Security Council resolution 2401 (2018) [on cessation of hostilities to enable humanitarian aid delivery in the Syrian Arab Republic]
Symbol: S/RES/2401 (2018)
Date: 2018-02-24
Status: adopted
Agenda: S/73 [222] SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC SITUATION
S/ X The situation in the Middle East.
Subjects: CEASEFIRES|HUMAN RIGHTS IN ARMED CONFLICTS|HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE|RELIEF CORRIDORS|SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
Votes in favour: 15
Votes against: 0
Abstentions: 0
Voting record:
country: BOLIVIA (PLURINATIONAL STATE OF)
vote: yes
country: CHINA
vote: yes
country: CÔTE D'IVOIRE
vote: yes
country: EQUATORIAL GUINEA
vote: yes
country: ETHIOPIA
vote: yes
country: FRANCE
vote: yes
country: KAZAKHSTAN
vote: yes
country: KUWAIT
vote: yes
country: NETHERLANDS
vote: yes
country: PERU
vote: yes
country: POLAND
vote: yes
country: RUSSIAN FEDERATION
vote: yes
country: SWEDEN
vote: yes
country: UNITED KINGDOM
vote: yes
country: UNITED STATES
vote: yes

               United Nations                                                                     S/RES/2401 (2018)
               Security Council                                                   Distr.: General
                                                                                  24 February 2018




               Resolution 2401 (2018)
               Adopted by the Security Council at its 8188th meeting, on
               24 February 2018

                    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 co mpounding 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,




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                     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 the internally
               displaced persons 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 cease hostilities without delay, and engage
               immediately to ensure full and comprehensive implementation of this demand by all
               parties, for a durable humanitarian pause for at least 30 consecutive days throughout
               Syria, to enable the safe, unimpeded and sustained 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;


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                 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 accordi ng 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 assessme nt;
                 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, a s 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.




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