A/HRC/21/32 11. During the reporting period, OHCHR received 56 additional notes verbales from the Permanent Mission of the Syrian Arab Republic. Some were addressed to relevant special procedures mandate holders of the Human Rights Council, to treaty bodies and to the international independent commission of inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic. Some of the notes verbales included statistics on casualty figures among citizens. others related to allegations of kidnappings, sabotage and looting of, and attacks on, private and public property, which the Government attributed to “terrorist armed groups”, as well as information on the number of explosives either defused by Government forces or exploded. Several notes verbales included information on official investigations into incidents of mass killings at Al-Houla and Al Qubeir, committed in May and June 2012, respectively. The present report includes a summary of the notes verbales specifically addressed to OHCHR and containing information relevant to the implementation of Human Rights Council resolution 19/22. 12. In its note verbale dated 16 July 2012, the Government reiterated that it continued to reject Human Rights Council resolution 19/22 on the grounds that it was political and went beyond the mandate of the Council to protect and promote human rights. The Government reiterated its committement to all human rights mechanisms that were not “politicized”. It stated that resolution 19/22 failed to recognize the considerable efforts made by the Government to meet its commitments and international obligations towards its population, as well as towards political and governance reform. In the same note verbale, the Government provided information on human rights violations reportedly perpetrated by what it called “terrorist armed groups”. Information on alleged violations committed by Government forces or pro-Government militias was not provided.. 13. The Government reiterated that armed groups continued to conduct criminal and terrorist acts against Syrian citizens while sabotaging public and private property. According to the Government, these groups received large quantities of weapons from some Member States, and manufactured others. The Government reported that it had discovered a large number of explosives and missiles in several warehouses and farms. It added that similar explosives were planted in crowded places, or targeted Government forces as well as citizens refusing to join or support “terrorist armed groups”. 14. The Government stated that, while Council resolution 19/22 attributed violations against children to the Syrian authorities, it disregarded violations committed by “terrorist armed groups” through killings, kidnappings and using children as human shields. According to the Government, these groups exploited children for political gain and for media purposes, inter alia, by filming children in emotional yet staged scenes attributing violations to Government forces. The Government reported that “armed terrorist groups” had prevented children from attending schools and attacked, set on fire and used schools as a base for terrorist acts and as detention facilities for torture and executions. In this context, the Government reiterated that it was aware of its responsibilities and obligations towards its population, in particular children, and that it had sought to raise awareness among parents on issues relating to child protection and the risks that they might face as a result of the acts of “armed terrorist groups”. 15. In the Government’s opinion, the fact that the Human Rights Council did not condemn the acts of “terrorist armed groups” in resolution 19/22 gave the green light to these groups to continue their brutal practices and human rights violations. According to the Government, the Council had failed to address funding, arming, training and harbouring by Member States of these “terrorist armed groups”. 16. The Government reiterated its position that Human Rights Council resolution 19/22 had failed to address the issue of sanctions and their negative impact on the Syrian people and on the already dire humanitarian situation in the country. According to the Government, the Syrian Arab Republic had been “subjected to more than 60 packages of 6