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Syria's Continued Intransigence on Chemical Weapons
Eleven years ago this month, the United Nations Security Council, responding to the Syrian government’s horrific poison gas attack on the Ghouta district of Damascus, passed Resolution 2118.
That Resolution necessitated “the expeditious destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons program under stringent verification,” said Robert Wood, U.S. Alternative Representative for Special Political Affairs at the U.N.
“It stated the Syrian Arab Republic shall not use, develop, produce, acquire, stockpile, retain, or transfer chemical weapons and shall cooperate fully with the UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, OPCW, including by giving UN and
OPCW personnel immediate and unfettered access to inspect any and all sites,” he said.
“Resolution 2118 said those individuals responsible for the use of chemical weapons in Syria must be held accountable. By every one of these measures, the Syrian Arab Republic has not only failed to implement these provisions but has shown utter contempt for the will of this Council and for the families of the men, women, and children who suffered and died due to such attacks.”
“After 11 years of this behavior, we can all see that this regime has no shame whatsoever,” said Ambassador Wood. “Multiple international investigations have all come to the same conclusion: that the Assad regime repeatedly used chemical weapons against Syrian citizens.”
“Despite this conclusive evidence, the Syrian Arab Republic refuses to comply with the Chemical Weapons Convention by fully and verifiably accounting for its chemical weapon program and arsenal. Even more disturbing is the fact that this regime has yet to take responsibility for the atrocities it has committed against its own citizens,” he said.
In response to Syria’s continued non-compliance, the OPCW Conference of States Parties recommended that States Parties take a number of collective measures, “including to prevent the transfer to Syria of certain dual-use chemicals and equipment,” said Ambassador Wood.
“This decision also aims to prevent the same dual-use chemicals and equipment from falling into the hands of non-state actors, including terrorist groups,” he said. “The United States urges all Member States to implement these measures without delay.”
“After 11 years, the Syrian regime is banking on all of us forgetting their atrocities. The United States refuses to do so,” said Ambassador Wood. “We will not forget; we will not relent; and we implore every nation seated at this table to do the same.”