A/HRC/19/80 human rights and the peaceful transition of power through elections, would be put to a referendum in a few weeks. It reported that legislative elections would follow in the summer. The Government also stated that additional steps had been taken, including the adoption of a local election law in early 2011, which was followed by the election of the local council in a democratic and transparent fashion. 15. With regard to paragraph 7 of the resolution, in which the Human Rights Council urged the Syrian authorities to take immediate steps to ensure the safety of foreign nationals in the Syrian Arab Republic, in particular of diplomatic staff, as well as the protection of their property, the Government reaffirmed its commitment to its obligations in that regard. It added that it was unfortunate that some of the embassies had been subject to attacks by angry citizens in disagreement with the position of these countries towards the Syrian Arab Republic. Nonetheless, the authorities had taken immediate steps to stop these attacks and to prevent any further ones on foreign embassies. In the note verbale of 10 February 2012, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs made its apologies for what had happened and stated that it had formed a committee that was collaborating closely with the concerned embassies to assess damage and offer compensation. 16. With regard to paragraph 9, in which the Human Rights Council called upon the Syrian authorities to cooperate fully with OHCHR, including through the establishment of a field presence in the Syrian Arab Republic, the Government stated that it was ready to cooperate with various human rights mechanisms within the parameters of their mandates, the State’s international obligations and respect for Syrian sovereignty. The Government also stated that it had demonstrated its readiness to cooperate by sharing information and material with OHCHR, in the hope that OHCHR could grasp the reality of the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic. 17. With regard to paragraph 13 of the resolution, in which the Human Rights Council called upon the Syrian authorities to implement the Plan of Action of the League of Arab States in its entirety, without further delay, and urged the Syrian Arab Republic to sign a draft protocol on the mission of the League’s observers to the Syrian Arab Republic, the Government stated that it had cooperated with the League to the fullest extent possible, including the work plan that had been agreed upon in Doha by the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic and the follow-up committee of the League. Moreover, it had signed the League’s protocol in December 2011, after which the observer mission started its work. The Government had facilitated the work of the observer mission, which itself had acknowledged this cooperation. Specifically, the observer mission noted in paragraph 73 of its report the “responsiveness of the Government to ensure the success of the mission and to remove obstacles that the mission might face. The Government side has facilitated the proceedings of meetings and interviews with any party, and has not imposed any restrictions on the movements of the mission or on its meetings with the Syrian citizens, either from the opposition or from supporters.” The Government added that it had accepted to extend the work of the observers for a month, until 24 February 2012; the League decided, however, to suspend the work of the mission. 18. With regard to paragraph 15 of the resolution, in which the Human Rights Council urged the Syrian Arab Republic to cooperate with all relevant thematic special procedures mandate holders, including by allowing country visits, the Government reaffirmed its commitment to work with the special procedures mandate holders and had continued to provide them with necessary information. The Government regretted the fact that the mandate holders had issued predetermined positions against the Government and had joined the unfair campaign of propaganda against the Syrian Arab Republic led by armed groups and unfriendly countries. 6