A3+ statement delivered by H.E. Pedro Comissário, Permanent Representative of Mozambique at the Security Council Briefing on The Middle East - Syrian Chemical Weapons Programme
Mr. President,
I have the honour to deliver this joint statement on behalf of the A3+, namely Algeria, Guyana, Sierra Leone and my own country, Mozambique.
On behalf of the A3+, we wish to convey our warmest congratulations to you, Mr. President, and to your country Japan, for assuming the Presidency of the Security Council for the month of March. We pledge our full support in the discharge of your heavy responsibilities. We pay tribute to H.E. Ms. Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and the entire team Guyana for the outstanding presidency of the Council in February.
We thank Mr. Abedeji Ebo, Director and Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, for his briefing.
We welcome the participation in this meeting of the representatives of the Syrian Arab Republic, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Türkiye.
Mr. President,
We take note of the contents of the 125th monthly report of the OPCW, covering the period from 24th January to 23rd February 2024. We also acknowledge the submission of the 123rd monthly report, dated 15th February 2024, on progress achieved by the Syrian Arab Republic, regarding the destruction of its chemical weapons.
The A3+ encourages the Secretariat to continue its efforts to clarify the Syrian Arab Republic’s declarations, by addressing the identified gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies that remain unresolved.
Additionally, we urge the Syrian Arab Republic to continue its cooperation by submitting the relevant explanations, documents and amendments to the outstanding issues, in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
We note, with appreciation, the collaboration of the Syrian Arab Republic with the Secretariat, particularly for allowing the conduct of the twenty-sixth round of consultations in Damascus in January 2024 and for submitting explanations of the results of the analysis of samples collected by the Declaration Assessment Team (DAT) at one of the declared sites.
Mr. President,
Notwithstanding the recent encouraging developments, the A3+ remains concerned over the slow pace of progress in efforts to close the Syrian Arab Republic’s chemical weapons programme.
We reiterate our firm belief that the use of chemical weapons anywhere, by anyone and under any circumstances must be condemned. Impunity for such a heinous crime, under International Law, is not acceptable!
The recent findings in the report of the OPCW Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) indicate that there are reasonable grounds to believe that, on 1st September 2015, during sustained attacks aimed at capturing the town of Marea, ISIL units deployed sulphur mustard using one or more artillery guns. These findings suggest that, henceforward, the Syrian Chemical Weapons Programme will be seen in a different perspective.
The A3+ expresses their grave concern over threats posed by acts of terrorism using chemical weapons, in light of deployment of such weapons by ISIL.
In this regard, we urge the focal points of the two sides to expedite arrangements for a high-level meeting aimed at addressing the Syrian Chemical Weapons file, based on the new findings from Marea. This would foster the needed momentum for the conclusive resolution on the outstanding issues and to ultimately speed up the process.
The A3+ calls upon the Syrian Arab Republic to continue its collaboration with the OPCW obligations, in line with SC resolution 2118 (2013) and the CWC, to help in resolving protracted issues; to declare all chemical weapons and their production facilities in its possession; to organize the next round of consultations with the Declaration Assessment Team and to solve the outstanding issues in order to definitely close this file.
To conclude, Mr. President, the A3+ remains committed to the imperative against the use of chemical weapons and all efforts aimed at prohibiting their development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention, transfer or use.
We reaffirm our continuing support for SC resolution 2118 (2013). We wish to underscore the need for a definite closure of the issues pertaining to the Syrian Chemical Weapons Programme.
I thank you, Mr. President!
