A/HRC/31/68 140. Theft, pillage, and misappropriation of and acts of vandalism directed against property of great importance to cultural heritage are prohibited under customary international humanitarian law, as well as under the Syrian antiquities law of 26 October 1963. In its resolution 2199 (2015), the Security Council condemned the destruction of cultural heritage in Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic, whether incidental or deliberate. It noted the illegal trade in antiquities and determined that all Member States should take appropriate steps to prevent the trade in Iraqi and Syrian cultural property, including by prohibiting cross-border trade in such items. 141. ISIS has set up markets where fighters and civilian supporters buy Yazidi women and girls, some as young as nine years of age. Female Yazidis are treated like chattel and held in sexual slavery. The presence of de facto slave markets has been documented in cities in Ar Raqqah, Dayr az-Zawr and Aleppo. Smaller markets, as well as a considerable amount of sales to individuals, are organized throughout territory controlled by ISIS. Although forbidden by ISIS and punishable by death, some “owners” earn tens of thousands of dollars by selling women and girls back to their families. 142. Anti-government armed groups, Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS hold hostages for ransom as a way of generating revenue. Some anti-government armed groups levy taxes in areas they control. 143. In government-held areas, a market has developed in the context of arbitrary arrests, detentions and disappearances. Government officials demand bribes from families seeking information about their relatives, and for their release. Officials are also taking bribes to authorize civilian departure from Government-held areas of Dayr az-Zawr city besieged by ISIS. VII. Conclusions and recommendations A. Conclusions 144. The horrors of the war are pervasive and ever-present: the lives of the population are ravaged by the destruction of the country and the devastation of the nation. 145. Since 2011, the situation has degenerated into an extremely complicated conflict, characterized by a proliferation of armed actors, the multiplication of front lines and the absence of any timely remedial action by the international community. The fractured Syrian State is on the brink of collapse. 146. Indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks on the civilian population must be brought to an end. Government forces, anti-government armed groups and terrorist organizations employ sieges and consequent starvation, denial of humanitarian access and other forms of deprivation as instruments of war to force surrender or to extract political concessions. Civilians, who bear the brunt, serve as little more than pawns. Their suffering has been compounded by an absence of civilian protection. 147. Opportunists and criminal elements exploit the plight of others for their own ends. Their conduct includes price gouging and the demanding of bribes. Terrorist organizations fund themselves in part through systematic illegal trade in oil and antiquities and through hostage-taking. Given the opportunity, some anti-government armed groups also participate in the clandestine marketplace. 148. The humanitarian space is shrinking daily. Flagrant violations of human rights and international humanitarian law continue unabated, aggravated by blatant 20