UNDOF (Golan)
Expected Council Action
In June, the Security Council is expected to vote on a draft resolution renewing the mandate of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), which expires on 30 June. In mid-June, an official from the Department of Peace Operations (DPO) is expected to brief Council members in closed consultations on the Secretary-General’s latest 90-day report on UNDOF, due on 2 June, and the most recent developments.
Background and Key Recent Developments
UNDOF was established following the conclusion of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement (the 1974 agreement) between Israel and Syria, which ended the Yom Kippur War. Its mandate is to maintain the ceasefire between the parties and supervise the disengagement of Israeli and Syrian forces, as well as the areas of separation (a demilitarised buffer zone) and limitation (where Israeli and Syrian troops and equipment are restricted) in the Golan.
Israel continues to maintain a presence in the area of separation—which it expanded into following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024—and from where it also routinely conducts incursions across the ceasefire line, in violation of the 1974 agreement.
Israel has cited national security concerns as the basis for its continued violations and has said that it will occupy the buffer zone indefinitely to ensure the demilitarisation of the zone and mitigation of threats from southern Syria. Since July 2025, Israel has said that some of its operations have been aimed at protecting the Druze community in Syria’s southern Suweida governorate from intercommunal violence.
Under its interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria has repeatedly reaffirmed its commitment to the 1974 agreement, and despite strongly condemning Israeli attacks, it has not retaliated militarily. Sharaa has sharply criticised Israeli actions, warning that such demands could lead to “a dangerous place”, and he has called for Israel to withdraw its forces and respect the 1974 agreement. During the Council’s 15 May meeting on Syria, the country’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Ibrahim Olabi, said that Israeli actions pose “the biggest hurdle in front of achieving stability in Syria”.
Since Sharaa took power, the US has adopted a policy of supporting Syria’s progress towards stability and peace with its neighbours, including with Israel. On 6 January, Israel, Syria, and the US held discussions in Paris, following which they issued a joint statement affirming a commitment to achieving mutual security. The statement said that Israel and Syria agreed to establish a joint communication mechanism, which would be supervised by the US, to facilitate coordination on intelligence, military de-escalation, diplomacy, and commercial opportunities between the two sides. On 14 February, Syrian interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani reportedly clarified that the discussions were focused on Israel’s withdrawal from Syrian territory occupied since December 2024 and excluded the issue of control over the Golan, which has existed since the 1973 war. The Golan remains occupied territory under international law.
The Secretary-General’s most recent report on UNDOF’s activities, dated 10 March and covering the period from 16 November 2025 to 13 February, reported continued violations of the 1974 agreement. The report said that these included the “continued presence … of the Israel Defense Forces [IDF] on the Bravo side [the Syrian side of the buffer zone], firing into and across the area of separation, as well as across the ceasefire line, the presence of unauthorized equipment and personnel in the areas of separation and limitation, and crossings of the ceasefire line by [IDF] personnel, drones, aircraft and individuals from the Bravo side”. It reported that as at 13 February, the IDF “maintained and reinforced” 11 positions that it had established in both the areas of separation and limitation on the Bravo side, adding that UNDOF observed continued “engineering and construction activities” by the IDF in the area of separation. The report also said that the movement of UNDOF personnel was restricted 13 times, including through IDF roadblocks and constructed gates, adding that on two occasions IDF soldiers threatened United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) military observers.
More recent Israeli violations reportedly included incursions into Quneitra in which Syrian men were detained by the IDF. Furthermore, on 3 April, UNDOF reported that an Israeli tank fired across the ceasefire line. The incident coincided with reports of a civilian death caused by Israeli tank fire in the municipality of al-Rafid in Quneitra that was condemned by the Syrian government.
On 16 April, the Israeli government reportedly approved a five-year investment plan of $334 million to expand settlement development in the Golan, with the goal of attracting thousands of new Israeli families to the region. The move has been criticised by Human Rights Watch as a statement of intent to commit war crimes and a violation of Article 49(6) of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the transfer by an occupying power of its own nationals into occupied territory.
Human Rights-Related Developments
On 2 February, the Secretary-General submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) on human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan. The report was prepared pursuant to HRC resolution 58/26, which requested the Secretary-General to report on the matter at its 61st session. In preparing the report, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, on behalf of the Secretary-General, sought the views of member states in Geneva on the implementation of the resolution’s relevant provisions. The report includes responses from Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and Mexico denouncing measures taken by Israel to extend its laws, jurisdiction, and administration to the Golan and asserting that its actions are in direct violation of international law and relevant UN resolutions.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights presented the annual report on Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan. The report documented the expansion of Israeli settlement activity in the Syrian Golan, together with large-scale infrastructure projects, land confiscations, and ground incursions in strategic areas of the region, creating conditions that facilitate the expansion and entrenchment of settlements in the occupied territory.
On 31 March, the HRC adopted resolutions 61/31 and 61/32 on human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan and Israeli settlements in the OPT, including East Jerusalem and the Golan, respectively. Among other recommendations, resolution 61/31 calls upon Israel to cease changing the physical character, demographic composition, institutional structure, and legal status of the occupied Syrian Golan. Resolution 61/32 similarly demands that Israel immediately cease all settlement activities, without preconditions, in all the OPT, including East Jerusalem, and in the Golan, and in this regard calls for the full implementation of all relevant Security Council resolutions.
Key Issues and Options
A key priority for the Council in December is the renewal of UNDOF’s mandate. Members could choose to make no changes to the mandate to avoid complicated negotiations during a period in which discussions are ongoing between the parties over establishing a security agreement. Members could also consider updating the renewal resolution considering the significant shift in security dynamics in the Golan, increased challenges for UNDOF in addressing ongoing violations of the 1974 agreement, and obstructions preventing the mission from carrying out its mandate and posing risks to the safety and security of peacekeepers.
Another issue for the Council is that the significant Israeli presence in the buffer zone and repeated violations of the 1974 agreement could risk further destabilising internal security dynamics in Syria or lead to a significant escalation between the parties that could re-ignite the Israeli-Syrian conflict.
Members could consider adopting a presidential statement urging the parties to uphold international law and their obligations under the 1974 agreement, underscoring that there should be no military forces or activities in the area of separation other than those of UNDOF. The statement could also express concern over risks posed to local civilian populations by violations of the 1974 agreement and call upon the parties to ensure that UNDOF is accorded the ability to operate safely, securely, and freely in accordance with the agreement. The Council could further urge de-escalation and express support for diplomatic efforts aimed at achieving a security agreement between Israel and Syria in such a statement.
Council and Wider Dynamics
The Council remains united in its view that UNDOF plays an important role in regional stability. Despite historical divisions about who holds sovereignty over the Golan, Russia and the US have traditionally considered UNDOF as a separate issue on which they can agree, serving as co-penholders on the file.
During negotiations on the latest UNDOF mandate renewal in December 2025, the penholders chose to streamline the resolution to focus on the core issues, including the obligation of both parties to respect the 1974 agreement. The resolution also called on the parties to avoid any breaches of the ceasefire and the area of separation, and to regularly liaise with and support UNDOF. The mandate was renewed for the customary period of six months.
Apparently, China wanted to include language in the text that recalled Syria’s counter-terrorism obligations; however, this was not included by the penholders. Since Sharaa’s government established control of Syria, China has been particularly vocal in calling on Damascus to take a stronger stance on foreign terrorist fighters, some of whom have been integrated into the country’s security forces and are members of the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, which China considers a terrorist organisation and a threat to its security.
The IDF’s recent actions and presence in the Golan have generated criticism from several Council members. Most Council members have consistently demanded Israel’s full withdrawal from Syria, while calling on all parties to adhere to the 1974 agreement. One of the main contentious issues during negotiations on the Council’s 10 August 2025 presidential statement on Syria—which contained a reference to the 1974 agreement and UNDOF’s mandate—was over whether Israel’s military actions in Syria should be explicitly referenced and condemned in the text, with the “A3 Plus” members at the time (Algeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Guyana) and Pakistan arguing for such language. Conversely, the US was unwilling to include a direct reference to Israel or its actions. (For more information, see our 9 August 2025 What’s in Blue story.)
| Security Council Resolutions | |
| 29 December 2025S/RES/2811 | This resolution renewed the mandate of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) for six months, until 30 June 2026. |
| 31 May 1974S/RES/350 | This resolution established UNDOF. |
| Secretary-General’s Reports | |
| 10 March 2026S/2026/157 | This was the Secretary-General’s 90-day report on the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), covering the period from 16 November 2025 to 13 February 2026. |
| Security Council Meeting Records | |
| 17 January 2025S/PV.9840 | This was a Security Council meeting on UNIFIL and UNDOF. |
