A/HRC/28/69 130. In monthly briefings to the Security Council to follow up on the implementation of resolutions 2139 (2014) and 2165 (2014), the Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator reported on the severe constraints and challenges still obstructing humanitarian access and highlighted issues relating to civilian protection. On 15 December 2014, she appealed to the Council to ensure that the parties to the conflict complied with resolution 2139 (2014) in its entirety. Although not specifically adopted in the context of the Syrian Arab Republic, resolution 2175 (2014) decried the increasingly common incidences of violence against participants in humanitarian operations, as well as the attacks on humanitarian convoys and destruction and looting of their assets. 131. In resolution 2170 (2014), the Security Council expressed its gravest concern that territory in parts of Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic was under the control of ISIS and AlNusra, placed six individuals affiliated with the groups on its Al-Qaida sanctions list, and threatened measures against those who financed, recruited or supplied weapons to them. It affirmed the need for accountability for perpetrators of violations in Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic. In its resolution 2178 (2014), the Council expanded the counter-terrorism framework by imposing obligations on Member States to respond to the threat of foreign fighters. 132. The failure of the Security Council to reach consensus on accountability, however, has allowed perpetrators to continue to operate with impunity. In May 2014, the Council failed to adopt a draft resolution calling for the referral of the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic to the International Criminal Court. 133. In the light of the manifest failure of the Government to protect its population from gross human rights abuses, the international community, through the United Nations, bears the responsibility of protecting the Syrian population from such crimes. The Commission looks forward to specific action by the United Nations to urgently adopt and implement a common “human rights up front” strategy to ensure that all engagement with the Syrian Arab Republic effectively takes into account and addresses the grave human rights situation. V. Conclusions and recommendations A. Conclusions 134. In the report, the Commission has taken stock of seminal developments in the Syrian Arab Republic over the past four years, highlighting key trends that have characterized the conflict. The situation has degenerated from legitimate popular aspirations into a conflagration of an unparalleled scale and magnitude. 135. Missed humanitarian opportunities have been aggravated by the exponential rise in the perpetration of war crimes, crimes against humanity and human rights violations. The civilian population continues to bear the brunt of the pain and suffering, while the perpetrators are shielded from accountability. The responsibility for this unrelenting tragedy is shared by a variety of national, regional and international actors. 136. From the angle of humanitarian access and protection of civilians, the challenge is to adopt more assertive measures to ensure compliance by integrating human rights into the totality of the United Nations system to protect victims more effectively, with due regard for gender sensibility and the specific needs of children. 137. The current military stalemate is presaged by the Commission’s reminder that there is no military solution to the conflict. An all-inclusive political process towards 20

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents