On the urgent need to protect religious minorities in Syria, following the recent terrorist attack on the Mar Elias church in Damascus

B100344/2025

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on the urgent need to protect religious minorities in Syria, following the recent terrorist attack on the Mar Elias church in Damascus

(2025/2798(RSP))

The European Parliament,

–having regard to its previous resolutions on Syria,

–having regard to the High Representatives and Spokesperson statements of 11 March 2025, 7 May 2025 and 23 June 2025 on Syria,

–having regards to the Council conclusions of 23 and 26 June 2025 on Syria,

–having regard to Rule 150(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.whereas Syria’s religiously and ethnically diverse society suffered over a decade at the hands of the Iran and Russia-bolstered Assad regime and terrorist groups, first among which Daesh, affecting all communities including Sunni Arabs and Kurds, Alawites, Christians, Druzes and Yazidis,

B.whereas the collapse of the Assad regime has ushered in a transformative period of economic, humanitarian, and political reconstruction spearheaded by a transitional government with observable, albeit limited, religious and ethnic representation,

C.whereas in March 2025 a spree of retaliatory violence along the Syrian coast targeted the Alawite community, with over 1200 civilian victims,

D.whereas sectarian clashes in April 2025 killed over 10 Druze civilians; whereas Israel has conducted military incursions in Syria territory under the guise of defending the Druze community;

E.whereas on 22 June 2025 a terrorist attack on the Greek Orthodox Church of Mar Elias in Damascus killed at least 25 and injured over 60 Christians: whereas a newly formed group whose ideological and organisational links to Daesh appear credible although unconfirmed claimed this attack;

1.urges the Syrian authorities to continue facilitating swift, transparent and independent investigations into acts targeting religious and ethnic communities and take all necessary actions to quell sectarian violence, including by prosecuting perpetrators and enablers of human rights violations and removing them from official positions if applicable,

2.reiterates the EU’s engagement and support for a just political transition in Syria, with transitional justice, the fight against impunity, prohibiting arbitrary violence, inclusive governance and a structured dialogue with all religious and ethnic communities as its cornerstones; calls on the EU to set up a Syria Reconstruction Fund, conditional on demonstrable progress on these priorities and in coordination with relevant international institutions, that would promote interfaith dialogue, conflict resolution and reconciliations programs;

3.urges Syrian authorities to improve the safety of worship sites, to support all efforts to monitor and document these attacks, and undertake the restoration of the Mar Elias church; encourages cooperation on outstanding issues such as the restitution of religious property confiscated under the Assad regime,

4.calls on the EU and Member States to increase efforts towards monitoring and countering terrorism in Syria and progress on tackling the situation in the Al-Hol and Roj camps; urges Syrian authorities and international partners, including the US, to sustain full cooperation in this regard; urges Israel and Türkiye to cease all military and hybrid interferences in Syria,

5.condemns the Hungarian government for spreading disinformation on the EU’s reaction to the terrorist attack in the Mar Elias church,

6.instructs its President to forward this resolution to the HR/VP, the EEAS, the Council and Syrian transitional authorities.