The
Security Council,
Recalling its
resolutions 2042
(2012), 2043
(2012), 2118
(2013), 2139
(2014), 2165
(2014), 2175
(2014), 2191
(2014), 2209
(2015), 2235
(2015), 2249
(2015), 2254
(2015), 2258
(2015), 2268
(2016), 2286
(2016), 2332
(2016), 2336
(2016) and 2393
(2017),
and its Presidential Statements of 3 August 2011 (S/PRST/2011/16),
21 March 2012 (S/PRST/2012/6),
5 April 2012 (S/PRST/2012/10),
2 October 2013 (S/PRST/2013/15),
24 April 2015 (S/PRST/2015/10)
and 17 August 2015 (S/PRST/2015/15),
Reaffirming its
strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and
territorial integrity of Syria, and to the purposes and principles of
the Charter of the United Nations,
Reiterating
its grave distress at
the continued severity of the devastating humanitarian situation in
Syria, including in Eastern Ghouta, Idlib Governorate, Northern Hama
Governorate, Rukhban and Raqqa, and at the fact that urgent
humanitarian assistance, including medical assistance, is now
required by more than 13.1 million people in Syria, of whom 6.1
million are internally displaced, 2.5 million are living in
hard-to-reach areas, including Palestinian refugees, and hundreds of
thousands of civilians are trapped in besieged areas,
Expressing
outrage at
the unacceptable levels of violence escalating in several parts of
the country, in particular in Idlib Governorate and Eastern Ghouta
but also Damascus City, including shelling on diplomatic premises,
and at attacks against civilians, civilian objects and medical
facilities, further compounding suffering and displacing large
numbers of people, recalling in
this regard the legal obligations of all parties under international
humanitarian law and international human rights law, as well as all
relevant decisions of the Security Council, especially to cease all
attacks against civilians and civilian objects, including those
involving attacks on schools and medical facilities,
Expressing
concern for
those returning to areas, including those retaken from the Islamic
State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as Da’esh), that are
contaminated by explosive remnants of war and need resilience and
stabilization support and expressing disturbance at
the humanitarian situation in Raqqa,
Reiterating
its deep disturbance at
the lack of United Nations humanitarian access to besieged
populations in recent months, expressing grave
alarm at the dire situation of the hundreds of thousands of civilians
trapped in besieged areas in the Syrian Arab Republic, especially in
Eastern Ghouta, Yarmouk, Foua and Kefraya, and reaffirming that
sieges directed against civilian populations in Syria are a violation
of international humanitarian law, and calling for
the immediate lifting of all sieges,
Expressing
its disturbance at
the humanitarian situation for those stranded in Rukhban
and stressing in
this regard the need to ensure humanitarian access to Rukhban from
inside Syria and the need for a sustainable solution,
Noting the
ongoing work on de-escalation areas to reduce violence as a step
towards a comprehensive nation-wide ceasefire, emphasizing the
need for all parties to respect their commitments to existing
ceasefire agreements, and that humanitarian access must be granted as
part of these efforts in accordance with international humanitarian
law,
Reaffirming that
Member States must ensure that any measures taken to combat terrorism
comply with all their obligations under international law, in
particular international human rights, refugee and humanitarian law,
Emphasizing that
the humanitarian situation will continue to deteriorate further in
the absence of a political solution to the Syrian conflict in line
with resolution 2254
(2015), calling
upon all
parties to make progress in this regard and to undertake
confidence-building measures, including the early release of any
arbitrarily detained persons, particularly women and children,
Expressing
outrage at
the insufficient implementation of its resolutions 2139
(2014), 2165
(2014), 2191
(2014), 2258
(2015), 2268
(2016), 2332
(2016) and 2393
(2017),
Determining that
the devastating humanitarian situation in Syria continues to
constitute a threat to peace and security in the region,
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 immediately cease hostilities for an initial period of 30
consecutive days throughout Syria to enable the delivery of
humanitarian aid and services and medical evacuations of the
critically sick and wounded, in accordance with applicable
international law;
2. Affirms that
the cessation of hostilities shall not apply to military operations
against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as
Da’esh), Al Qaeda and Al Nusra Front (ANF), and all other
individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with Al
Qaeda or ISIL, and other terrorist groups, as designated by the
Security Council;
3. Calls
upon all
parties to respect and fulfil their commitments to existing ceasefire
agreements, including
the full implementation of resolution 2268, furthermore calls
upon all
Member States to use their influence with the parties to ensure
implementation of the cessation of hostilities, the fulfilment of
existing commitments and to support efforts to create conditions for
a durable and lasting ceasefire and stresses the
need for relevant guarantees from those Member States;
4. Calls
upon all
relevant Member States to coordinate efforts to monitor the cessation
of hostilities, building on existing arrangements;
5. Further
demands that,
immediately after the start of the cessation of hostilities, all
parties shall allow safe, unimpeded and sustained access each week
for United Nations’ and their implementing partners’ humanitarian
convoys, including medical and surgical supplies, to all requested
areas and populations according to United Nations’ assessment of
need in all parts of Syria, in particular to those 5.6 million
people in 1,244 communities in acute need, including the 2.9 million
people in hard-to-reach and besieged locations, subject to standard
UN security assessment;
6. Demands moreover that,
immediately after the start of the cessation of hostilities, all
parties shall allow the United Nations and its implementing partners
to undertake safe, unconditional medical evacuations, based on
medical need and urgency, subject to standard UN security assessment;
7. Reiterates
its demand,
reminding in particular the Syrian authorities, that all parties
immediately comply with their obligations under international law,
including international human rights law, as applicable, and
international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians
as well as to ensure the respect and protection of all medical
personnel and humanitarian personnel exclusively engaged in medical
duties, their means of transport and equipment, as well as hospitals
and other medical facilities, and to fully and immediately implement
all provisions of all relevant Security Council resolutions;
8. Demands that
all parties facilitate safe and unimpeded passage for medical
personnel and humanitarian personnel exclusively engaged in medical
duties, their equipment, transport and supplies, including surgical
items, to all people in need, consistent with international
humanitarian law and reiterates
its demand that
all parties demilitarize medical facilities, schools and other
civilian facilities and avoid establishing military positions in
populated areas and desist from attacks directed against civilian
objects;
9. Takes
note with
appreciation of the five requests identified by the Emergency Relief
Coordinator on 11 January 2018 during his mission to Syria,
and calls upon
all parties to facilitate the implementation of these five requests
and others to ensure principled, sustained and improved humanitarian
assistance to Syria in 2018;
10. Calls
upon all
parties to immediately lift the sieges of populated areas, including
in Eastern Ghouta, Yarmouk, Foua and Kefraya, and demands that
all parties allow the delivery of humanitarian assistance, including
medical assistance, cease depriving civilians of food and medicine
indispensable to their survival, and enable the rapid, safe and
unhindered evacuation of all civilians who wish to leave,
and underscores the
need for the parties to agree on humanitarian pauses, days of
tranquillity, localized ceasefires and truces to allow humanitarian
agencies safe and unhindered access to all affected areas in Syria,
recalling that starvation of civilians as a method of combat is
prohibited by international humanitarian law;
11. Calls
for humanitarian
mine action to be accelerated as a matter of urgency throughout
Syria;
12. 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 15 days of adoption of this resolution and thereafter within
the framework of its reporting on resolutions 2139
(2014), 2165
(2014), 2191
(2014), 2258
(2015), 2332
(2016) and 2393
(2017);
13. Decides to
remain actively seized of the matter.
