The Situation in the Syrian Arab Republic

A/RES/66/253 BView PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 34 Prevention of armed conflict, published in 2011.

What other versions does this mandate have?

4 versions · 2012–2016

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/71/130

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2016	A/RES/71/130	The situation in the Syrian Arab Republic	2,298	15%Compare
2013	A/RES/67/262	The situation in the Syrian Arab Republic	3,315	—
2012	A/RES/66/253 B	The situation in the Syrian Arab Republic	—	—
2012	A/RES/66/253 A	The situation in the Syrian Arab Republic	—	–

What subjects does this mandate have?

5 subjects

Human Rights in Armed Conflicts Humanitarian Assistance Internal Security Political Violence Syrian Arab Republic

What’s in this document?

22 operative paragraphs

Condemns the increasing use by the Syrian authorities of heavy weapons, including indiscriminate shelling from tanks and helicopters, in population centres and the failure to withdraw their troops and heavy weapons to their barracks, contrary to paragraph 2 of Security Council resolution 2042 (2012) and paragraph 2 of Council resolution 2043 (2012);

Strongly condemns the continued widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms by the Syrian authorities and pro-Government militias, such as the use of force against civilians, massacres, arbitrary executions, the killing and persecution of protestors, human rights defenders and journalists, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, interference with access to medical treatment, torture, sexual violence, and ill-treatment, including against children, as well as any human rights abuses by armed opposition groups;

Condemns all violence, irrespective of where it comes from, including terrorist acts;

Demands that all parties immediately and visibly implement Security Council resolutions 2042 (2012) and 2043 (2012) in order to achieve a cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties, thereby creating an atmosphere conducive to a sustained cessation of violence and a Syrian-led political transition that meets the aspirations of the Syrian people;

Fully supports the demand of the Joint Special Envoy of the United Nations and the League of Arab States to Syria that the first step in the cessation of violence must be made by the Syrian authorities, and therefore calls upon the Syrian authorities to fulfil immediately their commitment to cease the use of heavy weapons and complete the withdrawal of their troops and heavy weapons to their barracks;

Calls upon the Syrian authorities to immediately put an end to all human rights violations and attacks against civilians, protect the population, fully comply with their obligations under applicable international law and fully implement all relevant Human Rights Council resolutions as well as General Assembly resolutions 66/176 and 66/253 A;

Demands that the Syrian authorities strictly observe their obligations under international law with respect to chemical and biological weapons, including Security Council resolution 1540 (2004) of 28 April 2004 and the Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, signed at Geneva on 17 June 1925,⁹ and further demands that the Syrian authorities refrain from using, or transferring to non-State actors, any chemical or biological weapons, or any related material, and that the Syrian authorities meet their obligations to account for and to secure all chemical and biological weapons and any related material;

⁹League of Nations, Treaty Series, vol. XCIV, No. 2138.

Accountability

Stresses again the importance of ensuring accountability and the need to end impunity and hold to account those responsible for human rights violations, including those violations that may amount to crimes against humanity;

Encourages the Security Council to consider appropriate measures in this regard;

Demands that the Syrian authorities provide the independent international commission of inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic and individuals working on its behalf immediate entry and access to all areas of the Syrian Arab Republic, and demands also that all parties cooperate fully with the commission of inquiry in the performance of its mandate;

Humanitarian situation

Deplores the deteriorating humanitarian situation and the failure to ensure safe and timely provision of humanitarian assistance to all areas affected by the fighting, in violation of point 3 of the six-point plan,¹⁰ which, therefore, is contrary to Security Council resolutions;

¹⁰Security Council resolution 2042 (2012), annex.

Calls upon the Syrian authorities to immediately and fully implement the agreed humanitarian response plan, including by granting immediate, safe, full and unimpeded access of humanitarian personnel to all populations in need of assistance, in particular to civilian populations in need of evacuation, as well as safe, full and unimpeded access for affected civilians to humanitarian assistance and services, and also calls upon all parties in the Syrian Arab Republic, in particular the Syrian authorities, to cooperate fully with the United Nations and relevant humanitarian organizations to facilitate the provision of humanitarian assistance;

Calls upon all parties in the Syrian Arab Republic, in particular the Syrian authorities, to ensure the safety and security of personnel, installations, material, units and vehicles involved in humanitarian assistance in accordance with applicable international law;

Expresses grave concern at the increasing numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons as a result of the ongoing violence, and reiterates its appreciation of the significant efforts that have been made by the States bordering the Syrian Arab Republic to assist those who have fled across the borders of the Syrian Arab Republic as a consequence of the violence, and requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to provide assistance as requested by Member States receiving these displaced persons;

Invites Member States to provide all support to the Syrian people, and encourages Member States to contribute to the United Nations humanitarian response efforts;

Political transition

Reiterates its call for an inclusive Syrian-led political transition to a democratic, pluralistic political system, in which citizens are equal regardless of their affiliations or ethnicities or beliefs, including through the commencement of a serious political dialogue between the Syrian authorities and the whole spectrum of the Syrian opposition;

Demands, in this regard, that all Syrian parties work with the Office of the Joint Special Envoy of the United Nations and the League of Arab States to Syria to implement rapidly the transition plan set forth in the final communiqué issued by the Action Group for Syria on 30 June 2012,Error: Reference source not found in a way that assures the safety of all in an atmosphere of stability and calm, notably through the establishment of a consensus transitional governing body, a review of the Constitution on the basis of an inclusive national dialogue, and free and fair multiparty elections held in the framework of this new constitutional order;

Welcomes, in this regard, the Syrian Opposition Conference, held under the auspices of the League of Arab States in Cairo on 3 July 2012, as part of the efforts of the League of Arab States to engage the whole spectrum of the Syrian opposition, and encourages greater cohesion among the opposition;

Encourages Member States to provide active support to ensure implementation of the transition plan set forth in the final communiqué of the Action Group for Syria, and requests the Secretary-General to provide support and assistance to the Syrian Arab Republic, at the appropriate time, as it transitions;

Requests the Joint Special Envoy to focus his efforts towards a peaceful mechanism for the implementation of the transition to a pluralistic, democratic civil State with equality in citizenship and freedoms;

Follow-up

Requests the Secretary-General and all relevant United Nations bodies to provide support for the efforts of the Joint Special Envoy to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis;

Requests the Secretary-General to report within fifteen days on the implementation of the present resolution.