A/HRC/RES/38/16 fighting on behalf of the Syrian authorities, in particular Hizbullah, and expresses deep concern that their involvement further exacerbates the deteriorating situation in the Syrian Arab Republic, including the human rights and humanitarian situation, which has a serious negative impact on the region; 6. Also strongly condemns the continued use by the Syrian authorities of banned munitions, the indiscriminate use of heavy weapons in populated areas, barrel bombs, aerial bombardment, incendiary weapons, ballistic missiles and cluster bombs, and the use of starvation and besiegement directed against civilian populations as a method of warfare, and stresses the particular situation of concern in this regard in Idlib and other areas where airstrikes continue to cause death and injury among civilians; 7. Further strongly condemns all attacks on medical and health personnel, first responders, their means of transport and equipment, and hospitals and other medical facilities, and deplores the long-term consequences of such attacks for the population and health-care systems of the Syrian Arab Republic; 8. Strongly condemns the attacks against civilian objects, such as schools, as reported by the Commission of Inquiry, and the negative effects of the ongoing conflict on the rights and welfare of children, including their access to schools, medical care, education and humanitarian assistance, decries the violations and abuses of international human rights law and violations of international humanitarian law, as applicable, and deplores, in particular, the impact of the denial of humanitarian access on their lives and well-being; 9. Urges all parties to the conflict to comply with their respective obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and demands that all parties, particularly the Syrian authorities and their allies, refrain from carrying out attacks against the civilian population and civilian objects, such as schools, as well as on medical units, personnel, patients and transport and personnel involved in humanitarian assistance; 10. Expresses its profound concern at the findings of the Commission of Inquiry that sexual and gender-based violence against women, girls, men and boys has been a persistent issue in the Syrian Arab Republic since the uprising in 2011, and that women and girls have been disproportionately affected and victimized on multiple grounds;1 11. Notes the findings of the Commission of Inquiry that such acts of sexual violence were committed most commonly by the Syrian authorities and associated militia, as well as by the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Daesh), that they form part of a widespread and systematic attack directed against a civilian population, amounting to crimes against humanity, and that after February 2012, these acts constitute the war crimes of rape and other forms of sexual violence, including torture and outrages upon personal dignity; 12. Strongly condemns all acts of such violence, calls for immediate medical and psychosocial support to be provided to survivors of such crimes and for every effort to be made to ensure justice for those who have suffered as a result of such crimes, and urges all parties to the conflict to heed the recommendations made by the Commission of Inquiry; 13. Takes note of the recent publication of the Commission of Inquiry, Detention in the Syrian Arab Republic: A Way Forward, in which the Commission highlighted the fact that the arbitrary detention of tens of thousands of individuals, particularly by the Syrian authorities and affiliated militias, represents an urgent and large-scale crisis of human rights protection; 14. Notes the commencement of the functioning of the Working Group on the release of detainees/abductees, the handover of bodies and the identification of missing persons, composed of Turkey, the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as the United Nations, underlines the need for concrete steps forward on this issue, and reiterates that all parties to the conflict must abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law, as applicable; 1 See A/HRC/37/72 and A/HRC/37/CRP.3. 3