الوثيقة S/2016/577/ تقرير الأمين العام رقم 33 لتنفيذ قرارات مجلس الأمن حول سوريا

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

Director-General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

(OPCW), prepared pursuant to paragraph 12 of Security Council resolution 2118 (2013)

(see annex). This report covers the period from 24 May to 23 June 2016.

With respect to the destruction of chemical weapons production facilities

declared by the Syrian Arab Republic, the security situation continues to prevent

access to destroy the remaining hangar. For the same reason, the OPCW Technical

Secretariat remains unable to confirm the condition of two other stationary above -

ground facilities.

With respect to the initial declaration and subsequent submissions from the

Syrian Arab Republic, a team from the OPCW Technical Secretariat visited the

Syrian Arab Republic from 30 May to 3 June. Discussions took place regarding

issues remaining to be resolved, and on the latest analytical results from the

23 samples collected by the OPCW Declaration Assessment Team during its visit to

the Syrian Arab Republic in January. The Director-General of the OPCW and

representatives of the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic met in The Hague

from 20 to 22 June, again with the aim of resolving all outstanding issues in that

regard. This will be the final round of consultations prior to the Director-General’s

report on this matter to the OPCW Executive Council in advance of its next session

from 12 to 15 July.

With regard to the continuing allegations of the use of chemical we apons in

the Syrian Arab Republic, I once again reiterate my deep concern. I reaffirm my

total condemnation of the use of such weapons by any party to the conflict.

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

Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism is

proceeding 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. As part of its

consultations, the Leadership Panel is scheduled to visit two capitals, upon

invitation by the Member States, before the end of June. The Mechanism’s

investigators are preparing for their third technical visit to the Syrian Arab

Republic, scheduled to start on 28 June. The Mechanism also continued its

engagement with non-governmental organizations that possess information about the nine cases under investigation. The Security Council considered the

Mechanism’s second written report on 16 June.

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

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

mandate. I also stress again the importance of continued cooperation by the

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

information and/or access.