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1) The situation in Libya - Security Council, 8783rd meeting. 2) Sudan and South Sudan - Security Council, 8784th. 3) The situation in the Middle East - Security Council, 8785th meeting
Security Council extends Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan, unanimously adopting resolution 2579 (2021).
Syria yet to fulfil Chemical Weapons Convention obligations, top United Nations officials tell Security Council, as members spar over ‘objectivity’.
The Security Council decided today to extend for another year a series of authorizations for Member States to inspect vessels on the high seas off the coast of Libya suspected of violating that country’s arms embargo.
Unanimously adopting resolution 2578 (2021) under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, the 15-member organ decided to extend the authorizations laid out in resolution 2526 (2020) for a further 12 months.
Those measures — first agreed in resolution 2292 (2016) — allow States, acting nationally or through regional organizations, to inspect vessels on the high seas bound to or from Libya, given reasonable grounds to believe that they are in violation of the Council’s arms embargo.
By other terms of the text, members requested the Secretary-General to report on the implementation of today’s resolution within 11 months.
The meeting began at 10:03 a.m. and ended at 10:06 a.m.
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MEETINGS COVERAGE
The Security Council decided today to extend the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) until 3 June 2022 and requested the Government of Sudan to swiftly sign a status of mission agreement with the Organization to enable the full, effective and unhindered functioning of the Mission.
Unanimously adopting resolution 2579 (2021), the Council also decided that UNITAMS, as part of an integrated and unified United Nations structure, shall — in full accordance with the principles of national ownership — continue a set of strategic objectives.
Those objectives include, among other things, assisting Sudan’s political transition, providing technical assistance to its constitution drafting process; supporting the implementation of the human rights and rule of law provisions of the Constitutional Document; and supporting the implementation of the Juba Peace Agreement between Khartoum and Sudanese armed groups.
Other objectives set out in the eight-page resolution are assisting Sudanese-led peacebuilding, particularly in Darfur and the Two Areas (South Kordofan and Blue Nile), and supporting the mobilization of economic and development assistance and the coordination of humanitarian and peacebuilding aid.
Through the text, the Council decided that in line with those objectives, UNITAMS should prioritize support to the following sectors: monitoring the Darfur ceasefire; implementation of the Government’s National Plan for Civilian Protection; peace talks between the Government and Sudanese armed groups; inclusive implementation of the power-sharing provisions of the Juba Peace Agreement; the constitution drafting process; and enhancing civilian-led protection, security and the rule of law.
The representative of the United States, in an explanation of position, said that his delegation accepted the resolution on the understanding that the reference to “grave violations against children” in preambular paragraph 10 refers only to the six specific violations identified by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Children in Armed Conflict.
The representative of the Russian Federation noted that during negotiations, the sponsors of the text declined to take a comprehensive view of Sudan’s development challenges, preferring instead to shift the focus to the climate agenda. It is impossible to deny that poverty, lack of infrastructure and low donor support are a greater challenge to Sudan’s development than climate change.
The meeting began at 10:05 a.m. and ended at 10:12 a.m.
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MEETINGS COVERAGE
Permanent Representative of Damascus Insists It Has, Citing ‘Geopolitical Game’ Led by United States, Western Allies
Syria has yet to fulfil its obligations under the international instrument prohibiting the use of chemical weapons, senior United Nations officials told the Security Council today, pointing to documented instances of Syrian forces engaging in that type of warfare while members sparred over the objectivity of the investigative process used to substantiate those claims.
Izumi Nakamitsu, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, briefed the Council on the continued assessment by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) that Syria’s declaration under the Chemical Weapons Convention cannot be considered complete due to identified but unresolved gaps and discrepancies. While the OPCW’s Fact-Finding Mission and Investigation and Identification Team continue to study and investigate alleged uses of chemical weapons in the country, the Council must unite to solidify the normative framework condemning that method of warfare, she emphasized, warning that unless the international community identifies and holds accountable all those who use such weapons in violation of international law, “we are allowing the use of chemical weapons to take place with impunity”.
Fernando Arias, Director-General of the OPCW, also briefed the Council, pointing out that the Syria chemical weapons dossier remains far from closed eight years after that country’s accession to the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2013. Providing an update on recent developments, he said the Investigation and Identification Team’s 12 April report concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that, on 4 February 2018, a Syrian air force helicopter dropped at least one cylinder on the city of Saraqib that ruptured and released chlorine over a large area. On 21 April, concerned over the proven use of chemical weapons, the Conference of States Parties to the Convention stripped Syria of its rights and privileges under that instrument.
However, the OPCW is neither a court nor a tribunal, he emphasized. Instead, it provides information that assists the international community in ending impunity for the use of chemical weapons and holding perpetrators to account, he said, adding that its work continues on multiple fronts — including engagement with Syria — and the Fact-Finding Mission’s report on chemical-weapons use in Douma on 7 April 2018 remains a matter of interest. Whereas concerns have been raised about potential bias in that report, no State party to the Convention has challenged the finding that chlorine was used in Douma, he noted, reiterating that the Mission’s mandate was to determine the use of chemical weapons, not to identify perpetrators.
Turning to more recent developments, he said that an investigative mission to Syria regarding the September 2020 discovery of a chemical-warfare agent in large storage containers was postponed due to the lack of response from Damascus and the non-issuance of visas for OPCW inspectors. Other inspection plans will proceed as soon as security conditions and the coronavirus pandemic allow, he added. The OPCW will continue to deliver on its mandate, even under difficult conditions that include the spread of disinformation and the denigration of some staff members, he pledged.
In the ensuing debate, Council members agreed on the need for the OPCW’s highly scrutinized work to conform to exacting standards of impartiality and ensure the credibility of the chemical weapons non-proliferation regime. Members diverged, however, over whether the OPCW has met that burden; some praised the OPCW’s rigorous objectivity and professionalism despite difficult circumstances, while others decried the politicization of the organization and its mechanisms, particularly the Investigation and Identification Team.
The Russian Federation’s representative, in the latter camp, detailed a series of discrepancies between the original and final versions of the OPCW’s report on the Douma incident. He pointed out that the OPCW has taken a different approach to Syria than countries which, while facing similar problems, were not subjected to the “storm of criticism” directed at Damascus. Furthermore, the OPCW ignores information provided by professionals, including the Syrian authorities and the Russian military, in favour of weak evidence offered by volunteer organizations such as the “White Helmets”, he said, emphasizing that the OPCW must not be used as “a political instrument to punish undesirables”.
China’s representative also expressed concern over politicization of the OPCW and the deep divisions among States parties to the Convention. That treaty only authorizes fact-finding, not the identification of perpetrators, he stressed. As such, the creation of the Investigation and Identification Team falls outside the Convention’s scope and was “replete with political motive”. He called upon all States parties to uphold the Convention “as a yardstick” and refrain from confrontation.
Ireland’s representative, conversely, joined others in expressing regret that some Council members continue to challenge and undermine the OPCW’s work without any factual basis. Emphasizing the need to “separate the facts from the noise”, she called for Syria’s cooperation with the OPCW to resolve serious issues relating to its declaration under the Convention. Those responsible for documented chemical-weapons attacks conducted by Syrian forces must be held to account, she said, stressing: “impunity cannot be an option”.
Mexico’s representative questioned the monthly format of meetings on the Syria chemical weapons dossier, pointing out that — while ongoing dialogue between the Council and the OPCW is useful — such debates have not led to progress towards preventing the use of chemical weapons in the region. It is not helpful, he said, to have an exchange of well-known views that promotes further polarization at the expense of finding alternatives.
Syria’s representative expressed regret that the OPCW has been transformed from a technical organization into “an instrument in a geopolitical game led by the United States and its Western allies”. Syria has fulfilled its obligations arising from its voluntary accession to the Convention on Chemical Weapons, he insisted, adding that its continued cooperation with the OPCW has been “met with ingratitude and denial”.
Also speaking were representatives of the United States, Viet Nam, India, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Kenya, United Kingdom, Norway, Niger, Tunisia, France, Estonia, Iran and Turkey.
The meeting began at 10:14 a.m. and ended at 1:32 p.m.
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MEETINGS COVERAGE
