Syrian chemical weapons programme - Security Council briefing | United Nations

High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu said that as a new political reality emerge in Syria, there is an important opportunity to obtain long-overdue clarifications on the full extent and scope of the Syrian chemical weapons programme and to normalise relations between Syria and the OPCW. Nakamitsu told the Council (05 Jun) that a team of technical experts from the OPCW Technical Secretariat was deployed to Damascus to start work on establishing the OPCW’s permanent physical presence in Syria and start jointly planning deployments to chemical weapons sites. Furthermore, a second deployment was completed from 14 to 25 April, and the OPCW Technical Secretariat is currently preparing its next deployment to the Syrian Arab Republic. The High Representative highlighted that for both deployments, the interim Syrian authorities extended all necessary support for the OPCW team’s activities. “This included unfettered access, inter alia, to sites and people, issuance of visas, and security escorts for field activities. There were also discussions on requirements for the safe conduct of future OPCW activities in Syria and the planning of necessary steps to facilitate such activities,” she added. She commended the new authorities in Syria for its full and transparent cooperate with the OPCW Technical Secretariat. “However, the work ahead will not be easy and it will require the support from the international community,” the High Representative said. Nakamitsu explained, “The OPCW Technical Secretariat has consistently underscored the importance of additional support and resources from CWC States Parties and relevant international actors to accomplish the tasks needed to rid Syria of all chemical weapons and carry out other mandated activities, such as capacity-building assistance to prevent the re-emergence and proliferation of chemical weapons, as well as training and equipment to enable the Syrian National Authority to respond to and investigate chemical weapons issues and incidents effectively.” For his part, Syrian Ambassador Qusay Abdul Jabbar al-Dahha reaffirmed Syria’s “firm commitment” to cooperating with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). “Through its full cooperation with the organization over the past month, Syria has demonstrated clear political will and significant determination to overcome the previous phase and its negative characteristics that has overshadowed the relations between the two sides,” Ambassador al-Dahha added. He also told the Council that currently, a third deployment of a team from the Technical Secretariat of the OPCW, including visits to a number of locations, is underway and “the Syrian side will provide unrestricted access to them as well.” “This is in the context of our commitment to cooperating with the Technical Secretariat and enabling it to carry out its mandate in accordance with the Convention,” he reiterated.


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