On 18 December 2014 the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee passed a resolution on the situation in Syria. The resolution deplores and condemns the continued widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms and all violations of International Humanitarian Law by the Syrian authorities, armed groups and the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Resolution 69/189 also urges parties to take all appropriate steps to protect civilians, including members of ethnic, religious and confessional communities, and stresses that the primary responsibility to protect the Syrian population lies with the Syrian authorities.