A/HRC/RES/41/23
Recalling Security Council resolution 2336 (2016) of 31 December 2016, stressing
the continuing need to respect the de-escalation area of Idlib, acknowledging the signing by
Turkey and the Russian Federation of the memorandum on the stabilization of the situation
in the Idlib de-escalation area on 17 September 2018, and emphasizing the need to establish
an effective and lasting nationwide ceasefire in the Syrian Arab Republic,
Reaffirming that States must ensure that any measure taken to counter terrorism
complies with any relevant rules of international law, in particular international human rights
law and international humanitarian law,
Recalling that, consistent with international humanitarian law and pursuant to relevant
Security Council resolutions, including resolutions 2165 (2014) of 14 July 2014, 2268 (2016)
of 26 February 2016 and 2401 (2018) of 24 February 2018, all parties to the conflict are to
enable the immediate and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance, and stressing that
the arbitrary denial of humanitarian access, depriving civilians of objects and assistance
indispensable to their survival, including wilfully impeding relief supplies, such as food aid
and life-saving medical supplies, may constitute a violation of international humanitarian
law,
Recalling also Security Council resolution 2417 (2018) of 24 May 2018, in which the
Council underlined that using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare may constitute a
war crime,
Recalling further that deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian objects, such as
schools and educational facilities, cultural heritage and places of worship, as well as on
medical facilities, patients and personnel and on humanitarian personnel, may also amount
to war crimes,
Recalling the statements made by the Secretary-General and the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights that crimes against humanity and war crimes are likely to
have been committed in the Syrian Arab Republic,
Reaffirming that the use of chemical weapons constitutes a serious violation of
international law, reiterating that all those responsible for any use of chemical weapons must
be held accountable, regretting that the mandate of the Organisation for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons-United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism was not renewed, and
welcoming that the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has set up the
Investigation and Identification Team pursuant to the decision made at the fourth Special
Session of the Conference of State Parties to identify the perpetrators of the use of chemical
weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic,
Recalling the work of the International Impartial and Independent Mechanism to
Assist in the Investigation and Prosecution of Persons Responsible for the Most Serious
Crimes under International Law Committed in the Syrian Arab Republic since March 2011,
including on instances of the use of chemical weapons,
Bearing in mind that the illicit transfer, destabilizing accumulation and misuse of
small arms and light weapons fuel conflict and affect negatively the enjoyment of human
rights,
Expressing its deepest concern at the findings of the Independent International
Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, 1 and deploring the lack of cooperation
by the Syrian authorities with the Commission of Inquiry,
Acknowledging the ongoing efforts of human rights defenders active in the Syrian
Arab Republic to document violations and abuses of international human rights law and
violations of international humanitarian law, despite grave risks,
1.
Deplores the fact that the conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic continues in its
ninth year with its devastating impact on the civilian population, and urges all parties to the
conflict to abstain immediately from any actions that may contribute to the further
deterioration of the human rights, security and humanitarian situations;
1
2
See A/HRC/40/70.