NOTE BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL PROGRESS IN THE ELIMINATION OF THE SYRIAN CHEMICAL WEAPONS PROGRAMME / EC-81/DG.11

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 twenty-ninth monthly report, is therefore submitted in accordance with the aforementioned Council decisions, and includes information relevant to the period from 23 January to 22 February 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 summary, of the 12 robustly constructed CWPFs (five underground structures and seven reinforced aircraft hangars), only one hangar remains to be destroyed. The Secretariat has also verified the destruction of eight mobile units and five stationary above-ground facilities. Within the reporting period, the security situation continued to preclude safe access to the aforementioned hangar to be destroyed. Also, as the locations of EC-81/DG.11 page 2 two other stationary above-ground facilities remain outside the control of the Syrian Government, their condition cannot be confirmed at this time. (b) On 16 February 2016, the Syrian Arab Republic submitted to the Council its twenty-seventh monthly report (EC-81/P/NAT.5, dated 15 February 2016) 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. The Secretariat and the United Nations Office for Project Services continued their cooperation in the context of the OPCW Mission in the Syrian Arab Republic. Seven OPCW staff members were deployed as part of that mission as at the cut-off date of this report (this includes the Declaration Assessment Team (DAT)). 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). Further, and as requested by the Council at its Eightieth Session (paragraph 7.19 of EC-80/4*, dated 8 October 2015), efforts to resolve the gaps, inconsistencies, and discrepancies with the declaration have been expedited, as the DAT has conducted four visits to the Syrian Arab Republic since that session. 10. As previously reported, the DAT began its fourteenth visit on 18 January 2016 and had, at the beginning of the visit, discussed the provisional analytical results of the samples taken during its eleventh and twelfth visits with Syrian authorities. In the latter part of the DAT’s fourteenth visit, which ended on 26 January 2016, the aforementioned sample results were discussed further, and new samples were taken at two of three sites visited by the DAT. The DAT began its fifteenth visit on 20 February to conduct a meeting with the Syrian authorities held in Beirut, and to bring the newly taken samples back to OPCW designated laboratories. The fifteenth visit is expected to end on 25 February 2016. 11. In accordance with the Council’s request at its Eightieth Session in October 2015 that the Director-General report to it, before its Eighty-First Session (in March 2016), the EC-81/DG.11 page 3 details of all unresolved issues, in particular those for which no further progress can be made, the Director-General issued a report 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 will be taken up by the Council at its Eighty-First Session. Supplementary resources 12. As at the cut-off date of this report, the Trust Fund for Syria Missions, which was established in November 2015 to support the Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) and other remaining activities, such as those of the DAT, had a balance of EUR 3.1 million. Contribution agreements have 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 13. The FFM has completed its latest mission. This mission, as reported earlier, was focused on the incidence of discovery of sarin or a sarin-like substance in certain blood samples. The focus of the enquiry is to seek to gain a better understanding of the circumstances under which such exposure might have occurred. The information and data collected are being currently examined. 14. The Head of the OPCW-United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism, through a letter addressed to the Director-General dated 16 February 2016, provided the first report of the Joint Investigative Mechanism and requested that the OPCW Executive Council be informed. The report was submitted to the United Nations Security Council on 12 February 2016 pursuant to resolution 2235 (2015) and has since been made available to the OPCW Executive Council in accordance with paragraph 11 of that resolution. Conclusion 15. The main focus of the future activities of the OPCW Mission in the Syrian Arab Republic will be on the DAT and FFM activities, as well as the destruction and verification of the remaining aircraft hangar and confirmation of the status of the two stationary above-ground facilities currently outside the control of the Syrian Government.