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A/HRC/37/72/CRP.1 25 international law, such as the right to life and the absolute prohibition against torture, where such actors exercise de facto control over a part of a state’s territory.30 F. Domestic law of the Syrian Arab Republic 118. Both the Constitution of the Syrian Arab Republic, promulgated in 201231, and the Syrian Penal Code outlaw torture.32 Further, the Syrian Penal Code criminalises rape – defined as forced sexual intercourse outside of marriage – and sexual assault of women and children.33 Rape and sexual assault are punishable with hard labour sentences, which are aggravated if the perpetrator is a Government official.34 Homosexual acts, which would include male rape, are punishable with imprisonment of up to three years.35 IX. Conclusions 119. Government forces and affiliated militias perpetrated sexual violence, including rape, against women, girls, and men during house searches and ground operations. These searches were intended to target perceived opposition members and sympathisers for detention, and carried out in the context of military operations countrywide, which this Commission has already established amounts to a widespread and systematic attack directed against a civilian population (see A/HRC/31/CRP.1, paras. 88-89). 120. Through its widespread conduct of mass arbitrary arrests, victimising the general civilian population living in restive areas and persons otherwise perceived to be in opposition to the Government, Government forces and associated militias engaged in the multiple commission of crimes. The acts were committed in pursuance of a policy to target civilians broadly perceived as associated with the opposition, evidenced by the systematic occurrence of crimes across geographic areas. Therefore, rapes and other acts of sexual violence carried out by Government forces and associated militias during ground operations formed part of the attack, and amount to crimes against humanity. 121. After February 2012, rapes and other forms of sexual violence carried out by ...