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UN disarmament official reports OPCW deployments to Damascus as Syria chemical-declaration work continues
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Summary
Izumi Nakamitsu told the Security Council that the OPCW has deployed teams to Damascus since December, completed an April visit that collected samples, and continues to pursue unresolved questions about Syria's chemical-weapons declaration; she urged international support for verification and capacity building.
Izumi Nakamitsu, speaking for the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, briefed the Security Council on ongoing efforts to verify the Syrian Arab Republic's declaration under Security Council resolution 2118 and the Chemical Weapons Convention. Nakamitsu reported that the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has deployed technical teams to Damascus since December and completed a deployment from April 14 to April 25 to begin establishing a permanent OPCW presence in Syria and to conduct site visits and interviews.
Nakamitsu said the OPCW team conducted initial visits to sites in and around Damascus, including the Barza and Jamriya facilities of the Scientific Studies and Research Centre (SSRC). She reported that seven locations were visited in line with the OPCW technical secretariat's priority list and that samples were collected from one visited location; OPCW-designated laboratories are analyzing those samples. The April visit included meetings with representatives of the interim Syrian authorities, the newly appointed director general of the SSRC and Assad Hassan al Shabangi, the caretaker foreign minister of the Syrian Arab Republic, and included technical meetings with two Syrian experts, Nakamitsu said.
Nakamitsu told the council that the OPCW technical secretariat has for more than a decade been unable to confirm that the declaration submitted by previous Syrian authorities was accurate and complete. She said the OPCW has reported a total of 26 outstanding issues related to Syria's declaration, of which 19 remain unresolved, and described those unresolved items as involving "large quantities of potentially undeclared or unverified chemical warfare agents and chemical munitions." She added that the interim Syrian authorities extended support for the OPCW teams' activities, including access to sites and people, visa assurances and security escorts.
Nakamitsu emphasized that the work ahead will be difficult and will require international support. "I once again urge the members of this council to unite and show leadership in providing the support that these unprecedented efforts will require," she said. She also said, "The United Nations stands ready to support and will continue to do our part to uphold the norm against the use of chemical weapons anywhere at any time."
The briefing described operational deployments and cooperation reported by the UN and the OPCW; it did not record a formal Security Council decision or vote on the matter. Nakamitsu and the OPCW technical secretariat said further deployments and planning are under way to continue verification activities and to develop capacity-building assistance to help Syrian authorities investigate incidents and prevent reemergence or proliferation of chemical agents.
The report to the council highlights three immediate items: verification of unresolved declaration items (26 outstanding issues, 19 unresolved), continued on-site work by OPCW teams (deployments beginning in December and including April 14–25), and a request for technical and resource support from member states to sustain OPCW activities and long-term capacity building in Syria.
