Outstanding issues related to Syria’s initial declaration of its chemical weapons stockpile and programme still cannot be considered “accurate and complete”, the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs told the Security Council today via video‑teleconference, during her regular monthly briefing on the implementation of resolution 2118 (2013).

High Representative Izumi Nakamitsu said the assessment by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is due to “identified gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies that remain unresolved”, in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention. The international community cannot yet have full confidence that Syria’s chemical weapons programme has been eliminated, she added.

The outcome of the seventh round of inspections by the OPCW Technical Secretariat at the Barzah and Jamrayah facilities of the Scientific Studies and Research Centre, she said, will be reported to the OPCW Executive Council in due course. Syria has yet to provide sufficient technical explanations or information that would allow the Technical Secretariat to close the issue related to the finding of a Schedule 2 chemical detected at the Barzah facilities during the third round of inspections held in 2018.

Meanwhile, she continued, the OPCW Declaration Assessment Team is working to clarify all outstanding issues related to Syria’s initial declaration, recalling that the OPCW Director-General noted on 11 December 2020 that, while some progress was made during the last round of consultations with Syria’s National Authority, 19 issues remain outstanding.

One of them pertains to a chemical weapons production facility declared as never having been used for production, she continued. However, a review of all materials gathered by the Declaration Assessment Team since 2014, including samples, indicates that production and/or weaponization of chemical warfare nerve agents took place there. Syria also has yet to respond to a request by the Technical Secretariat to declare the exact types and quantities of chemical agents produced and/or weaponized at the site in question.

She said the OPCW fact-finding mission is studying all available information related to the use of chemical weapons in Syria and continues to engage with Damascus and other States parties to the Convention on “a variety of incidents”. Similarly, the Investigation and Identification Team continues to investigate incidents in which the fact-finding mission determined use or likely use of weapons, and will issue further reports in due course.

Regarding inspections mandated by Executive Council decision EC-94/DEC.2 — “Addressing the Possession and Use of Chemical Weapons by the Syrian Arab Republic” — she said the Technical Secretariat is monitoring the situation and will inform Syria when it is prepared to deploy for that purpose.

“It cannot be repeated often enough,” she emphasized. “There is no justification for the use of chemical weapons by anyone, anywhere and under any circumstances.” She underscored the imperative of holding accountable all those who have used chemical weapons, expressing hope that the Council will “unite on this issue”.

In the ensuing discussion, delegates differed over the impartiality and objectivity of the OPCW’s actions, and whether or not Syria had indeed cooperated fully with the watchdog.

For further details please see SOURCE below.
MEETINGS COVERAGE

View moreView less

Download

Download content

2 assets available

You need to first accept the terms and conditions before download.

Subject to the Terms of Use of the UN websites and contents, low-resolution MP3 digital audio materials are available free of charge at the UN AV Library. However, if you require a high-resolution audio or video format, there will be service and licensing fees for the portion used in your finished programme. Please refer to the UN AV Library request form as well as the Copyrights and License page for more information