Situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic

The General Assembly,

Guided by the Charter of the United Nations,

Reaffirming the purposes and principles of the Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [1] and relevant international human rights treaties, including the International Covenants on Human Rights [2],

Recalling Human Rights Council resolution S-16/1 of 29 April 2011  [3], and recalling also Council resolution S-17/1 of 23 August 2011 [4], in which the Council decided to dispatch urgently an independent international commission of inquiry to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law since March 2011 in the Syrian Arab Republic, and regretting the lack of cooperation of the Syrian authorities with the commission of inquiry,

Welcoming all efforts made by the League of Arab States to address all aspects of the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic, and the steps undertaken by the League to ensure the implementation of its Plan of Action, including those aimed at ending all human rights violations and all acts of violence,

Expressing concern about the continued lack of commitment by the Syrian authorities to fully and immediately implement the Plan of Action of the League of Arab States of 2 November 2011,

Welcoming the decisions of the League of Arab States of 12 and 16 November 2011 on the developments in respect of the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic,

Expressing deep concern about the ongoing human rights violations and use of violence by the Syrian authorities against their population,

Reaffirming that all States Members of the United Nations should refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State or act in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations,

1. Strongly condemns the continued grave and systematic human rights violations by the Syrian authorities, such as arbitrary executions, excessive use of force and the persecution and killing of protesters and human rights defenders, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, torture and ill treatment of detainees, including children;

2. Calls upon the Syrian authorities to immediately put an end to all human rights violations, to protect their population and to fully comply with their obligations under international human rights law, and calls for an immediate end to all violence in the Syrian Arab Republic;

3. Also calls upon the Syrian authorities to implement the Plan of Action of the League of Arab States in its entirety without further delay;

4. Invites the Secretary-General, in accordance with his functions, to provide support, if requested, to the League of Arab States observer mission in the Syrian Arab Republic, consistent with the League’s decisions of 12 and 16 November 2011;

5. Calls upon the Syrian authorities to comply with Human Rights Council resolutions S-16/13 and S-17/1,4 including by cooperating fully and effectively with the independent international commission of inquiry.

Vote

With (122) . Afghanistan, Albanie, Allemagne, Andorre, Arabie saoudite, Argentine, Australie, Autriche, Azerbaïdjan, Bahamas, Bahreïn, Barbade, Belgique, Belize, Bénin, Bosnie-Herzégovine, Botswana, Brésil, Bulgarie, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodge, Canada, Cap-Vert, Chili, Chypre, Colombie, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatie, Danemark, Égypte, El Salvador, Émirats arabes unis, Espagne, Estonie, États-Unis d’Amérique, Éthiopie, ex-République yougoslave de Macédoine, Finlande, France, Gabon, Géorgie, Grèce, Guatemala, Guinée, Guinée-Bissau, Guyana, Haïti, Honduras, Hongrie, Îles Marshall, Îles Salomon, Indonésie, Irlande, Islande, Israël, Italie, Jamaïque, Japon, Jordanie, Kazakhstan, Kirghizistan, Koweït, Lettonie, Libéria, Libye, Liechtenstein, Lituanie, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Malte, Maroc, Maurice, Mauritanie, Mexique, Micronésie (États fédérés de), Monaco, Mongolie, Monténégro, Nauru, Nigéria, Norvège, Nouvelle-Zélande, Oman, Palaos, Panama, Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée, Paraguay, Pays-Bas, Pérou, Pologne, Portugal, Qatar, République de Corée, République de Moldova, République tchèque, Roumanie, Royaume-Uni de Grande-Bretagne et d’Irlande du Nord, Rwanda, Sainte-Lucie, Saint-Marin, Samoa, Sénégal, Serbie, Sierra Leone, Slovaquie, Slovénie, Soudan, Suède, Suisse, Tchad, Timor-Leste, Togo, Trinité-et-Tobago, Tunisie, Turquie, Ukraine, Uruguay, Vanuatu

Against (13) : Bélarus, Bolivie (État plurinational de), Cuba, Équateur, Iran (République islamique d’), Myanmar, Nicaragua, Ouzbékistan, République arabe syrienne, République populaire démocratique de Corée, Venezuela (République bolivarienne du), Viet Nam, Zimbabwe

Abstentions (41) : Afrique du Sud, Algérie, Angola, Antigua-et-Barbuda, Arménie, Bangladesh, Bhoutan, Brunéi Darussalam, Cameroun, Chine, Comores, Congo, Fédération de Russie, Fidji, Ghana, Grenade, Inde, Kenya, Lesotho, Liban, Malaisie, Mali, Mozambique, Namibie, Népal, Ouganda, Pakistan, Philippines, République démocratique populaire lao, République dominicaine, République-Unie de Tanzanie, Saint-Kitts-et-Nevis, Saint-Vincent-et-les Grenadines, Singapour, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tadjikistan, Thaïlande, Turkménistan, Yémen, Zambie

Reference UN : A/C.3/66/L.57/Rev.1

[1] Resolution 217 A (III).

[2] Resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.

[3] See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-sixth Session, Supplement No. 53 (A/66/53), chap. I.

[4] Ibid.