Syria confirms its continued cooperation with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

Syria reiterated its continued cooperation with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in implementation of the obligations resulting from its accession to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which resulted in the destruction of its entire stockpile and production facilities in a record time. Syria also stressed its incontrovertible condemnation of the use of these weapons by anyone, anytime, anywhere and under any circumstances.

During the UN Security Council session on Wednesday,  Syria’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Bassam Sabbagh, said that Syria actively participated last week in the second session of the conference to establish a zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, based on its deep belief in the necessity of getting rid of weapons of mass destruction that constitute a threat to regional and international peace and security. Syria also underlined the importance of the participation of the five nuclear states in the conference as observers, given their primary role in supporting consultations aimed at establishing this region.

Ambassador Sabbagh expressed Syria’s regret that the United States, which is a depositary of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and sponsor of the 1995 Middle East resolution, continued its boycott of the work of this important conference and its continuation of providing an umbrella of protection for the Israeli occupation entity and its vast arsenal of various weapons of mass destruction. It would be better if we witnessed the same enthusiasm which the American delegation showed today to remove the arsenal of weapons of mass destruction owned by “Israel” and which threatens peace and security in the region, Sabbagh asserted.

Ambassador Sabbagh reiterated Syria’s unequivocal condemnation of the use of chemical weapons by anyone, anytime, anywhere and under any circumstances, pointing out that despite the state of politicization that has become dominating the work of the OPCW, Syria has continued its cooperation with the organization in implementation of the obligations arising from its accession to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

He explained that Syria agreed to extend the tripartite agreement with the OPCW and the United Nations Office for Project Services for a period of six months, taking into account the facilitation of planning for the organization’s tasks and activities in Syria. Syria submitted its monthly 96th report to the organization in which it affirmed its continued cooperation, expressed its regret at the attempts to distort this cooperation and responded to a number of allegations contained in the last report of the Director-General of the Organization.

Ambassador Sabbagh indicated that Syria welcomed the visit of the declaration evaluation team to Damascus to hold the 25th round of consultations, according to the date agreed upon between the two sides. The necessary entry visas were granted to the team members, except for one person whose previous experience proved not to be objective. It also welcomed the request of the Technical Secretariat to send a fact-finding mission team to Syria, expressing  its aspiration that it would complete investigations and issue reports on the incidents reported by Syria about the use of chemical weapons by terrorist organizations, which occurred more than five years ago.

Ambassador Sabbagh indicated that Syria continues to provide the information it has regarding terrorists’ possession of weapons and toxic chemicals and preparation for their use, the latest of which was the letter sent to the President of the Security Council and the UN Secretary-General on the 29th  of last month, which exposes the involvement of Turkish intelligence with the “Al-Nusra Front” organization.  Syria continues to consult and coordinate with OPCW to prepare for the meeting scheduled to be held between the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates and the Director General of the organization.

Sabbagh  pointed out that the mandate of the declaration evaluation team is limited to providing assistance to the Syrian National Committee in its initial declaration which welcomed the work with this team and cooperated with it over the years. This team is not an investigation team and it must respect the information provided by Syria and honestly present it to the state parties, Sabbagh added.  Moreover, the Technical Secretariat does not have a mandate to determine whether such information is scientifically convincing or not, other than what is stated in the last report of the Director General.

Ambassador Sabbagh indicated that   granting visas by Syria to international employees is a sovereign right based mainly on the professionalism and objectivity of the work of these employees. Syria was very flexible  by  facilitating the holding of the 25 round of consultations, by accepting to send Syrian experts to Hague, which was hampered for flimsy reasons that veil subversive goals.

Ambassador Sabbagh stressed that the information contained in the initial declaration and the related subsequent declarations is complete and accurate, and Syria is ready to work transparently and objectively with the declaration’s evaluation team and provide the relevant clarifications. It categorically rejects any doubts about it and considers that what some countries are doing in terms of promotion and exaggerations are baseless and fall within the framework of its anti-Syrian goals.   

Ambassador Sabbagh pointed out  that at a time when Syria was looking forward to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons being the body entrusted with implementing the agreement and playing its role in this important pillar of disarmament, it regretted that the organization had turned into a platform employed by a state or group of countries to target specific countries such as Syria or others.

Ambassador Sabbagh referred to the disgraceful performance of the fact-finding team in the alleged Douma incident, whose scandalous repercussions continue to this day, and to the unprecedented decision of the Conference of the States Parties to suspend Syria’s enjoyment of the rights and privileges of its membership which is not based on documented facts and conclusions. These actions represent hostile practices against a state party that joined the agreement and reflect the state of domination of the United States and its Western allies over the work of the organization and its adoption of a policy of bullying to serve its agendas. These practices also contributed to the lack of trust in the credibility, professionalism and impartiality of the work of the organization’s teams, thus undermining its role.

In response to the delegates of the Member States, Ambassador Sabbagh said that whoever raises the issue of accountability in his statements uses the values of noble justice to serve politicized purposes, just as was done in the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The simplest requirements for accountability require moving away from selectivity that serves the goals of this or that country and therefore requires accountability for all the war crimes, occupation, aggression, support and sponsorship of terrorism committed by the governments of some countries. Therefore those countries must abandon hypocrisy and the use of double standards for political purposes.

Inas Abdulkareem