Non-Paper Elements on Freeze 4. __The Office of the Special Envoy's proposed incremental freeze is: a) in line with the SE's priorities as set out in the Security Council Briefing of 30 October 2014; b) consistent with existing relevant Security Council resolutions; c) respects the unity and territorial integrity of Syria; and above all d) constitutes the UN's response to the Syrian people calling for an end of suffering, 2. The freeze is defined as a strategic deescalation of violence, local in nature but with a national impact. It forms a key building block towards an overarching political horizon by: saving lives, preventing the destruction of Aleppo; safeguarding the relevance of the moderate opposition; building confidence between the parties; creating a model replicable elsewhere; creating space for new actors not aligned to warring parties; generating support for political rather than military solutions; facilitating convergence among regional and international actors; building confidence in a model of political engagement under the auspices of the UN as a third party. 3. Aleppo is identified as the first locality based on the city's prominence, and symbolism in the Syrian landscape, as well as the consequences for both the regime and the opposition of falling into ISIL hands. 4. The Freeze is distinct to previous local ceasefires in that it provides for a third party role and allows for no disarmament or redeployment during the initial stages. It involves a phased approach starting with an early consent of the parties to halt all offensive military combat action against the other or against civilians and civilian infrastructure, with all sides's forces locked in place in defensive posture. 5. The military operational elements would be accompanied by initiatives to normalize civilian life, the restoration of basic services (water and electricity); free passage of humanitarian assistance; the implementation of CBMs and an incremental build-up in local governance functions. 6. _ The terms of the freeze will be negotiated with a set of actors, a minimum threshold of whom will be identified by the UN, and need to be agreed to through separate negotiations between the parties and OSE. Those terms should inter alia include the following a) clear phasing and timelines, during which a range of pre-agreed actions would be taken with further engagement to explore additional measures; b) clear geographic boundaries, taking into account the deployment of different forces and armed groups, active front lines, and supply routes; c) clear and agreed parameters on permitted and prohibited actions and the obligations of the_parties, including measures to prevent escalation of fighting on other fronts; d) a management mechanism with UN involvement and inclusion of militaryand civilian personnel; e) monitoring and dispute resolution mechanisms to account for existing local civil society capacity; normalization of life through humanitarian assistance and infrastructure and other early programmes to maximize health and safety, in coordination with the UNCT, donors and local actors on the ground; g) incremental steps to building up local governance, return of displaced residents and reconstruction. 7. The freeze would require the engagement of credible community leaders and civil society actors both in the consultation, communication and in the delivery phases. It further necessitates assurances and the role of regional and international partners, including the Security Council, remains crucial in this respect. 8. __Itwould be initiated in the Aleppo area with a view to developing a model so that other locations could be identified based on interests of different actors and status of forces in different parts of the country. 9. _Inparallel, diplomatic efforts will continue with a view to relaunching meaningful political negotiations towards an inclusive nation-wide political process without preconditions within the framework of the Geneva Communique under the SE's auspices.