UNSMIS Mandate
Under the terms of resolution 2043 of 21 April 2012, the Security Council established a United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS), for an initial period of 90 days, under the command of a Chief Military Observer, comprising an initial deployment of up to 300 unarmed military observers as well as an appropriate civilian component to fulfil the following mandate:
- To monitor a cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties;
- To monitor and support the full implementation of the Envoy’s six-point plan
.
The Council called on the Syrian government to ensure the effective operation of UNSMIS by: facilitating the expeditious and unhindered deployment of its personnel and capabilities; ensuring its full, unimpeded, and immediate freedom of movement and access as necessary to fulfil its mandate; allowing its unobstructed communications; and allowing it to freely and privately communicate with individuals throughout Syria without retaliation against any person as a result of interaction with UNSMIS.
The Council also decided that the Mission shall be deployed expeditiously subject to assessment by the Secretary-General of relevant developments on the ground, including the consolidation of the cessation of violence.
Full text of Security Council resolution 2043 .
On 15 June 2012, UNSMIS suspended its activities owing to an intensification of armed violence across the country. This suspension was to be reviewed on a daily basis.
On 20 July 2012, the Security Council extended UNSMIS for a final period of 30 days. According to resolution 2059, the Council would only consider further extensions to the mission ‘’in the event that the Secretary-General reports and the Security Council confirms the cessation of the use of heavy weapons and a reduction in the level of violence sufficient by all sides'' to allow UNSMIS to implement its mandate.
As the conditions set by the Council had not been met, UNSMIS mandate ended at midnight on 19 August 2012.