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Human Rights Council Special Session on the Siuation in Syria
29 April 2011
The Human Rights Council held a special session and adopted a resolution on the human rights situation in the Syrian Arab Republic on April 29, 2011
The resolution was adopted with 26 votes in favour, 9 votes against and 7 abstentions.
- Votes in Favour (26): Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, France, Ghana, Guatemala, Hungary, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Senegal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay and Zambia.
- Votes Against (9): Bangladesh, China, Cuba, Ecuador, Gabon, Malaysia, Mauritania, Pakistan and Russian Federation.
- Abstentions (7): Cameroon, Djibouti, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Uganda and Ukraine.
- Absent Countries (4): Angola, Bahrain, Jordan and Qatar.
The resolution calls on the government of Syria to, among other things, put an end to all human rights violations, protect its population, fully respect all human rights and fundamental freedoms, allow access to the internet and telecommunications networks, and lift censorship on reporting. The resolution also urges the Government to release all prisoners of conscience and arbitrarily detained persons, refrain from reprisals against people who participated in peaceful demonstrations, launch a credible and impartial investigation into human rights violations and prosecute those responsible for attacks on peaceful protesters, and to enlarge the scope of political participation aimed at ensuring civil liberties and enhancing social justice.
Moreover, the resolution requests the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights to urgently dispatch a mission to the Syrian Arab Republic to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law, with a view to avoiding impunity and ensuring full accountability, and to provide a preliminary report and oral update on the situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic to the 17th session of the Human Rights Council.
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