arab Republic;

3. Decides to extend for one year the mandate of the Commission of Inquiry,

established by the Human Rights Council in its resolution S-17/1 of 23 August 2011, 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;

4. Requests the Commission of Inquiry to provide an oral update during an

interactive dialogue at the twenty-ninth session of the Human Rights Council and to present

written updated reports during the interactive dialogues at the thirtieth and thirty-first

sessions;

5. Strongly deplores the suffering and torture in prisons and detention facilities

throughout the Syrian Arab Republic as depicted in the reports of the Commission of

Inquiry and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,

demands that the Syrian authorities immediately release all persons arbitrarily detained and

ensure that detention conditions are consistent with international law, and calls upon the

Syrian authorities to publish a list of all prisons and detention facilities;

6. Strongly condemns practices including abductions, hostage-taking,

incommunicado detention, torture, sexual violence, the brutal killing of civilians and

summary executions carried out by regime forces and affiliated militias, non-State armed

groups, as well as terrorist groups, most notably the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the

Levant (Daesh) and al-Nusra Front, and underlines that such acts may amount to crimes

against humanity;

7. Calls upon the international community to support the leadership and full

participation of women in all efforts aimed at finding a political solution in the Syrian Arab

Republic, as envisaged by the Security Council in its resolutions 1325 (2000) of 31 October

2000 and 2122 (2013) of 18 October 2013, and encourages the Special Envoy of the

Secretary-General for the Syrian Arab Republic to conduct consultations with a broad range

of actors, including women-led organizations;

8. Strongly condemns the continuing escalation of violence in the Syrian Arab

Republic, which has caused more than 200,000 fatalities, and in particular the continued

widespread and systematic gross violations and abuses of human rights and violations of

international humanitarian law, including those involving the continued use of heavy

weapons and aerial bombardments, such as the indiscriminate use of ballistic missiles,

cluster munitions, barrel and vacuum bombs and chlorine gas, and the starvation of

civilians as a method of combat by the Syrian authorities against the Syrian population;

9. Also strongly condemns the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab

Republic, which is prohibited under international law, and demands that the Syrian Arab

Republic respect fully its obligations under the Convention on the Prohibition of the

Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their

Destruction, the decision of the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition

of Chemical Weapons of 27 September 2013 and Security Council resolution 2118 (2013),

also of 27 September 2013, requiring it to declare its programme in full and to eliminate it

in its entirety;

10. Notes with grave concern the recent findings of the fact-finding mission of

the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the Commission of Inquiry

regarding the repeated use of chlorine gas as a chemical weapon in the Syrian Arab

Republic, recognizes that such use of chlorine gas by the Syrian authorities constitutes a

violation of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling

and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction, and expresses its strong

conviction that those individuals responsible for the use of chemical weapons must be held

accountable, as stressed by the Security Council in its resolution 2118 (2013) and expressed

by the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in

its decision of 4 February 2015;

11. Expresses grave concern at the use of force by the Syrian authorities against

civilians, which has caused immense human suffering and displacement, has fomented the

spread of extremism and extremist groups and has demonstrated the failure of the Syrian

authorities to protect the Syrian population and to implement the relevant resolutions and

decisions of the United Nations bodies;

12. Condemns in the strongest terms the terrorist acts and violence committed

against civilians by the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Daesh), its violent

extremist ideology and its continued gross, systematic and widespread abuses of human

rights and violations of international humanitarian law, and reaffirms that terrorism,

including the actions of the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Daesh), cannot

and should not be associated with any religion, nationality or civilization;

13. Strongly condemns the intervention in the Syrian Arab Republic of all foreign

terrorist fighters and those foreign organizations fighting on behalf of the Syrian regime,

particularly militia groups such as Hizbullah, Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq and Liwa’ Abu al-Fadl al- Abbas, and expresses deep concern that their involvement further exacerbates the

deteriorating situation in the Syrian Arab Republic, including the human rights and

humanitarian situation, which has a serious negative impact on the region;

14. Condemns all violations and abuses of international human rights law and all

violations of international humanitarian law committed against the civilian population, calls

upon all groups in the Syrian Arab Republic to refrain from retaliation and violence and to

take all necessary steps to protect civilians, including by demilitarizing medical facilities

and schools, and urges all parties to the conflict to comply with their obligations under

international humanitarian law and to respect human rights;

15. Strongly condemns violence against all persons based on their religious or

ethnic affiliation, and calls upon all parties to fully respect international law;

16. Notes with grave concern the reporting of the Commission of Inquiry,

including on the number and type of crimes committed, in which the Commission assessed

that crimes against humanity and war crimes have been and continue to be committed in the

territory of the Syrian Arab Republic;

17. Recalls that the International Criminal Court was established to help to end

impunity for such crimes where the State is unwilling or unable to genuinely carry out

investigations or prosecutions;

18. Emphasizes the need to ensure that all those responsible for violations of

international humanitarian law or violations and abuses of human rights law are held to

account through appropriate, fair and independent domestic or international criminal justice

mechanisms, and stresses the need to pursue practical steps towards this goal, noting the

important role that the International Criminal Court can play in this regard;

19. Takes note of the ongoing efforts by those journalists and human rights

defenders who provide information about human rights violations and abuses inside the

Syrian Arab Republic, despite the grave risks;

20. Expresses deep concern at the growing number of refugees and internally

displaced persons fleeing the violence, welcomes the efforts by neighbouring countries to

host Syrian refugees, and acknowledges the socioeconomic consequences of the presence

of large-scale refugee populations in those countries;

21. Demands that the Syrian authorities and all other parties to the conflict

comply with their obligations under Security Council resolutions 2139 (2014) of 22

February 2014, 2165 (2014) of 14 July 2014 and 2191 (2014) of 17 December 2014 in

order to enable the immediate and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance directly

to people throughout the Syrian Arab Republic by United Nations agencies and their

implementing partners;

22. Deplores the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Syrian Arab

Republic and urges the international community, including all donors, to provide urgent

financial support to enable the host countries to respond to the growing humanitarian needs

of Syrian refugees, while emphasizing the principle of burden-sharing;

23. Welcomes the offer from Kuwait to host the third International Humanitarian

Pledging Conference for Syria on 31 March 2015, expresses its appreciation to donor

States, and calls upon all members of the international community to respond expeditiously

to the Syrian humanitarian appeals and to fulfil all previous pledges;

24. Reiterates that a genuine political transition based on the Geneva

communiqué is needed to end the conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic, and encourages the

international community to take appropriate steps to that end;

25. Decides to transmit all reports and oral updates of the Commission of Inquiry

to all relevant bodies of the United Nations, recommends that the Commission brief the

General Assembly during its sixty-ninth session, also recommends that the Assembly

submit the reports to the Security Council for appropriate action, expresses its appreciation

to the Commission for its briefings to members of the Council, and recommends the

continuation of future briefings;

26. Also decides to remain seized of the matter.

57th meeting

27 March 2015

[Adopted by a recorded vote of 29 to 6, with 12 abstentions. The voting was as follows:

In favour:

Albania, Argentina, Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, El Salvador, Estonia, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Latvia, Maldives,

Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Paraguay, Portugal, Qatar,

Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, the former Yugoslav

Republic of Macedonia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great

Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America

Against:

Algeria, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), China, Cuba, Russian Federation,

Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

Abstaining:

Bangladesh, Brazil, Congo, Ethiopia, India, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Namibia,

Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa, Viet Nam]