A/HRC/RES/53/18 2. Demands that the Syrian Arab Republic meet its responsibility to protect its population and to respect and protect the human rights of all persons within its jurisdiction, including persons in detention and their families, in line with the recommendations agreed in the context of the universal periodic review,4 in particular those who are at risk of sexual and gender-based violence, in a manner consistent with the applicable international law obligations of the Syrian Arab Republic, including those that are relevant to women and children, including under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Optional Protocols thereto; 3. Reiterates its deep concern that nearly 7 million refugees have been forced to flee the Syrian Arab Republic and that nearly 7 million people have been displaced within it during the course of the conflict and at reports of demographic and social engineering throughout the country, and calls upon all parties to the conflict to immediately cease activities that could cause further displacement, including any activities that may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity; 4. Expresses grave concern at the significant impact on women and children of the dire humanitarian conditions in all parts of the Syrian Arab Republic, and reaffirms the need for sustainable, safe, rapid and unhindered humanitarian assistance through all modalities, including the extension of cross-border assistance, for which there is no alternative that can match its scope and scale, beyond the six months authorized by the Security Council in its resolution 2672 (2023) of 9 January 2023; 5. Calls upon the Syrian authorities to protect returning refugees and internally displaced persons, in particular women and children, from human rights violations and abuses and to help to create the conditions necessary for the return of refugees, and recalls the finding of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic that the Syrian Arab Republic does not yet offer a safe and stable environment for the safe, voluntary and dignified return of refugees or for the 6.8 million persons displaced inside the country; 6. Notes with great concern that gendered practices, including forced conscription of men, enforced disappearance and arbitrary detention upon return to the Syrian Arab Republic, have resulted in the separation of women from male relatives and the loss of property deeds, including for women returnees, owing to existing gender norms and discriminatory inheritance practices in the Syrian Arab Republic; 7. Demands that the processes for reclaiming property required by authorities throughout the Syrian Arab Republic, predominantly the regime, comply with the principles on housing and property restitution for refugees and displaced persons and are equally accessible, in particular for women; 8. Welcomes the decision taken by the General Assembly to establish, under the auspices of the United Nations, the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic to clarify the fate and whereabouts of all missing persons in the Syrian Arab Republic, provide adequate support to victims, survivors and the families of those missing and ensure the full and meaningful participation and representation of victims, survivors and the families of missing persons in the Syrian Arab Republic in its operationalization and work, including engagement with women’s organizations and other civil society organizations, in a regular and sustained manner; 9. Calls upon all parties to the conflict, first and foremost the Syrian authorities, to release immediately all persons subjected to enforced disappearance in the Syrian Arab Republic and to provide accurate information to the families of those who are missing regarding their fate and whereabouts; 10. Calls upon all parties, predominantly the Syrian regime, to put in place effective administrative procedures to process, and release to relevant parties in a timely manner, civil documentation, including death certificates, and procedures relating to property registration, inheritance and custody in an equally accessible and affordable manner, in 4 A/HRC/50/6. 3