تقرير الأمين العام رقم 34 لتنفيذ قرارات مجلس الأمن حول سوريا - الوثيقة 678 بتاريخ 3 أغسطس لعام 2016

I have the honour to transmit herewith the thirty-fourth monthly report of the

Director-General of the Organisation 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 24 June to 22 July 2016.

With respect to the destruction of chemical weapons production facilities

declared by the Syrian Arab Republic, the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic

has informed OPCW that the security situation continues to prevent safe access to

destroy the remaining hangar. I note that the Director-General also states that the

condition of the two stationary above-ground facilities remains unconfirmed, also

owing to the poor security situation.

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

subsequent submissions, I take note that the Director-General has reported to the

OPCW Executive Council on the outcome of his consultations with the Syrian Arab

Republic regarding its Chemical Weapons Declaration. I further note that although

new information has been provided to OPCW by the Syrian Arab Republic on some

outstanding items, resulting in the submission of new amendments to relevant parts

of its declaration, the OPCW Technical Secretariat was not in a position to verify

the underpinning explanations given. I note that the Director-General has also

attached his report entitled “Outcome of consultations with the Syrian Arab

Republic regarding its Chemical Weapons Declaration”. That report was made

available to members of the Security Council only.

The use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic is unacceptable. I

strongly condemn any use of such materials by any party to the conflict, and once

again call for the perpetrators of any such acts to be brought to justice.

Pursuant to Security Council resolution 2235 (2015), the Organisation for the

Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism is

advancing with the investigation of the nine selected cases. During the reporting

period, the Mechanism continued to receive technical briefings and information

relevant to its investigation from a number of Member States in New York, in The

Hague and in capitals. It also received technical assessments from forensic institutes

and from experts. The Mechanism continued its engagement with non-governmental

organizations and individuals that possess information about the cases under

investigation. The Leadership Panel and the Mechanism’s investigators will be in Damascus for consultations and technical meetings from 1 to 5 August 2016. The

Mechanism will submit a written report to the Security Council in August.

I reiterate my call on Member States and relevant stakeholders, including from

the region, to promptly share information that may help the Mechanism to fulfil its

mandate. I also reiterate the importance of continued cooperation by the

Government of the Syrian Arab Republic to the requests of the Mechanism for

information and/or access.