Situation of Human Rights in the Syrian Arab Republic

Demands that the Syrian Arab Republic meet its responsibility to protect its population and to respect and protect the human rights of all persons within its jurisdiction, including persons in detention and their families, in line with the recommendations agreed in the context of the universal periodic review,⁵ in particular those who are at risk of sexual and gender-based violence, in a manner consistent with the applicable international law obligations of the Syrian Arab Republic, including those that are relevant to women and children, including under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Optional Protocols thereto;

Calls upon the Syrian authorities to protect returning refugees and internally displaced persons, in particular women and children, from human rights violations and abuses and to help to create the conditions necessary for the return of refugees, and recalls the finding of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic that the Syrian Arab Republic does not yet offer a safe and stable environment for the safe, voluntary and dignified return of refugees or for the 6.8 million persons displaced inside the country;

Demands that the processes for reclaiming property required by authorities throughout the Syrian Arab Republic, predominantly the regime, comply with the principles on housing and property restitution for refugees and displaced persons and are equally accessible, in particular for women;

Calls upon all parties to the conflict, first and foremost the Syrian authorities, to release immediately all persons subjected to enforced disappearance in the Syrian Arab Republic and to provide accurate information to the families of those who are missing regarding their fate and whereabouts;

Calls upon all parties, predominantly the Syrian regime, to put in place effective administrative procedures to process, and release to relevant parties in a timely manner, civil documentation, including death certificates, and procedures relating to property registration, inheritance and custody in an equally accessible and affordable manner, in particular for all women and girls whose spouses are missing, disappeared or have been killed, and to end the requirement to obtain security clearances for these purposes;

Calls upon all parties to the conflict to adopt a more effective response to sexual and gender-based violence across the whole of the Syrian Arab Republic, including by raising awareness and addressing stigma, and calls for the protection of women and girl human rights defenders and women peacebuilders and for the full, equal and meaningful and safe participation, representation and leadership of Syrian women in humanitarian and political decision-making;

Demands that all parties to the conflict respect the human rights of all persons, including their right to life, liberty and security of person and rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, association and movement, without discrimination;