UNSC urges parties in Syria to stop fighting

The Security Council late Thursday agreed on "Press Elements" on Syria following briefings by UN humanitarian officials who depicted a grim picture of the situation and urged the 15 Council members to work harder to stop continuous bloodshed. Council President Eugene Richard Gasana of Rwanda told reporters that Council members "reiterated their call for all parties to cease all armed violence in all its forms, and underlined the need for a political process leading to a political transition on the basis of the Geneva Action Group Communiqu{ of 30 June 2012." Expressing the view that the escalating violence in Syria is "completely unacceptable and must end immediately," Council members, including Russia, Syria's closest ally, "condemned the widespread violations of human rights by the Syrian authorities, as well as any human rights abuses by armed groups." Among the violations the members condemned were incidents of sexual violence, and abuses against children, including their recruitment and use in the conduct of hostilities. Stressing the need to ensure that there is "no impunity" for serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law, the Council members urged "all parties," to protect civilians and respect those laws, recalling the "primary responsibility of the Syrian authorities" in this regard. Deploring the obstacles to the provision of humanitarian assistance and underlining the urgent need to remove all such obstacles, including those which are bureaucratic in nature, Council members urged all parties to ensure "safe and unimpeded access for aid organisations" to assist those in need all over Syria. The members called on all parties in Syria, and "in particular the Syrian authorities," to cooperate fully with the UN and its Humanitarian Agencies, and "underlined the need to facilitate the provision of humanitarian assistance through the most effective ways, including where appropriate across borders," as recommended by Under-Secretary-General Valerie Amos in her briefing to the Council earlier in the day. The Council members called on all member states, "as a matter of urgency," to fulfil pledges they made at the International Humanitarian Pledging Conference in Kuwait last January, including to support the UN's Syria Humanitarian Assistance Response Plan and the Syria Regional Response Plan. They finally underlined the destabilising impact of the crisis on Syria's neighbours and emphasised the urgent need for further support to host countries and affected communities.