NOTE BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL PROGRESS IN THE ELIMINATION OF THE SYRIAN CHEMICAL WEAPONS PROGRAMME

NOTE BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL PROGRESS IN THE ELIMINATION OF THE SYRIAN CHEMICAL WEAPONS PROGRAMME 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, also adopted a decision entitled “Reports of the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission in Syria” (EC-M-48/DEC.1, dated 4 February 2015). 4. This, the thirtieth monthly report, is therefore submitted in accordance with the aforementioned Council decisions, and includes information relevant to the period from 23 February to 23 March 2016. Progress achieved by the Syrian Arab Republic in meeting the requirements of EC-M-33/DEC.1 and EC-M-34/DEC.1 5. Progress by the Syrian Arab Republic is as follows: (a) As reported previously, significant progress has been made with the 27 chemical weapons production facilities (CWPFs) declared by the Syrian Arab Republic. The Secretariat has verified the destruction of 24, and three remain to be verified as destroyed. In particular, the security situation continues to prevent safe access to destroy one aircraft hangar, and to confirm the condition of two stationary above-ground facilities. (b) On 16 March 2016, the Syrian Arab Republic submitted to the Council its twenty-eighth monthly report (EC-82/P/NAT.1, dated 17 March 2016) EC-82/DG.1 page 2 regarding activities on its territory related to the destruction of its CWPFs, as required by paragraph 19 of EC-M-34/DEC.1. (c) The Syrian authorities have continued to extend the necessary cooperation in accordance with the implementation of subparagraph 1(e) of EC-M-33/DEC.1 and paragraph 7 of United Nations Security Council resolution 2118 (2013). Progress in the elimination of Syrian chemical weapons by States Parties hosting destruction activities 6. As reported previously, all the chemicals declared by the Syrian Arab Republic that were removed from its territory in 2014 have now been destroyed. Activities carried out by the Secretariat with respect to the Syrian Arab Republic 7. As the support of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is a key enabler for the continuation of OPCW missions in the Syrian Arab Republic, in particular for the ongoing field activities of the Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) teams, the OPCW intends to extend its cooperation with UNOPS until the end of November. Three OPCW staff members were deployed as part of the FFM as at the cut-off date of this report. 8. The Director-General has continued to communicate with senior officials of the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic. As requested by the Council at its Seventy-Fifth Session (paragraph 7.12 of EC-75/2, dated 7 March 2014), the Secretariat, on behalf of the Director-General, has continued to brief States Parties in The Hague on its activities. 9. The Secretariat and the Syrian authorities have maintained their ongoing cooperation on outstanding issues regarding the Syrian initial declaration, as encouraged by the Council at its Seventy-Sixth Session (paragraph 6.17 of EC-76/6, dated 11 July 2014). The Council, at its Eighty-First Session, noted the Note by the Director-General entitled “Report on the Work of the Declaration Assessment Team Regarding the Declaration and Related Submissions by the Syrian Arab Republic” (EC-81/HP/DG.1, dated 22 February 2016), which detailed all unresolved issues, in particular those for which no further progress can be made, despite the 15 visits to the Syrian Arab Republic undertaken by the Declaration Assessment Team (DAT) over the past two years. The Council, in expressing concern that the report concluded that the Syrian Arab Republic’s declaration and related submissions could not at present be fully verified as accurate and complete as required by the Chemical Weapons Convention and EC-M-33/DEC.1, 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). In that decision, the Council requested that the Director-General engage officials of the Syrian Arab Republic on this matter, while underscoring its importance, and also that the DAT continue its efforts, on an expedited basis, to verify the declaration and related submissions. The Council also requested that the Director-General inform it of the outcome of this engagement in advance of its Eighty-Second Session, and report to it at all future sessions any unresolved issues regarding the Syrian declaration and related submissions. EC-82/DG.1 page 3 Supplementary resources 10. As previously reported, a Trust Fund for Syria Missions was established in November 2015 to support the FFM and other remaining activities, such as those of the DAT. As at the cut-off date of this report, contribution agreements totalling EUR 3.1 million had been concluded with Finland, France, Germany, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, and the European Union. Pledges from other donors have been made and are currently being processed. Activities carried out with respect to the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission in Syria 11. The FFM completed its latest mission, which, as previously reported, focused on the discovery of sarin or a sarin-like substance in certain blood samples from individuals related to the alleged incident in Darayya. The mission sought to gain a better understanding of the circumstances under which such exposure might have occurred. In an addendum to the “Report of the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission in Syria Regarding the Incidents Described in the Communications from the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates and Head of the National Authority of the Syrian Arab Republic” (S/1318/2015/Rev.1/Add.1, dated 29 February 2016), which was circulated to the Council, the FFM concluded that no new information had come to light that would necessitate a change to the report’s original conclusion. 12. The first report of the OPCW-United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM), which was issued to the United Nations Security Council on 12 February 2016 pursuant to resolution 2235 (2015), was made available to the States Parties for their information. The OPCW continues to extend its full cooperation and support to the JIM. Conclusion 13. The main focus of the future activities of the OPCW Mission in the Syrian Arab Republic will be on the implementation of the Council’s decision of 23 March 2016 (EC-81/DEC.4), as well as on the destruction and verification of the remaining aircraft hangar and confirmation of the status of the two stationary above-ground facilities.