Syria renews its demand to correct the course of work of OPCW

Syria renewed its condemnation and complete rejection of the use of chemical weapons by anyone, anytime, anywhere and under any circumstances, emphasizing its positive cooperation with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and its aspiration to correct its course of action.  

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Syria’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Bassam Sabbagh, said during a session of the UN Security Council on Monday: The Council renewed its commitment to resolution 1540, which aims to prevent terrorist groups from acquiring weapons of mass destruction, their production equipment and means of delivery, including chemical weapons. Syria strongly supports this commitment to put an end to terrorist organizations’ possession and use of chemical weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, and looks forward to implement it more effectively. 

 

Sabbagh noted that Syria has always provided the “1540 resolution” Committee and the United Nations General Secretariat with information about the possession and use of chemical materials by terrorist organizations or the fabrication of chemical accidents in Syria. He noted that a number of “Al-Nusra Front” terrorists have recently suffered burns and suffocation when trying to transport containers containing toxic chemicals in Idlib governorate. 

 

Sabbagh pointed out that the Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs continues to provide in her briefings an incomplete presentation and unilateral visions of developments, ignoring the cooperation and facilities provided by Syria to the technical teams of OPCW.

 

Syria’s permanent representative to the United Nations referred to the letters addressed by the head of the Syrian National Committee to the Director-General of OPCW, in which he stressed the necessity of the technical secretariat’s commitment to work professionally and to avoid using incomplete or inaccurate information in the organization’s reports and briefings, and turning it into a material for making false accusations against Syria. 

 

Sabbagh said: What confirms Syria’s concerns about the manipulation taking place in the reports of the fact-finding mission and the interference of some Western countries in its work to exercise political pressure is the United States’ prior knowledge of the results of the investigations conducted by that mission before its reports are issued. 

 

Sabbagh pointed out that the fact-finding mission has so far been delaying the issuance of its reports on the five incidents that Syria requested to investigate in 2017, despite repeated requests, while it hastened to investigate and issue misleading reports regarding alleged incidents promoted by open sources and terrorist organizations with the aim of harming the Syrian government. 

 

Sabbagh stressed that Syria voluntarily joined the Chemical Weapons Convention, destroyed its stockpiles within a record period, and fulfilled all obligations resulting from this accession. He reiterated Syria’s positive cooperation with OPCW despite the state of suspicion it feels as a result of the wrong and unbalanced approach of the Technical Secretariat. He expressed Syria’s aspiration to correct the organization’s course of action and return it to the technical character as one of the pillars of the non-proliferation system and an important framework for for relevant multilateral action. 

 

Sabbagh stressed that the role of the organization does not lie in suspending the rights of the states party to it illegally, but rather in focusing on accelerating the destruction of the chemical weapons arsena. The United States is the only country that has not finished its destruction so far. Sabbagh underlined the urgency of mobilizing efforts of the state party to bring the countries that have not yet joined the agreement, especially Israel, which possesses an arsenal of chemical weapons. 

 

Inas Abdulkareem