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| Rivers of Syrian blood |
The draft resolution
sailed through the assembly’s 193-member subcommittee by a vote of 123 member
states (up 16 from last #UNGA resolution), with 13 against and 46 abstentions,
assuring that it will be adopted by the entire General Assembly later this year
by a similar margin. Russia and China were among the countries voting against
it.
With the Security
Council divided between Syria’s key ally Russia and China on one side, and the
West and Arab states supporting the opposition on the other, it has been the
General Assembly and UN agencies that have been most forthright and vocal in
demanding relief in the Syrian crisis and an end to the war. However, General
Assembly resolutions are not enforceable.
The resolution approved
Tuesday also comes close to blaming the Syrian government and military for the
deadly Aug. 21 nerve gas attack in a Damascus suburb held by the rebels.
It says the report by UN
inspectors filed in September “provides clear evidence that surface-to-surface
rockets were fired on 21 August from Government-held territory into opposition
areas, using professionally made munitions containing Sarin.”
Saudi Arabia led the drafting of the text, which
was co-sponsored by more than 60 states.
The draft resolution was approved by the General
Assembly's Third Committee, which focuses on human rights, and will be put to a
formal vote next month in the General Assembly. It is expected to pass with
similar support.
Following is the full resolution text:
The General Assembly,
Guided by the Charter of the United
Nations,
Reaffirming the purposes and principles
of the Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and relevant
international human rights treaties, including the International Covenants on
Human Rights,
Reaffirming its strong commitment to
the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian
Arab Republic and to the principles of the Charter,
Recalling its resolutions 66/176 of 19
December 2011, 66/253 A of 16 February 2012, 66/253 B of 3 August 2012, 67/183
of 20 December 2012 and 67/262 of 15 May 2013, Human Rights Council resolutions
S-16/1 of 29 April 2011,3 S-17/1 of 23 August 2011,3 S-18/1 of 2 December
2011,4 19/1 of 1 March 2012,5 19/22 of 23 March 2012,5 S-19/1 of 1 June 2012,6
20/22 of 6 July 2012, 21/26 of 28 September 2012, 22/24 of 22 March 2013, 23/1
of 29 May 2013, 23/26 of 14 June 2013 and 24/22 of 27 September 2013, and
Security Council resolutions 2042 (2012) of 14 April 2012, 2043 (2012) of 21
April 2012 and 2118 (2013) of 27 September 2013 and presidential statement
2013/15 of 2 October 2013,
Expressing outrage at the continuing
escalation of violence in the Syrian Arab Republic, which has caused over 100,000 casualties,
mostly by conventional weapons, and in particular at the continued widespread
and systematic gross violations, as well as 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 and cluster munitions, by the Syrian
authorities against the Syrian population,
Expressing alarm at the failure of the
Government of the Syrian Arab Republic to protect its population and to
implement the relevant resolutions and decisions of United Nations bodies,
Expressing grave concern at the spread
of extremism and extremist groups, and strongly condemning all human rights
abuses and violations of international humanitarian law in the Syrian Arab
Republic,
Strongly condemning the large-scale use
of chemical weapons on 21 August 2013 in the Ghouta area of Damascus, as
concluded in the report of the United Nations Mission to Investigate
Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic,
condemning the killing of civilians that resulted from it, affirming that the
use of chemical weapons constitutes a serious violation of international law,
and stressing that those responsible for any use of chemical weapons must be
held accountable,
Recalling that the League of Arab
States, in its resolution 7667 adopted by the Ministerial Council of the League
at its 140th ordinary session on 1 September 2013, and the Organization of
Islamic Cooperation, in the final communiqué of its Annual Coordination Meeting
of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of 27 September 2013, have held the Syrian
Government fully responsible for the chemical attacks against the Syrian
people, which took place in the Ghouta area of Damascus,
Also recalling the statements made by
the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
that crimes against humanity are likely to have been committed in the Syrian
Arab Republic, stressing that the Syrian authorities have failed to prosecute
such serious violations, and noting the repeated encouragement by the High
Commissioner that the Security Council refer the situation to the International
Criminal Court,
Strongly condemning the continued
border violations from the Syrian Arab Republic into neighboring countries,
which have led to casualties among and injuries to the civilians of those
countries, including Syrian refugees, and underlining that such incidents have
violated international law and highlighted the grave impact of the crisis in
the Syrian Arab Republic on the security of its neighbors and on regional peace
and stability,
Deploring the further deterioration of the
humanitarian situation and the failure of the Government of the Syrian Arab
Republic to ensure the immediate, safe and unimpeded provision of humanitarian
assistance to all areas affected by the fighting,
Expressing deep concern at the more
than 2.2 million refugees, including more than one million children, and the
millions of internally displaced persons fleeing as a result of the extreme
violence in the Syrian Arab Republic, and at the escalating violence causing an
influx of Syrian refugees into neighboring countries and other countries in the
region,
Welcoming the hosting by the Government
of Kuwait, on 30 January 2013, of the pledging conference for the United
Nations joint appeal, and also welcoming with appreciation the hosting by the
Government of Kuwait of a second international humanitarian pledging conference
for Syria in January 2014,
Expressing its deep appreciation for
the significant efforts that have been made by neighboring countries and other
countries in the region to accommodate Syrian refugees, while acknowledging the
increasing political, socioeconomic and financial impact of the presence of
large-scale refugee populations in these countries, notably in Lebanon, Jordan,
Turkey, Iraq, Egypt and Libya,
Welcoming the efforts of the United
Nations, the League of Arab States and the Joint Special Representative of the
United Nations and the League of Arab States for Syria to achieve a solution to
the Syrian crisis,
1. Strongly condemns the use of
chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic, which is prohibited under
international law, amounts to a serious crime and has a devastating impact on
civilians, and in particular the massacre in the Ghouta area of Damascus, and
notes in this regard the report of 16 September 2013 prepared by the United
Nations Mission to Investigate Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons in
the Syrian Arab Republic, which provides clear evidence that surface-to-surface
rockets were fired on 21 August from Government-held territory into opposition
areas, using professionally made munitions containing Sarin, which strongly
points to use by the Syrian Government;
2. Also strongly condemns the continued
widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights and fundamental
freedoms and all violations of international humanitarian law by the Syrian
authorities and the Government affiliated shabbiha militias, including
those involving the use of heavy weapons, aerial bombardments, cluster
munitions, ballistic missiles and other force against civilians, attacks on
schools, hospitals and places of worship, massacres, arbitrary executions,
extrajudicial killings, the killing and persecution of protestors, human rights
defenders and journalists, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, violations
of women’s rights, unlawful interference with access to medical treatment,
failure to respect and protect medical personnel, torture, systemic sexual and
gender-based violence, including rape in detention, and ill-treatment, and strongly
condemns all human rights abuses or violations of international humanitarian
law by armed extremists, as well as any human rights abuses or violations of
international humanitarian law by armed anti-Government groups;
3. Condemns all grave violations and
abuses committed against children in contravention of applicable international
law, such as their recruitment and use, killing and maiming, rape and all other
forms of sexual violence, attacks on schools and hospitals, as well as
arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, ill-treatment and their use as human
shields;
4. Also condemns all violence,
irrespective of where it comes from, and calls upon all parties to immediately
put an end to all forms of violence, including terrorist acts and acts of
violence or intimidation that may foment sectarian tensions, and to comply
strictly with their obligations under international law, including international
humanitarian law;
5. Demands that all parties immediately
put an end to all violations and abuses of international human rights law and
international humanitarian law, and recalls, in particular, the obligation
under international humanitarian law to distinguish between civilian
populations and combatants, the prohibition against indiscriminate and
disproportionate attacks and all attacks against civilians and civilian
objects, also demands that all parties to the conflict take all appropriate steps
to protect civilians, including by desisting from attacks directed against civilian
objects, such as medical centers, schools and water stations, immediately demilitarize
such facilities, avoid establishing military positions in populated areas and
enable the evacuation of the wounded and all civilians who wish to do so from besieged
areas, and recalls in this regard that the Syrian authorities bear primary responsibility
for protecting its population;
6. Strongly condemns the intervention
of all foreign combatants in the Syrian Arab Republic, including those fighting
on behalf of the Syrian authorities, and in particular Hezbollah, and expresses
deep concern that their involvement further exacerbates the deteriorating human
rights and humanitarian situation, which has a serious negative impact on the
region;
7. Demands that the Syrian authorities
immediately release all persons arbitrarily detained, including the members of
the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression, publish a list of all
detention facilities, ensure that conditions of detention comply with
applicable international law and immediately allow access of independent
monitors to all detention facilities;
8. Also demands that the Syrian
authorities fully cooperate with the independent international commission of
inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic and provide it and individuals working on
its behalf with immediate, full and unfettered entry and access to all areas of
the country, and further demands that all parties cooperate fully with the
commission in the performance of its mandate;
9. Stresses the importance of ensuring
accountability and the need to end impunity and hold to account those
responsible for violations of international humanitarian law and violations and
abuses of human rights, including those violations that may amount to crimes
against humanity, notably in the Ghouta area of Damascus on 21 August 2013, and
encourages the Security Council to consider appropriate measures to ensure
accountability in the Syrian Arab Republic, and stresses the important role
that international criminal justice could play in this regard;
10. Underlines the importance that the
Syrian people, on the basis of broad, inclusive and credible consultations,
should determine, within the framework provided by international law and based
upon the complementarity principle, the domestic process and mechanisms to
achieve reconciliation, truth and accountability for gross violations, as well
as reparations and effective remedies for the victims;
11. Reminds the Security
Council of its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international
peace and security and to take measures to put an end to all serious violations
of international humanitarian law and all serious violations and abuses of
international human rights law committed in the Syrian Arab Republic;
12. Strongly condemns all attacks by
the Syrian authorities or any other party against medical facilities, personnel
and vehicles as well as the use of medical and civilian facilities, including
hospitals, for armed purposes, recalls that under international humanitarian
law the wounded and sick must receive, to the fullest extent practicable, and
with the least possible delay, the medical care and attention required by their
condition, and urges that free passage for medical personnel and supplies,
including surgical items and medicine be provided to all areas in the Syrian
Arab Republic;
13. Stresses that the magnitude of the
humanitarian tragedy caused by the conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic
requires immediate action to facilitate the safe and unimpeded delivery of
humanitarian assistance throughout the entire country, in particular in areas
and districts where humanitarian needs are especially urgent, condemns all
cases of arbitrary denial of humanitarian access, and recalls that depriving
civilians of objects indispensable to their survival, including willfully impeding
relief supply and access, can constitute a violation of international humanitarian
law;
14. Demands that the Syrian authorities
take immediate steps to facilitate the expansion of humanitarian relief
operations and lift bureaucratic impediments and other obstacles, including
through immediately facilitating safe and unimpeded access to people in need,
through the most effective ways, including across conflict lines and across
borders, and urges all parties to take all appropriate steps to facilitate the
efforts of the United Nations, its specialized agencies and all humanitarian
actors engaged in humanitarian relief activities to provide immediate humanitarian
assistance to the affected people in the Syrian Arab Republic and to nominate
empowered interlocutors who can work with humanitarian agencies to resolve
difficulties in gaining such access, in order to fully implement the humanitarian
response plan;
15. Expresses grave concern at the
increasing numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons as a result of
the ongoing violence, reiterates its appreciation for the significant efforts
that have been made by neighboring countries and countries of the region to
assist those who have fled across the borders of the Syrian Arab Republic as a
consequence of the violence, urges all relevant United Nations agencies, in
particular the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and
other donors to provide urgent and coordinated support to Syrian refugees and
their host countries, and calls upon Member States, based on burden-sharing
principles, to host the Syrian refugees in coordination with the Office of the
High Commissioner;
16. Demands that the Syrian Government
implement the relevant resolutions and decisions of United Nations bodies and
the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons;
17. Stresses its support for the
aspirations of the Syrian people for a peaceful, democratic and pluralistic
society, with the full and effective participation of women, in which there is
no room for sectarianism or discrimination on ethnic, religious, linguistic,
gender or any other grounds, based on the promotion of universal respect for
and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms;
18. Reaffirms its support for the
Geneva communiqué of 30 June 2012, and demands in this regard that all Syrian
parties to the conflict rapidly implement the transition plan set forth in the
final communiqué in a way that assures the safety of all in an atmosphere of
stability and calm, provides for clear and irreversible steps in the transition
according to a fixed time frame and establishes a consensus transitional governing
body with full executive powers to which all functions of the presidency and
Government are transferred, including those pertaining to military, security,
and intelligence issues, as well as 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, and calls for the convening as
soon as possible of the international conference on the Syrian Arab Republic to
implement the Geneva communiqué.
