REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL PROGRESS IN THE ELIMINATION OF THE SYRIAN CHEMICAL WEAPONS PROGRAMME / EC-93/DG.5

REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL PROGRESS IN THE ELIMINATION OF THE SYRIAN CHEMICAL WEAPONS PROGRAMME Background 1. In accordance with subparagraph 2(f) of the decision by the Executive Council (hereinafter “the Council”) at its Thirty-Third Meeting (EC-M-33/DEC.1, dated 27 September 2013), the Technical Secretariat (hereinafter “the Secretariat”) is to report to the Council on a monthly basis regarding the implementation of that decision. In accordance with paragraph 12 of United Nations Security Council resolution 2118 (2013), the report by the Secretariat is also to be submitted to the Security Council through the Secretary-General. 2. The Council, at its Thirty-Fourth Meeting, adopted a decision entitled “Detailed Requirements for the Destruction of Syrian Chemical Weapons and Syrian Chemical Weapons Production Facilities” (EC-M-34/DEC.1, dated 15 November 2013). In paragraph 22 of that decision, the Council decided that the Secretariat should report on its implementation “in conjunction with its reporting required by subparagraph 2(f) of Council decision EC-M-33/DEC.1”. 3. The Council, at its Forty-Eighth Meeting, adopted a decision entitled “Reports of the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission in Syria” (EC-M-48/DEC.1, dated 4 February 2015) noting the Director-General’s intent to include reports of the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission in Syria (FFM), along with information on the Council’s discussion thereof, as part of the monthly reporting pursuant to United Nations Security Council resolution 2118 (2013). Similarly, the Council, at its Eighty-First Session, adopted a decision entitled “Report by the Director-General Regarding the Declaration and Related Submissions by the Syrian Arab Republic” (EC-81/DEC.4, dated 23 March 2016), noting the Director-General’s intent to provide information on the implementation of that decision. 4. The Council, at its Eighty-Third Session, adopted a decision entitled “OPCW-United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism Reports on Chemical Weapons Use in the Syrian Arab Republic” (EC-83/DEC.5, dated 11 November 2016). In subparagraph 12(a) of that decision, the Council decided that the Director-General shall “regularly inform the Council on the implementation of this decision and incorporate information regarding the implementation of this decision into his monthly reporting to the United EC-93/DG.5 page 2 Nations Security Council, through the United Nations Secretary-General, regarding EC-M-33/DEC.1”. 5. This, the seventy-fifth monthly report, is therefore submitted in accordance with the aforementioned Council decisions and includes information relevant to the period from 24 November to 23 December 2019. Progress achieved by the Syrian Arab Republic in meeting the requirements of Executive Council decisions EC-M-33/DEC.1 and EC-M-34/DEC.1 6. Progress by the Syrian Arab Republic is as follows: (a) As stated in previous reports, the Secretariat has verified the destruction of all 27 chemical weapons production facilities (CWPFs) declared by the Syrian Arab Republic. (b) On 17 December 2019, the Syrian Arab Republic submitted to the Council its seventy-third monthly report (EC-93/P/NAT.3, dated 16 December 2019) regarding activities on its territory related to the destruction of its chemical weapons and CWPFs, as required by paragraph 19 of EC-M-34/DEC.1. Progress in the elimination of Syrian chemical weapons by States Parties hosting destruction activities 7. As stated in previous reports, all of the chemicals declared by the Syrian Arab Republic that were removed from its territory in 2014 have been destroyed. Activities carried out by the Technical Secretariat with respect to Executive Council decisions EC-81/DEC.4 and EC-83/DEC.5 8. The Declaration Assessment Team (DAT) continues its efforts to clarify all outstanding issues regarding the initial declaration of the Syrian Arab Republic in accordance with paragraph 3 of Council decision EC-81/DEC.4 and paragraph 6 of Council decision EC-83/DEC.5. 9. The twenty-second round of consultations between the DAT and the Syrian Arab Republic took place from 14 to 23 October 2019. These consultations built upon the work carried out during the previous two rounds that had taken place, respectively, in March and in April 2019. The outcomes of this deployment, together with further information provided by the Syrian Arab Republic and/or collected by the DAT, as well as the results of the analysis of information and samples obtained by the DAT during the previous rounds of consultations, will be reported to the Council accordingly. The DAT is currently planning for the twenty-third round of consultations. 10. In accordance with paragraph 10 of Council decision EC-83/DEC.5, the Secretariat continues to assess conditions for the conduct of inspections at the sites identified by the OPCW-United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism in its third and fourth reports. Pursuant to paragraph 11 of Council decision EC-83/DEC.5, the Secretariat conducted the fifth round of inspections at the Barzah and Jamrayah facilities of the EC-93/DG.5 page 3 Scientific Studies and Research Centre (SSRC) in July 2019. The inspections did not find any substances or activities that are inconsistent with the Syrian Arab Republic’s obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention. The sixth round of inspections was conducted from 6 to 11 November 2019. The outcome of these inspections will be reported to the Council in due course. 11. During the third round of inspections, conducted in November 2018, a Schedule 2.B.04 chemical was detected in one of the samples taken at the Barzah SSRC facilities. Upon a request for clarification from the Secretariat, the Syrian Arab Republic provided an explanation for this finding in a note verbale dated 7 November 2019. The Secretariat is conducting an analysis of this explanation and will inform the Council of the progress made in clarifying this issue in due course. Other activities carried out by the Technical Secretariat with respect to the Syrian Arab Republic 12. The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) continues to provide support to the OPCW Mission in the Syrian Arab Republic in accordance with the Tripartite Agreement concluded between the OPCW, UNOPS, and the Syrian Arab Republic. A meeting of the Steering Committee took place in Damascus on 19 November to discuss the extension of the Tripartite Agreement, in order to conduct all activities related to the Syrian chemical weapons programme, including the Secretariat’s presence in the Syrian Arab Republic and FFM, DAT, and SSRC missions. Following this meeting, it was agreed that the Tripartite Agreement would be extended for three months. Another meeting of the Steering Committee shall take place at the end of January 2020 to further extend the Tripartite Agreement. 13. As at the cut-off date of this report, one OPCW staff member was deployed as part of the OPCW Mission in the Syrian Arab Republic. Activities carried out with respect to the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission in Syria 14. Guided by Council decisions EC-M-48/DEC.1 and EC-M-50/DEC.1 (dated 23 November 2015), as well as by United Nations Security Council resolution 2209 (2015), the FFM continues to study all available information relating to allegations of use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic. 15. The FFM deployed to the Syrian Arab Republic from 3 December to 14 December 2019 to interview witnesses and collect further information regarding incidents that took place in Yarmouk, Damascus on 22 October 2017, in Khirbat Masasinah on 7 July 2017 and 4 August 2017, in Qalib Al-Thawr, Al-Salamiyah on 9 August 2017, and in Al-Balil, Souran on 8 November 2017. The FFM is currently analysing the information collected from this deployment, is planning further deployments, and will report to the Council on the results of this work in due course. EC-93/DG.5 page 4 Activities carried out by the Technical Secretariat with respect to decision C-SS-4/DEC.3 of the Conference of the States Parties at its Fourth Special Session related to the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic 16. Decision C-SS-4/DEC.3 (dated 27 June 2018) adopted by the Conference of the States Parties (hereinafter “the Conference”) at its Fourth Special Session addresses, inter alia, the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic. 17. Pursuant to paragraph 10 of C-SS-4/DEC.3, the Secretariat established the Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) to identify the perpetrators of the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic by identifying and reporting on all information potentially relevant to the origin of those chemical weapons in those instances in which the FFM determines or has determined that use or likely use occurred, and cases for which the OPCW-United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism did not issue a report. The IIT is conducting its investigations, has reached out to States Parties requesting their cooperation, and is in the process of concluding its work on the first incidents under investigation. 18. Pursuant to paragraph 24 of decision C-SS-4/DEC.3, the next progress report on implementation of that decision will be submitted to the Council at its Ninety-Third Session, which will take place from 10 to 13 March 2020. Supplementary resources 19. As previously reported, the Trust Fund for Syria Missions was established in November 2015 to support the FFM and other remaining activities, which include the work of the DAT and IIT, and the biannual inspections of the SSRC. As at the cut-off date of this report, total contributions to this fund stood at EUR 30.2 million. Contribution agreements had been concluded with Australia, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America, and the European Union. Conclusion 20. The main focus of the future activities of the OPCW Mission in the Syrian Arab Republic will be on the activities of the FFM; the implementation of Council decisions EC-83/DEC.5 and EC-81/DEC.4, including declaration-related issues; inspections at the Barzah and Jamrayah sites of the SSRC; and the implementation of Conference decision C-SS-4/DEC.3.