NY City: On Monday, the UN's high representative for disarmament affairs and under-secretary-general for disarmament affairs told the Security Council that her organisation had not yet addressed issues and statements made by the Syrian government regarding the termination of its chemical weapons programme and the destruction of stockpiles.
Izumi Nakamitsu stated that in accordance with Resolution 2118, which the council adopted in 2013 in response to worries about the use of such weapons against civilians during the country's conflict, there are 20 unresolved issues with Syria's chemical weapons programme that must be addressed and resolved.
The UN and human rights organizations accuse the Syrian government of using chemical weapons against its citizens on at least three occasions — August 2013, April 2017 and April 2018 — in and around the capital, Damascus, killing hundreds of civilians and injured thousands.
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Nakamitsu said the UN’s Office for Disarmament Affairs is in regular contact with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons about activities related to the implementation of Resolution 2118.
She said her department and other UN agencies have been unsuccessful in obtaining clarifications about the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons program and the quantities of nerve agents it still possesses. Declarations submitted by Syrian authorities continue to have “gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies,” she added.
Nakamitsu emphasised the importance of the Syrian government's cooperation with the OPWC in resolving all outstanding issues pertaining to its chemical programme.
"At this time, the OPCW technical secretariat assesses that the declaration submitted by the Syrian Arab Republic still cannot be considered accurate and complete in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention," she continued.
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The use of chemical weapons against civilians at any point during the ongoing civil war, which started in 2011, was denied by a Syrian representative to the UN, who also condemned their use "anywhere in the world and under any circumstances."
The Syrian official continued, "We affirm Syria's full and transparent cooperation with the OPCW and fulfilment of all its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention. We reiterate our rejection of the false accusation and lies that some have levelled against my nation."
He claimed that his nation made the strategic choice to join the convention in 2013 and had provided thorough information about its arsenal and the weapons it had destroyed.
He denied that the Syrian government was being uncooperative or holding up the technical assessment teams' work.
The Syrian regime has not "cooperated fully, nor been transparent with the OPCW," according to the US representative at the UN.
The Iranian representative defended the Syrian government, claiming that it was abiding by the Chemical Weapons Convention. He demanded "credible" and "impartial" investigations into the use of such weapons in Syria and accused Western nations of having "double standards" in regard to chemical weapons.
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He continued by saying that rather than taking a purely technical and scientific approach to the problem of chemical weapons, the West is employing a "political approach" that he called "unconstructive."
Other speakers condemned the use of chemical weapons, backed efforts by international organisations to eliminate them, and demanded that Syria fully abide by its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention.