Summary
The five-member body created by Article VII of the Syrian-Israeli General Armistice Agreement to supervise execution of that Agreement: two members designated by each Party and a Chairman who is the United Nations Chief of Staff of the Truce Supervision Organization or his designated senior officer, headquartered at the Customs House near Jisr Banat Ya’qub and at Mahanayim and first convened within one week of signing (Syrian-Israeli General Armistice Agreement, PDF p.7).
Details
- Decisions are by unanimity to the extent possible, otherwise by majority vote of the members present and voting; where interpretation of a provision other than the Preamble and Articles I and II is at issue, the Commission’s interpretation shall prevail (Article VII, paragraphs 4 and 8, PDF p.7-8).
- The Commission’s Chairman and the United Nations observers attached to the Commission are responsible for ensuring full implementation of Article V on the Demilitarized Zone, and the Chairman is empowered to authorize the return of civilians to villages and settlements in the Zone and the employment of limited numbers of locally recruited civilian police there, and may require or order the destruction of fortification material and permanent fortifications in the Zone under Annex II (Article V, paragraph 5, and Annex II, paragraph 4, PDF p.6, p.11).
- The Commission assumes responsibility for locating missing persons, whether military or civilian, within the areas controlled by each Party, to facilitate their expeditious exchange (Article VI, paragraph 5, PDF p.7).
- Claims and complaints go immediately to the Commission through its Chairman; it reports to both Parties with a copy of each report to the Secretary-General; and its expenses other than United Nations Observers’ are shared equally by the two Parties (Article VII, paragraphs 7, 9 and 11, PDF p.7-8).
Related pages
Syrian-Israeli General Armistice Agreement, Syrian-Israeli General Armistice Agreement (Hill 232, 1949), Syria-Israel Demilitarized Zone (1949), Egypt-Israel Mixed Armistice Commission, Lebanon-Israel Mixed Armistice Commission, Jordan-Israel Mixed Armistice Commission