Policy and Rights

Amid Evolving Political Reality, Security Council Speakers Urge Breakthrough on Syria’s Chemical Weapons Compliance The new political reality in Syria presents an opportunity to obtain long-overdue clarifications on the Syrian chemical weapons programme, rid the country of all such weapons and ensure long-term compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today. “The importance of closing all outstanding issues related to Syria’s chemical weapons dossier cannot be overstated,” said Izumi Nakamitsu, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, during her briefing to the 15-member Council. Although the previous Syrian authorities submitted 20 amendments to Syria’s initial declaration, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Declaration Assessment Team was never able to confirm that the information was accurate. Over the last 11 years, the Team has raised and reported a total of 26 outstanding issues with Syria’s declaration. “The OPCW Technical Secretariat has reported that the substance of the 19 outstanding issues remains a ‘serious concern’ as it involves large quantities of potentially undeclared or unverified chemical warfare agents and chemical munitions,” she added. The OPCW Fact-Finding Mission and the OPCW Investigation and Identification Team have documented the use of chemical weapons in Syria, and in several incidents, identified the Syrian Arab Armed Forces as the perpetrators. The OPCW Technical Secretariat has reported that Syria continued to use, and possibly produce, chemical weapons after joining the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2013. “The situation left by the previous Syrian authorities is extremely worrying,” she went on to stress. But, there are some encouraging signs. The OPCW Director-General recently received assurances that the new authorities are committed to destroying any remains of the chemical weapons programme, bringing justice to the victims and ensuring Syria’s compliance with international law. A new focal point for chemical weapons matters within the Syria’s Foreign Ministry travelled to The Hague for in-person meetings with the OPCW Technical Secretariat on how to advance the OPCW’s “Nine-Point Action Plan for Syria”. In the coming days, a team of experts from the OPCW Technical Secretariat will be deployed to Damascus to establish OPCW’s permanent presence in Syria and start jointly planning deployments to chemical weapons sites. While the commitment of the caretaker authorities in Syria to fully cooperate with the OPCW Technical Secretariat is commendable, the work ahead will not be easy and will require additional resources from the international community. “I urge the members of this Council to unite and show leadership in providing the support that this unprecedented effort will require,” she said. In the ensuing discussion among Council members, many speakers took note of the developments reported to date, underscoring them as important steps towards implementing relevant Council resolutions and securing Syria's fulfilment of its international commitments. Several speakers also stressed the importance of ensuring that chemical weapons do not fall into the hands of non-State actors.

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