A/HRC/RES/22/24 Syrian Arab Republic for the continued violence and destruction of property, and expressed grave concern over the deteriorating situation, the increasing frequency of killings, which claim the lives of thousands of unarmed civilians, and the perpetration of massacres in towns and villages by the Syrian authorities, Recalling also all meetings of the Group of Friends of the Syrian People, in particular the fourth Ministerial Meeting, held in Marrakech on 12 December 2012, where the participants acknowledged the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic and to the principles of the Charter, Expressing grave concern at the continuing escalation of violence in the Syrian Arab Republic, in particular, the continued, widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights and the continued use of heavy weapons and aerial bombardments by the Syrian authorities against the Syrian population, and the failure of the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic to protect its population, Recalling that the commission of inquiry stated that the issue of accountability for those responsible for international crimes deserves to be raised in a more robust manner to counter the pervasive sense of impunity in the country, Emphasizing the need to hold accountable all those responsible for the violations and abuses committed, Expressing deep concern at the growing number of refugees and internally displaced persons fleeing the violence, and welcoming the efforts by neighbouring countries to host Syrian refugees while acknowledging the socioeconomic consequences of the presence of large-scale refugee populations in these countries, and also welcoming the valuable contribution of other countries in facing this humanitarian challenge, Deploring the further deterioration of the humanitarian situation and the failure to ensure the safe and timely provision of humanitarian assistance to all areas affected by the fighting, Strongly condemning the shelling as well as the shooting by the Syrian armed forces into neighbouring countries, which led to casualties and injuries of the civilians of those countries as well as of Syrian refugees, and underlining that such incidents violated international law and highlighted the grave impact of the crisis in the Syrian Arab Republic on the security of its neighbours and on regional peace and stability, Recalling the statements made by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights before the Human Rights Council and the Security Council, and by the special procedures of the Human Rights Council that crimes against humanity are likely to have been committed in the Syrian Arab Republic, and noting the repeated encouragement by the High Commissioner to the Security Council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court, 1. Welcomes the report of the independent international commission of inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 21/26;1 1 2 A/HRC/22/59.