S/2015/1001

United Nations

Security Council

Provisional

21 December 2015
Original: English

Jordan, New Zealand and Spain: draft resolution

The Security Council,

Recalling its resolutions 2042 (2012), 2043 (2012), 2118 (2013), 2139 (2014),
2165 (2014), 2175 (2014), 2191 (2014), 2209 (2015), 2235 (2015) and 2254 (2015),
and its Presidential Statements of 3 August 2011 (S/PRST!2011/16), 21 March 2012

(S/PRST/2012/6), 5 April 2012 (S/PRST/2012/IO), 2 October 2013

(S/PRST/2013/15), 24 April 2015 (S/PRST/2015/10) and 17 August 2015
(S/PRST/2015/15),
Reaffh'ming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and

territorial hltegrity of Syria, and to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the
United Nations,
Expressing outrage at the unacceptable and escalating level of violence and

the killing of over a quarter of a million people, including tens of thousands of child
casualties, as a result of the Syrian conflict,
Gravel),, distressed by the continued deterioration of the devastating
humanitarian situation in Syria and by the fact flaat urgent humanitarian assistance,

including medical assistance, is now required by more than 13.5 million people in
Syria- of whom 6.5 million are internally displaced, 4.5 million are living in hardto-reach areas, including Palestinian refugees, and 393,700 civilians are trapped in
besieged areas,
Gravely concerned at the lack of effective implementation of its resolutions

2139 (2014), 2165 (2014), and 2191 (2014) and recalling in this regard the legal
obligations of all parties under international humanitarian law and international
human rights law, as well as all the relevant decisions of the Security Council,
including by ceasing all attacks against civilians and civilian objects, including
those involving attacks on schools, medical facilities and the deliberate
interruptions of water supply, the indiscriminate use of weapons, including artillery,

barrel bombs and air strikes, indiscriminate shelling by mortars, car bombs, suicide
attacks and tunnel bombs, as well as the use of starvation of civilians as a method of

combat, including by the besiegement of populated areas, and the widespread use of
torture, ill-treatment, arbitrary executions, extrajudicial killings, enforced
disappearances, sexual and gender-based violence, as well as all grave violations
and abuses committed against children,
Expressing its grave concern that areas of Syria are under the control of the

Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as Daesh), and A1 Nusrah

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Front (ANF) and about the negative impact of their presence, violent extremist
ideology and actions on stability in Syria and the region, including the devastating
humanitarian impact on the civilian populations which has led to the displacement
of hundreds of thousands of people, reaffirming its resolve to address all aspects of
the threat posed by ISIL (also known as Daesh), ANF and all other individuals,
groups, undertakings and entities associated with A1-Qaida, and other terrorist
groups, as determined by the United Nations Security Council, and as may further
be agreed by the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) and endorsed by the
UN Security Council, and calling for the full implementation of Security Council

resolutions 2170 (2014), 2178 (2014), 2199 (2015) 2249 (2015) and 2253 (2015),
and noting its Presidential Statements of 28 July 2014 (S/PRST/2014/14),

19 November 2014 (S/PRST/2014/23), and 29 May 2015 (S/PRST/2015/ll),

Expressing grave concern also at the movement of foreign terrorist fighters

and other terrorists and terrorist groups into and out of Syria and reiterating its call
on all States to take steps, consistent with international law, to prevent and suppress

the flow of foreign terrorist fighters to ISIL, ANF and all other individuals, groups,
undertakings and entities associated with IS1L or Al-Qaida, and other terrorist
groups, as determined by the United Nations Security Council, and as may further
be agreed by the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) and endorsed by the
UN Security Council.
Reaj]i'rming the primary responsibility of the Syrian authorities to protect the
population in Syria and, reiterathg that parties to armed conflict must take all
feasible steps to protect civilians, and recalling in this regard its demand that all
parties to armed conflict comply fully with the obligations applicable to them under
international law related to the protection of civilians in armed conflict, including
journalists, media professionals and associated personnel

Strongly condemning the arbitrary detention and torture of individuals in

Syria, notably in prisons and detention facilities, as well as the kidnappings,
abductions, hostage taking and forced disappearances, and demanding the
immediate end of these practices and the release of all arbitrarily detained persons
starting with women and children, as well as sick, wounded and elderly people
including United Nations and humanitarian personnel and journalists,
Recalling its strong condemnation in resolution 2175 (2014) of all forms of
violence and intimidation to which those participating in humanitarian operations
are increasingly exposed, as well as attacks on humanitarian convoys and acts of

destruction and looting of their assets, and its urging of all parties involved in an
armed conflict to promote the safety, security and freedom of movement of
humanitarian personnel, including medical personnel and humanitarian personnel

exclusively engaged in medical duties, and United Nations and its associated
personnel and their assets, expressing its admiration at the dedication and
commitment of the Syrian Red Crescent volunteers, and other humanitarian workers

operating in deeply challenging conditions, and urging all parties to take all
appropriate steps to ensure the safety and security of United Nations and associated
personnel, those of its specialized agencies, and all other personnel engaged in
humanitarian relief activities,

Noting that, despite all the challenges, since the adoption of resolution 2165
(2014), the United Nations and their implementing partners continue to deliver lifesaving assistance to millions of people in need in Syria through humanitarian aid

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delivered across borders, including the delivery of food assistance for over

2.4 million people; non-food items for 1.6 million people; medical supplies for
4.1 million treatments, and water and sanitation supplies for over 1.3 million
people,

Deeply disturbed by the decline in the number of people reached with

humanitarian assistance in hard-to-reach and besieged areas, and expressing grave

alarm at the dire situation of the 393,700 civilians trapped in besieged areas in the
Syrian Arab Republic, and noting in this regard that in 2015, the United Nations has
only been able to reach 3.5 percent of people in besieged areas with health
assistance and 0.7 percent of people with food assistance per month,
Expressing grave concern at all instances of hindrances to the effective

delivery of humanitarian assistance, noting that ISIL (also l<nown as Daesh), ANF
and all other individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with
A1-Qaida, are hindering the effective delivery of humanitarian assistance, including
to nearly half of the people in hard-to-reach areas and over half of the people hi

besieged areas, and are responsible for preventing aid delivery through deliberate
interference and obstruction,
Expressing further grave concern at the continuing and growing impediments

to the delivery of humanitarian assistance across conflict lines, including through a

decline in convoy approvals by the Syrian authorities, and noting in this regard that
as of 31 October, only 27 out of the 91 inter-agency requests made in 2015 by the
United Nations had been approved in principle by the Syrian authorities, and that
between 2013 and 2015, the percentage of inter-agency convoys approved in

principle declined from 65 percent to 29 percent,

Expressing grave concern that access to medical care continues to be severely

restricted, and reiterating the need to respect the principle of medical neutrality,
facilitate fi'ee passage to all areas for medical personnel, equipment, transport and

supplies, including surgical items,

Reqffirming the need to support the Untied Nations and their implementing
partners in their efforts to expand the delivery of humanitarian assistance to reach

all people in need in Syria, and further reaffirming its decision in resolution 2165
(2014) that all Syrian parties to the conflict shall enable the immediate and
unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance directly to people throughout Syria,
by the United Nations and their implementing partners, on the basis of United
Nations assessments of need and devoid of any political prejudices and aims,
including by immediately removing all impediments to the provision of
humanitarian assistance,

Expressing its interest in receiving more detailed information from the

UN Secretary General on the delivery of humanitarian assistance by the United
Nations and their implementing partners, in accordance with UNSC Resolution
2165,
Expressing its appreciation for the work of the United Nations monitoring
mechanism in monitoring shipments and confirming their humanitarian nature, in

accordance with resolutions 2165 (2014) and 2191 (2014), and commending the
mechanism's efforts in facilitating cross-border delivery of humanitarian aid by the
United Nations and their implementing partners, and encouraging the United
Nations and their implementing partners to continue to take steps to scale up

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humanitarian deliveries into hard-to-reach and besieged areas, including by using,

as effectively as possible, border crossings under resolution 2165 (2014),

Recalling the need for all parties to respect the relevant provisions of
international humanitarian law and the United Nations guiding principles of
humanitarian emergency assistance, and emphasising the importance of upholding
the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence in the
provision of humanitarian assistance, and recalling also the importance of

humanitarian deliveries reaching their intended beneficiaries,

Noting the role that ceasefire agreements which are consistent with

humanitarian principles and international humanitarian law can play in facilitating

the delivery of humanitarian assistance in order to help save civilian lives, and
welcoming in this regard recent progress on ceasefire agreements in Syria that have

benefited the humanitarian situation,

Expressitg grave concern at the more than 4.2 million refugees, including
more than 3.2 million women and children, who have fled Syria as a result of

ongoing violence, and recognizing that the continued deterioration of the

humanitarian situation in Syria is further contributing to the movement of refugees
and poses risks to regional stability,
Reiterating its deep appreciation for the significant and admirable efforts that
have been made by the countries of the region, notably Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey,

Iraq and Egypt, to accommodate Syrian refugees, including the approximately

1.8 million refugees who have fled Syria since the adoption of resolution 2139
(2014), and mindful of the immense costs and social challenges incurred by these
countries as a consequence of the crisis,
Noting with concern that the international response to the Syrian and regional
crisis continues to fall short of meeting the needs as assessed by host governments

and the United Nations, therefore urging once again all Member States, based on
burden-sharing principles, to support the' United Nations and the countries of the
region, including by adopting medium and long-term responses to alleviate the
impact on communities, providing increased, flexible and predictable funding as
well as increasing resettlement efforts, and taking note in this regard of the Berlin
Communiqu of 28 October 2014, and welcoming the announcement of the Syria
Donors Conference in London, which will be generously hosted by the United
Kingdom, Germany, Norway, Kuwait and the United Nations in early February
2016,
Noting with grave concern that impunity in Syria contributes to widespread
violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian
law, stressing the need to end impunity for these violations and abuses, and

re-emphasizing in this regard the need that those who have committed or are
otherwise responsible for such violations and abuses in Syria must be brought to
justice,
Emphasizing that the humanitarian situation will continue to deteriorate
further in the absence of a political solution to the crisis,
Determining that the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Syria continues to
constitute a threat to peace and security in the region,

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Underscoring that Member States are obligated under Article 25 of the Charter
of the United Nations to accept and carry out the Council's decisions,
1.

Demands' that all parties, in particular the Syrian authorities, immediately

comply with their obligations under international law, including international

humanitarian law and international human rights law as applicable, and further
demands the full and immediate implementation of all the provisions of Security
Council resolutions 2139 (2014), 2165(2014), and 2191 (20!4), and noting the
Presidential Statements of 2 October 2013 (S/PRST/20!3/15), 24 April 2015

(S/PRST/2015/10) and 17 August 2015 (S/PRST/2015/15) and recalls that some of

the violations and abuses committed in Syria may amount to war crimes and crimes

against humanity;
2.

Decides to renew the decisions in paragraphs two and three of Security

Council resolution 2165 (2014) for a further period of twelve months, that is, until
10 January 2017;
3. Requests the Syrian authorities to expeditiously respond to all requests
for cross-line deliveries submitted by the United Nations and their implementing
partners, and to give such requests positive consideration;
4.

Reiterates that the situation will continue to deteriorate further in the

absence of a political solution to the Syrian conflict and emphasises the need to
fully implement the Geneva Communiqu6 of 30 June 2012 endorsed as annex II of
its resolution 2118 (2013), the Joint Statement on the outcome of the multilateral
talks on Syria in Vienna of 30 October 2015 and the Statement of the International
Syria Support Group (ISSG) of 14 November 2015;
5. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Council on the
implementation of this resolution, and on compliance by all relevant parties in

Syria, within the framework of its reporting on resolutions 2139 (2014), 2165
(2014) and 2191 (2014), and further requests the Secretary-General to include in his
reports overall trends in humanitarian access;
6. Reaf./)'rms that it will take further measures under the Charter of the
United Nations in the event of non-compliance with this resolution or resolutions

2139 (2014), 2165 (2014) and 2191 (2014);

7.

Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

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