3241st FOREIG AFFAIRS Council meeting
Brussels, 27 May 2013
The Council adopted the following conclusions:
"1 . The EU is appalled by the escalating violence and the continued widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights in Syria, reiterates its condemnation of the atrocities committed by the Syrian regime, which according to the report of the Independent Commission of Inquiry amount to crimes against humanity, and calls for the end of all violence. The EU is seriously concerned with the ongoing military operations conducted by the regime and its supporters in the city of Qusayr. The EU condemns the recent massacres committed by the Syrian armed forces and its militias in Bayda and Baniyas that claimed the lives of more than 140 people, including women and children.
The EU is deeply concerned with the rise of religiously or ethnically motivated violence. The EU calls for the immediate release of the two recently kidnapped orthodox bishops.
The EU deplores serious abuses, including war crimes that are being committed by antiGovernment armed groups documented in the report of the Commission of Inquiry, although such abuses do not reach the intensity and scale of those committed by the regime forces and affiliated militias. The EU calls on all sides to fully respect the freedom of movement and physical integrity of all UNDOF and UNTSO personnel. In this regard the EU condemns all instances of hostage taking of peacekeepers.
2 . The EU reiterates the urgent need for a political solution of the conflict and welcomes the joint US-Russian call for a peace conference on Syria to promote a political process based on the principles included in the Geneva communiqué of 30 June 2012. The EU will spare no effort in helping to create the appropriate conditions for a successful convening of this conference. The EU calls on both sides of the conflict to respond positively to this call and to engage openly in a genuine Syrian-led process of negotiations, aiming at a democratic and peaceful political solution on the basis of the Geneva communiqué of 30 June 2012, which foresees inter alia the establishment, on the basis of mutual consent, of a transitional governing body, which would exercise full executive powers. The EU will continue to work with all interested parties, specifically with the UN, the League of Arab States, the Joint Special Representative Brahimi, and all those sincerely committed to the success of this initiative.