EU Council conclusions on Syria

3082nd FOREIGN AFFAIRS Coun­cil meet­ing
Lux­em­bourg, 12 April 2011
The Coun­cil adopt­ed the fol­low­ing con­clu­sions:
“1. The Coun­cil is extreme­ly con­cerned at the sit­u­a­tion in Syr­ia. It deplores the many deaths result­ing from ongo­ing vio­lence, strong­ly con­demns the use of force by the secu­ri­ty forces against peace­ful demon­stra­tors and urges the author­i­ties to exer­cise restraint. The Coun­cil calls for the imme­di­ate release of those arrest­ed in con­nec­tion with the peace­ful demon­stra­tions. The Coun­cil calls on the Syr­i­an author­i­ties to inves­ti­gate the deaths of pro­tes­tors and to bring those respon­si­ble to account through a fair and trans­par­ent process.

2. The Coun­cil calls on the Syr­i­an author­i­ties to respond urgent­ly to the legit­i­mate demands of the Syr­i­an peo­ple includ­ing through the lift­ing of the state of emer­gency. It under­lines the impor­tance of a clear and cred­i­ble pro­gramme of polit­i­cal reform and the announced inten­tion for polit­i­cal reforms must be more ambi­tious and backed by a con­crete timetable for their imple­men­ta­tion. It takes note of the appoint­ment of a new Prime Min­is­ter and looks for­ward to the for­ma­tion of a new gov­ern­ment that should urgent­ly launch the nec­es­sary reforms.

3. The Coun­cil notes the announced for­ma­tion of a num­ber of com­mit­tees to review leg­is­la­tion and expects them to pro­duce sub­stan­tive pro­pos­als towards an inclu­sive, open and rep­re­sen­ta­tive gov­ern­ment. The Syr­i­an author­i­ties must abide by their inter­na­tion­al com­mit­ments with regards to ensur­ing respect for human rights and fun­da­men­tal free­doms includ­ing free­dom of assem­bly, expres­sion and media. The Coun­cil calls on the Syr­i­an author­i­ties to release with­out fur­ther delay all polit­i­cal pris­on­ers and human rights defenders.

4. The Coun­cil will mon­i­tor events close­ly and stands ready to review its poli­cies towards Syr­ia as appro­pri­ate, includ­ing by sup­port­ing, once launched, a gen­uine process of reform.” 

Source:
Coun­cil of the Euro­pean Union 

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