The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the situation in Syria.
The resolution was tabled by ECR, S&D, EPP, Greens/EFA and ALDE groups.
Parliament deplores the fact that Russia and China have exercised their veto in the UN Security Council on 4 February 2012 to block the draft resolution on Syria, thus voting against the peaceful transition proposal by the Arab League. This was perceived by the Assad regime as licence to intensify the means of repression on the ground, using heavy weapons and indiscriminate force against unarmed civilians. Parliament reiterates its call on the UNSC members, in particular Russia and China, to uphold their responsibility to ensure that the violent repression of the Syrian people ceases immediately. It continues to support the efforts of the EU and its Member States in this field and call on the VP/HR to do her utmost to secure the adoption of a UNSC resolution, working with both Russia and China.
Noting that Russia continues to sell weapons and other military material to the Syrian regime and has a naval base in Syria, Parliament calls on Russia, the Syrian Government's largest overseas arms supplier, to immediately stop its arms shipments to Syria. It asks the EU to draw up a black list of companies that deliver arms to Syria, and calls on all EU actors to respect fully the European Union code of conduct on arms exports, which is intended to prevent the export of equipment which might be used for internal repression or contribute to regional instability.
Parliament expresses its deepest concern at the gravity of the human rights violations perpetrated by the Syrian authorities, and reiterates its call for President Bashar al-Assad and his regime to step aside immediately. It condemns once again in the strongest terms the brutal repression carried out by the Syrian regime against its population, in particular in the city of Homs, noting the UN estimates that the death toll in Syria has exceeded 5 400 in the course of the 11 month-long uprising and that the UN Children's Fund reports that hundreds of children have been killed and hundreds more arbitrarily arrested and tortured and sexually abused whilst in detention.
With regard to further action on the part of the EU, Parliament calls on the Council to take a joint decision on recalling all ambassadors from Syria and freezing diplomatic contacts with Syrian ambassadors in EU Member States. It urges the VP/HR to reinforce the EU Delegation in Damascus with humanitarian capacity, and to do the same wherever else it is necessary.
Members welcome the EU commitment to continue to press for increased international pressure on the Syrian regime. They support the Foreign Affairs Council's decision of 23 January 2012 extending the list of persons, entities and bodies subject to EU restrictive measures by adding 22 persons responsible for human rights violations and eight entities financially supporting the regime, and they call for further targeted sanctions.
They also welcome the VP/HR's support for the setting up a ‘Friends of the Syrian People’ contact group of countries for democratic change in Syria, including Turkey and members of the Arab League, as well as her announcement that she will be taking part in the first meeting of this contact group in Tunisia on 24 February 2012.
Parliament calls for a peaceful and genuine transition to democracy which meets the legitimate demands of the Syrian people and is based on an inclusive dialogue involving all democratic forces and components of Syrian society with a view to launching a process of deep democratic reform that takes account of the need to ensure national reconciliation and is therefore committed to ensuring respect for the rights of minorities. The EU is asked to support all attempts by the Syrian opposition to unite and establish a clear agenda for a democratic Syria and to step up its political, technical, communication and humanitarian support for the opposition.
Members welcome and encourage the ongoing efforts by the Syrian opposition to unify outside and within the country, to continue to engage with the international community, in particular the Arab League, and to work on a shared vision for the future of Syria and the transition to a democratic system.
Parliament welcomes the strong support shown by Turkey for the Syrian population, including by accepting refugees along the Syrian-Turkish borders and allowing the Syrian opposition to organize. It urges the VP/HR to make every effort to start discussions with Turkey, the Arab League and the Syrian opposition about arrangements for setting up humanitarian corridors at the Syrian-Turkish borders.
Lastly, the resolution notes that the dire situation in Syria is already having a negative impact on the situation in Lebanon, with fears of an imminent spillover across the border, and will consequently affect the whole region, with unpredictable implications and consequences.