Summary
The report is submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 70/234, in which the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to report, within 45 days, on the implementation of the resolution by the Syrian authorities. In the resolution, the Assembly demanded that all parties should immediately put an end to violations and abuses of international human rights law and violations of international humanitarian law. The report covers the period from 1 November 2015 to 1 February 2016, and provides an update on respect for international human rights law and international humanitarian law in the Syrian Arab Republic.
I. Introduction
1. The present report is submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 70/234, in which the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to report, within 45 days, on the implementation of the resolution by the Syrian authorities. In the resolution, the Assembly demanded that all parties should immediately put an end to all violations and abuses of international human rights law and violations of international humanitarian law.
2. The report provides an update on respect for international human rights law and international humanitarian law in the Syrian Arab Republic. It should be read in conjunction with the reports of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic.
3. The report is based on information available to United Nations entities on the ground and in the region, from the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic and from open sources. It covers the period from 1 November 2015 to 1 February 2016.
II. International legal obligations
4. The Syrian Arab Republic is party to several international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The Syrian authorities are therefore bound to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights contained in those treaties.
5. All parties to the armed conflict are bound by the relevant provisions of international humanitarian law.
