A/HRC/19/2 3. General comments made by other relevant stakeholders 629. The World Federation of Trade Unions expressed its support for the Syrian people and workers in their legitimate demands to achieve political, economic and social reform. The recent approval of a new Constitution by 89 per cent of voters was a sign of the popular support for this path. It was up to the Syrian people to determine their own future, without foreign interference. The Syrian Arab Republic had become the object of a political and media campaign aimed at undermining its national unity. No country had the right to organize, fund and arm terrorist groups in another country. Furthermore, the Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan and the imposition of unilateral economic sanctions violated human rights and needed to be stopped. 630. The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies noted that the Syrian people, for one year, had been struggling for freedom, justice and dignity and, during the same period, had been killed, tortured and imprisoned on a massive scale. The Syrian Arab Republic had refused to end violations of international human rights law, including violent reprisals against peaceful protesters and activists, and to engage in a credible reform process. The number of documented deaths probably exceeded 10,000, with entire cities under military siege. The Security Council had failed to fulfil its obligations. The Cairo Institute called on the Human Rights Council to adopt a resolution demanding international accountability and referring the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic to the International Criminal Court. It also called on the Council to postpone the adoption of the universal periodic review outcome on the Syrian Arab Republic. 631. The International Commission of Jurists had noted the widespread violations of human rights amounting to crimes under international law, including torture, summary executions, arbitrary detention and indiscriminate attacks against the civilian population. Torture and ill-treatment were widespread and systematic. Although the Syrian authorities had lifted the state of emergency in April 2011, they had failed to abolish the State of Emergency Law. The practice of secret and other arbitrary detentions, including in unofficial detention facilities, continued. While the Syrian Arab Republic claimed that it accepted the recommendations calling for investigations and accountability, the authorities had failed to prosecute any State official or law enforcement officer for human rights violations, which might amount to crimes against humanity. The Security Council should refer this situation to the International Criminal Court. The Syrian army continued to fire explosive shells into populated areas, in particular in Homs and Edleb, and subjected whole cities and neighbourhoods to effective siege. Effective measures had to be taken to allow humanitarian access. 632. United Nations Watch joined the urgent demands made in the report on the Syrian Arab Republic to end attacks on peaceful protestors and activists, to bring violators to account, and to end its practice of arbitrarily detaining Syrians for participating in peaceful demonstrations and release all those detained, including prisoners of conscience. It applauded the vigorous work by some delegations, as well as the strong condemnation made by the League of Arab States of the violations by the Syrian Arab Republic, which had been suspended from the Human Rights Council. Further international action was, however, needed. 633. The Union of Arab Jurists regretted the dramatic situation in the Syrian Arab Republic, which highlighted the need for reforms. The adoption of the new Constitution was an important step in this regard. The implementation of reforms should be continued in order to uphold equal rights for all Syrians. Although violence and lack of security had reigned in many provinces, the Syrian Arab Republic was a stable country. Human rights reforms needed to be undertaken, but human rights should not be politicized to facilitate foreign interference. National dialogue was needed, but would only be possible once the violence had ended. Economic sanctions should be ended. 228 GE.13-14768