تقرير الأمين العام رقم 35 لتنفيذ قرارات مجلس الأمن حول سوريا - الوثيقة 748 بتاريخ 29 أغسطس لعام 2016

On the matter of the destruction of chemical weapons production facilities

declared by the Syrian Arab Republic, the situation remains unchanged. The

Government of the Syrian Arab Republic has informed OPCW that the prevailing

security situation continues to prevent safe access to destroy the remaining hangar

and to confirm the condition of the two stationary above-ground facilities.

With respect to the initial declaration by the Syrian Arab Republic and

subsequent submissions, I note that the Director-General has addressed a letter to

the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Syrian Arab Republic, attaching a list

of questions and calling again for the Syrian Arab Republic to provide sc ientifically

and technically plausible explanations (see enclosure). I reiterate my call for

continuing cooperation between the Syrian Arab Republic and OPCW on resolving

these issues.

It is with grave concern that I recall recent allegations of the use of chemical

weapons in the Aleppo Governorate of the Syrian Arab Republic, and take note that

the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) in the Syrian Arab Republic has continued

to study all available information. I note further that the FFM is studying a request

by the Syrian Arab Republic to dispatch a team to investigate an alleged incident.

Pursuant to Security Council resolution 2235 (2015), the OPCW-United

Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism submitted its third report to the Security

Council on 24 August 2016. The report provides an update on the activities of the

Mechanism through 19 August 2016. It also outlines the assessment and conclusions

drawn by the Leadership Panel to date, based on the results of the investigation into

the nine selected cases of the use of chemicals as weapons in the Syrian Arab

Republic. I reaffirm my condemnation of the use of such weapons by any party to

the conflict. I look forward to the deliberations by the Council on this report and

urge the Council to take decisive action in this regard. Accountability must be

ensured for those who have used chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic.

Since my last letter, the Leadership Panel and the investigators spent one week

in Damascus, from 1 to 5 August 2016, for meetings with senior Syrian officials,

interviews and technical briefings. The Mechanism continued to receive information

relevant to its investigation from a number of Member States, as well as technical

assessments from forensic institutes. In addition, the Mechanism continued its

engagement with non-governmental organizations and individuals with information

about the cases under investigation