Attachments
I have the honour to transmit herewith the forty-fourth monthly report of the Director General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), submitted pursuant to paragraph 12 of Security Council resolution 2118 (2013) (see annex). The report covers the period from 23 April to 22 May 2017.
There has been no change with regard to the destruction of the remaining aircraft hangar or the ability of the OPCW Technical Secretariat to confirm the condition of two above-ground stationary facilities. In his note to the OPCW Executive Council, the Director General indicates that this lack of change is due to the security situation, which precludes safe access to all three sites.
I take note of the Director General’s statement that the documents requested by OPCW to help to clarify some of the outstanding issues related to the declaration made by the Syrian Arab Republic have now been received. I further note that high-level consultations on this matter will resume, although the precise timeline is still under consideration.
The clarification and resolution of the outstanding issues related to the declaration by the Syrian Arab Republic are essential and the anticipated resumption of the high-level consultations would be a welcome development. The international community must have confidence that the chemical weapons programme of the Syrian Arab Republic has been fully eliminated. I strongly encourage the Syrian Arab Republic to cooperate with OPCW in this regard.
The OPCW fact-finding mission in the Syrian Arab Republic is continuing its work. On 4 May 2017, I transmitted to the members of the Security Council the report of the mission regarding the incident that occurred on 16 September 2016, which involved allegations of the use of chemical weapons in Umm Hawsh (S/2017/400, annex). The report indicated that two women reported to have been killed in the alleged incident had been exposed to sulfur mustard. The mission also received a mortar reported to be connected to the alleged incident and found that it contained sulfur mustard.
The mission is also continuing its investigation of allegations concerning the use of chemical weapons in the Khan Shaykhun area in southern Idlib on 4 April 2017. On 18 May 2017, I transmitted to the members of the Security Council a status update of the mission regarding the reported incident (S/2017/440, annex). The update outlined the activities of the mission in that regard, including with respect to the collection of biomedical, biological-environmental and environmental samples, all of which indicated exposure to sarin or a sarin-like substance.
The findings in both of the above-mentioned reports once again leave me with the deepest concern regarding not only the unjustifiable use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic, but also the effect of such use on the confidence of the international community in its non-proliferation architecture. I call upon all those involved in the use of such weapons to immediately cease those actions. The effect on the Syrian people is wholly unacceptable, while the global consequences of the eroded international norm against those weapons are far-reaching.
Following an assessment of the report of the fact-finding mission regarding the incident in Umm Hawsh, I note that the investigative team of the OPCW-United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism has been instructed to finalize its plans to conduct an in-depth investigation. The Mechanism is also reviewing the status update of the mission on the allegations of the use of chemical weapons in Khan Shaykhun.
I am pleased to inform you that, further to my announcement on 27 April 2017, Edmond Mulet (Guatemala) assumed the post of the head of the independent three-member panel to lead the Joint Investigative Mechanism, effective 2 May 2017. I am confident in his abilities to ensure independence and impartiality in the work of the Mechanism.
The work of the Joint Investigative Mechanism to identify those responsible for the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic is of critical importance. I again call upon all States to support both the fact-finding mission and the Mechanism.
As previously determined by the Security Council, the use of chemical weapons anywhere constitutes a threat to international peace and security and is a serious violation of international law. I hope that the Security Council will come together to ensure that such weapons are never used again.
(Signed) António Guterres