On the European Parliament recommendation to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union… for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the situation in Syria

to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the situation in Syria

(2023/2052(INI))

The European Parliament,

–having regard to Rule 118 of its Rules of Procedure,

–having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (A90000/2023),

A.whereas the Geneva and Astana processes have failed, given the continued refusal of the Syrian regime to negotiate seriously a political solution with the opposition;

B.whereas since 2011 half a million Syrians have died and 14 million have been displaced due to violent attacks by armed and terrorist groups, but mainly as a result of the fierce repression by the Syrian regime, with the help of its allies, of its own people; whereas this repression has included the repeated use of chemical weapons, incendiary bombs, barrel bombs, missiles and conventional aerial bombardments on civilians; whereas at least 150 000 Syrians are missing in the regime’s concentration-camp system and families have still not been informed of the fate of their loved ones;

C.whereas authoritarian foreign actors, including Russia, the Wagner militia, Hezbollah and Iran, have played a destructive role for the country since 2011, and whereas the Syrian regime does not control the whole of national territory and can remain in power only with the support of these foreign actors;

D.whereas Türkiye is engaging in large-scale armed conduct on Syrian territory on a regular basis;

E.whereas ISIS committed crimes against humanity, including genocide, in the territories temporarily under its control prior to the intervention of the international coalition;

F.whereas the assets of 289 individuals and 70 entities directly involved in the repression of the Syrian people are subject to European sanctions;

G.whereas as a result of Russia’s continued obstruction in the UN Security Council, only one crossing point is ensured for the delivery of international humanitarian aid between Türkiye and the areas not controlled by the regime;

H.whereas several countries in the region have started to normalise their relations with the Syrian regime, which has led to Syria’s reintegration into the Arab League;

I.whereas the EU and its Member States have been the largest donors to the people affected by the conflict since 2011, contributing EUR 30 billion; whereas the European aid pledged at the Brussels Conference in June 2023 amounts to EUR 3.8 billion out of a total of EUR 5.6 billion; whereas the EU and the Member States provided emergency assistance during the earthquake in Syria and on 23 February 2023 the EU decided on a temporary exemption from sanctions on humanitarian grounds to facilitate the delivery of aid to the victims;

J.whereas the Syrian state is not sufficiently addressing the basic needs of the Syrian people, the country’s economic situation is extremely precarious and Syria has turned into a narco-state;

1.Recommends, with regard to their policies vis-à-vis Syria, that the Council, Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy:

Political Process

(a)reaffirm the EU’s support for Syria’s continued democratic aspirations, despite the regime’s total repression since the peaceful protests in 2011, which has been bolstered by decisive military and financial assistance from Iran and Russia to enable Assad and his cronies to retain power;

(b)stress the regime’s personal responsibility for the death of half a million civilians, the destruction of the country, the displacement of the majority of the population, the torture and disappearance of 150 000 people at the hands of the concentration-camp system, the use of chemical weapons against civilians and the systematic destruction of any peaceful opposition;

(c)oppose any normalisation of relations with the Assad regime without any profound and verifiable developments in the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2254 (2015), including the release of political prisoners, informing the families of the victims about the fate of the missing and the cessation of any attacks and obstacles to humanitarian aid;

(d)stress that despite the sovereign decision of some Arab states to readmit Syria to the Arab League, the Syrian regime has not given any indication that it wants to combat narcotrafficking, a problem originating in Syria and which affects the whole region; condemn the stranglehold of the Assad family and its allies, including Hezbollah, on the drug Captagon, which is estimated to be worth USD 57 billion; note that the brother of Bashar Al-Assad commands the army unit responsible for facilitating the drug’s production;

(e)stress that the repression, negligence and corruption on the part of the regime are responsible for the economic situation, not the targeted sanctions from the EU against individuals and entities involved in the repression;

(f)swiftly grant robust, extensive and clear exemptions to trusted international humanitarian organisations; harmonise as far as possible the interpretation by Member States of the Regulation on restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria and apply UN Security Council Resolution 2664 (2022) on humanitarian aid to it;

(g)salute the courage of the demonstrators in the towns of Souweïda and Deraa who have once again been rising up peacefully against the Assad regime since August 2023;

Security

(h)deplore the continued presence on Syrian territory of hundreds of Iranian and Russian bases and militias; express concern about the economic exploitation of the country by predatory foreign powers;

(i)condemn the attacks by Turkish forces and their occupation of Syrian territories in the north; express their deep concern about the persistence of radical Islamist opposition in Idlib province; support the continuation of the international coalition against the Islamic State, which remains active in Syria despite significant defeats;

(j)stress the role of the Syrian Democratic Forces in the fight against Daesh;

(k)urge Member States to continue repatriating their nationals from the Al-Hol and Roj jihadist prison camps and to try them for the crimes they have committed;

(l)step up efforts to counter Russian disinformation about Syria, including disinformation in Arabic;

Fight against impunity

(m)stress that the fight against impunity in Syria is a moral and political imperative for Europe; welcome the judicial progress made by the Franco-German Joint Investigation Team regarding the 11 000 bodies of torture victims identified in the César report, the suspension of Syria from the International Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the progress made in Germany, France and Sweden in bringing Syrian criminals to justice;

(n)urge that information be exchanged automatically between all Member States on war criminals whose asylum applications are rejected under Article 1(F) of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees;

(o)call for the pooling of expertise and interpreters among the judicial and police authorities, and for a public prosecutor to be appointed in each Member State for crimes against humanity; call for European scholarships to be specifically allocated to Syrians seeking legal training;

(p)call on Member States to establish a European fund for victims of crimes against humanity in Syria, by developing a legal framework allowing the transfer to families of the victims funds frozen for being linked to property unlawfully acquired by the Syrian regime;

(q)welcome the adoption of the UN General Assembly resolution of 29 June 2023 establishing an Institution for Missing Persons in Syria, and the continued funding of the International, Independent and Impartial Mechanism to support investigations into the most serious crimes committed in Syria since 2011;

Humanitarian aid and refugees

(r)invite the international community, at the 2024 Brussels Conference, to increase urgently its humanitarian assistance to the 15.3 million Syrians who depend on it on a daily basis; insist on access to clean water, education and long-term budget support tailored to women’s needs; point out that the EU is the biggest contributor in this regard; welcome the continued efforts of Lebanon, Jordan, Türkiye and Iraq to host 6 million refugees while facing difficult economic conditions;

(s)condemn the systematic attempts by the Syrian regime to divert international humanitarian aid and transfer it to militias, and the regime’s manipulation of exchange rates with the aim of seizing the majority of the aid in the territories under its control;

(t)strongly condemn Russia’s countless vetos against delivering aid to the people in the north; denounce once again Russia’s attempts to tarnish the image of white helmets;

(u)recall that Syria cannot be regarded, in whole or in part, as a safe country for the return of its nationals living as refugees in Europe, people who have fled the crimes of the regime and risk torture and enforced disappearance if they return to Syria;

2.Instructs the President of Parliament to forward this recommendation to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and to have it translated and published in Arabic.