A/HRC/RES/21/26 Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic and to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, Expressing grave concern at the escalation of violence in the Syrian Arab Republic and at the growing number of refugees and internally displaced persons fleeing the violence, and welcoming the efforts by neighbouring countries to host Syrian refugees, Expressing its deep concern at the failure to implement the six-point plan of the former joint special envoy Kofi Annan, and welcoming the appointment of Lakhdar Brahimi as the new joint special representative of the United Nations and the League of Arab States on the Syrian crisis, Recalling the statements made by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights before the Human Rights Council and the Security Council that crimes against humanity are likely to have been committed in the Syrian Arab Republic, and noting her repeated encouragement 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,1 submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 19/22 and the recommendations contained therein; 2. Regrets the non-cooperation of the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic with the commission of inquiry; 3. Condemns all violence, irrespective of where it comes from, including terrorist acts; 4. Strongly condemns the continued widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms by the Syrian authorities and the Governmentcontrolled militia Shabbiha, such as the use of heavy weapons and force against civilians, massacres, arbitrary executions, extrajudicial killings, the killing and persecution of protestors, human rights defenders and journalists, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, interference with access to medical treatment, torture, sexual violence and ill-treatment, including against children, as well as any human rights abuses by armed opposition groups; 5. Condemns in the strongest terms the massacre of the village of Al-Houla near Homs, where the forces of the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic and members of the Shabbiha were found by the commission of inquiry to be the perpetrators of outrageous and heinous crimes, and stresses the need to hold those responsible to account; 6. Calls upon all parties to put an end to all forms of violence; 7. Also calls upon all parties to respect fully international law applicable to the rights and protection of women and girls, and to take special measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, particularly rape and other forms of sexual abuse, and also calls for the involvement of women at decision-making levels in conflict resolution and peace processes; 8. Urges the Syrian authorities to release immediately all persons arbitrarily detained, to publish a list of all detention facilities, to ensure that conditions of detention comply with applicable international law and to allow immediately access of independent monitors to all detention facilities; 1 2 A/HRC/21/50.