responsibility should be clearly separated in countries that are committed to democratic values; 55. Supports all steps leading to political dialogue, which is essential to move the transition in Egypt forward; expresses its deep concern about recent crises and the political polarisation in the country, including the street battles between the army and Muslim Brotherhood supporters, terrorism and violent clashes in the Sinai; condemns the extremist violence against minorities, including Coptic Christian communities; expresses its solidarity with Egyptian people fighting for democracy, welcomes the efforts by the European Union and the VP/HR to find a way out of the crisis, and points once again to the urgent need for a constructive and inclusive political dialogue in order to set up a clear roadmap for transition to a real and sustainable democracy; calls on all political leaders in the country to find a way to break the dangerous stalemate and agree on implementing tangible confidence-building measures in order to avoid the risk of more bloodshed and polarisation in the country; calls for a rapid return to the democratic process, including the holding of free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections in a fully inclusive process; urges the Egyptian authorities to advance the work on an inclusive constitution with equal rights for all; 56. Calls for an immediate end to all acts of violence, sexual assault and other forms of degrading treatment against female protesters and women‘s rights activists and for serious and impartial investigations into all such cases and full accountability for those responsible; 57. Remains deeply concerned about the critical situation in Syria; deplores in the strongest possible terms the use of chemical weapons and the excessive use of force and violence against the civilian population and minorities in the country, which cannot be justified under any circumstances, and abhors the scale of state abuses that may constitute crimes against humanity; reiterates its strong endorsement of the call by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for the situation in Syria to be referred to the ICC by the UN Security Council (UNSC) for a formal investigation; calls on all armed factions to put an immediate end to violence in the country; expresses grave concern at the ongoing humanitarian crisis, including the situation of refugees, and the implications for neighbouring countries and stability in the region; stresses again that humanitarian assistance to those in need of basic goods and services in Syria and its neighbours must be an immediate priority for the international community and the European Union; believes that the key to solving the conflict lies in political mechanisms and diplomatic processes; stresses the importance of the strict implementation of the Convention on the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction; welcomes the recent UNSC resolution and the UN Secretary General‘s proposal for a Geneva II conference to be held in December 2013; condemns the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East; 58. Recalls its resolutions of 25 November 2010 on the situation in Western Sahara1, of 22 October 2013 on the situation of human rights in the Sahel region2, and calls for a guarantee of human rights for the Saharawi people and stresses the need to address these rights in Western Sahara and in the Tindouf camps, including freedom of association, 1 OJ C 99 E, 3.4.2012, p. 87. Texts adopted, P7_TA(2013)0431. 2