In the Syrian situation, where each party to the conflict is increasingly accusing the other of human rights violations and using these accusations as justification for further violence, an independent observer force such as UNSMIS is crucial for diffusing tension and countering the dissemination of false information. The potential of UNSMIS's role in this context was seen in the aftermath of the massacre in Al-Houla, when UNSMIS's observations served as a credible source of information for the international community, bypassing contradictory reports and escalating accusations from either party of the conflict.

UN Chief Military Observer in Syria Major-General Robert Mood last week stated that he believed Syrian authorities were committed to implementing the peace agreement [JURIST report] that was reached earlier this month. Mood, who works with the UNSMIS, confirmed that the UN would continue to provide humanitarian support as the violence subsides, even if the UNSMIS mission is not renewed. In June, the UNSMIS concluded [JURIST report] in a report that Syrian forces "may have been responsible" for the killing of more than 100 civilians [JURIST report] in Al-Houla in May. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, however, said earlier this month that the government had nothing to do with it [JURIST report] and that "not even monsters" would carry out those attacks. In April the UN Security Council approved a resolution [JURIST report] to send 300 unarmed soldiers and other humanitarian aid to supervise the implementation of a peace plan. This came after Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report [JURIST report] stating that Syrian security forces had killed more than 100 civilians and opposition fighters in recent attacks. In March, HRW also reported on and linked to videos of Syrian forces rounding up civilians [JURIST report], including women and children, and forcing them to walk in front of soldiers and tanks during troop movements and attacks so that opposition fighters would not shoot at them.