NOTE BY THE DIRECTOR–GENERAL PROGRESS IN THE ELIMINATION OF THE SYRIAN CHEMICAL WEAPONS PROGRAMME / EC-M-40/DG.1/Rev.1

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”) reports 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 submitted to the Security Council through the Secretary-General. This is the sixth such monthly report. 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 this 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. This report is therefore submitted in accordance with both above-mentioned Council decisions and includes information relevant to their implementation during the period from 23 February to 22 March 2014. Progress achieved by the Syrian Arab Republic in meeting the requirements of EC-M-33/DEC.1 and EC-M-34/DEC.1 4. In accordance with subparagraph 1(c) of EC-M-33/DEC.1, the Syrian Arab Republic is required to complete the elimination of all chemical weapons material and equipment in the first half of 2014. Paragraphs 2 and 3 of EC-M-34/DEC.1 establish intermediate completion dates for the removal and destruction of Syrian chemical weapons prior to their complete elimination in the first half of 2014. Progress achieved within the reporting period by the Syrian Arab Republic in fulfilling these obligations is described below: (a) Pursuant to subparagraphs 2(a)(ii) and (iii) of EC-M-34/DEC.1, all chemicals listed in those subparagraphs were due to have been removed from the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic by 31 December 2013 and 5 February 2014, respectively. However, as reported previously, these objectives were not met. On 23 February 2014, the Syrian Arab Republic submitted to the Director-General an amended time frame for the removal of all chemicals. In accordance with this amended time frame, the Syrian Arab EC-M-40/DG.1/Rev.1 page 2 Republic aims to complete the removal of all chemicals from its territory by 13 April 2014, except for chemicals located in facilities that are presently inaccessible. These chemicals could be removed whenever conditions are deemed suitable for movements from these sites but in any event are scheduled for transportation by 27 April 2014, according to the revised schedule; (b) During the reporting period, a significant quantity of chemicals has been removed from the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic. As at the cut-off date of this report, the Syrian Arab Republic had made a total of 11 shipments of priority chemicals to the port of embarkation at Latakia (eight in the reporting period), where they were loaded onto the Danish and Norwegian cargo ships. These most recent shipments mean that almost 35% of declared Priority 1 chemicals and more than 80% of declared Priority 2 chemicals (making a combined total of 49.3% of Priority 1 and 2 chemicals) planned for destruction outside the Syrian Arab Republic have now been removed from Syrian territory. With a total of 93% of the declared isopropanol verified as destroyed on Syrian territory, the total percentage of chemicals both removed and destroyed comes to 53.6%. While progress in the removal of chemicals from Syrian Arab Republic has accelerated, particularly in the reporting period, the target date of 31 March 2014 for the effective destruction of Priority 1 chemicals set by subparagraph 3(a) of EC-M-34/DEC.1 will not be met; (c) Pursuant to subparagraph 2(b) of EC-M-34/DEC.1, the Syrian Arab Republic was requested to destroy all of its chemical weapons production facilities (CWPFs) by 15 March 2014. However, this objective has not been met. As previously reported, a total of 26 CWPFs were declared. During the reporting period, the Syrian Arab Republic has carried out further destruction activities at declared CWPFs. As at the cut-off date of this report, of these 26 CWPFs: eight mobile units had been destroyed and verified; at one CWPF, all declared specialised buildings and equipment had been destroyed and verified; at four CWPFs, all declared specialised/standard buildings and equipment had been destroyed but verification was pending; and at 12 CWPFs, either standard equipment and/or specialised/standard buildings remained to be destroyed and verified. As requested by the Council at its Seventy-Fifth Session (paragraph 7.13 of EC-75/2, dated 7 March 2014), the Syrian Arab Republic is now working on a revised detailed plan for the destruction of the remaining CWPFs to be submitted to the Secretariat, in order for the combined plans for destruction and verification to be submitted to the Council and agreed upon between the Council and the Syrian Arab Republic at its Fortieth Meeting, on 28 March 2014; (d) Pursuant to paragraph 19 of EC-M-34/DEC.1, the Syrian Arab Republic is required to submit a monthly report to the Council regarding activities on its territory related to the destruction of chemical weapons and CWPFs. The fourth such report was submitted to the Secretariat on 17 March 2014 and made available to the Council (EC-M-40/P/NAT.1, dated 17 March 2014); EC-M-40/DG.1/Rev.1 page 3 (e) On 7 March 2014, the Syrian Arab Republic submitted an amendment to its initial declaration. The Secretariat is currently in the process of seeking clarifications on this amendment; and (f) In accordance with subparagraph 1(e) of EC-M-33/DEC.1 and paragraph 7 of resolution 2118 (2013), the Syrian Arab Republic shall cooperate fully with all aspects of the implementation of the decision and the resolution. The Syrian authorities have continued to extend the necessary cooperation to the OPCW-United Nations Joint Mission in the Syrian Arab Republic (hereinafter “the Joint Mission”) in the conduct of its activities during the reporting period. Activities carried out by the Secretariat with respect to the Syrian Arab Republic 5. Effective cooperation with the United Nations in the context of the Joint Mission has continued with close coordination between the two organisations and between the offices in New York, The Hague, Cyprus, and Damascus. As at the cut-off date of this report, 17 OPCW staff members were deployed with the Joint Mission in Damascus and Latakia, and one logistics officer in Beirut. A team of five experts was also temporarily deployed between 11 and 21 March 2014, pursuant to the request by the Council at its Seventy-Fifth Session in relation to CWPFs (paragraph 7.14 of EC-75/2). Further information on the team of experts is provided in paragraph 9 below. 6. The Director-General and the Special Coordinator of the Joint Mission, Ms Sigrid Kaag, have maintained regular contact. The Special Coordinator briefed the Council on 4 March 2014. The Director-General has continued to meet with senior representatives of the States Parties offering to host a destruction facility or otherwise providing assistance with transport or destruction, and to communicate regularly with senior officials from the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic. The Secretariat has continued to provide weekly information briefings to States Parties in The Hague on behalf of the Director-General. Following the request by the Council at its Seventy-Fifth Session that the Director-General brief delegations each week on progress in implementing the plan for the removal of Syrian chemical weapons (paragraph 7.12 of EC-75/2), these information briefings have now been formalised. 7. Given the increased tempo of removal activities, the Joint Mission has been heavily involved in verifying the packing and loading of chemicals prior to their transportation to the port of embarkation at Latakia. As previously reported, activities at the relevant chemical weapons storage facilities (CWSFs) included verifying the chemicals against the initial declaration, taking an inventory of the chemicals loaded into each shipping container, conducting sampling on a random basis, and sealing the containers. During the reporting period, the Syrian authorities began to make use of “armoured jackets” procured with funding from the Joint Mission and intended to provide additional protection for containers carrying liquid chemicals. Upon the arrival of the containers at Latakia, the inventory documents for each shipping container were checked, the integrity of the seals was confirmed, and the contents of the containers were verified on a random basis. Once the containers were securely loaded on board the cargo ships, they returned to international waters, where, along with the naval escorts, they will await further deliveries of chemicals to Latakia. EC-M-40/DG.1/Rev.1 page 4 8. Joint Mission personnel have also visited several CWPFs to verify destruction activities carried out by the Syrian Arab Republic. In addition, Joint Mission personnel visited two CWSFs to confirm that they no longer contained chemical weapons. A closure report has been signed and completed for one of these CWSFs and a closure report for the second CWSF will shortly be submitted to the Syrian authorities. A further four CWSFs are empty and pending verification by Joint Mission personnel. 9. As mentioned above, at the request of the Council at its Seventy-Fifth Session (paragraph 7.14 of EC-75/2), the Secretariat deployed a team of experts to the Syrian Arab Republic to carry out the necessary studies and to render appropriate advice to the Syrian Arab Republic to facilitate the preparation by the Syrian authorities of the revised detailed plan for destruction requested by the Council for the remaining 12 CWPFs. The team of experts arrived in the Syrian Arab Republic on 11 March 2014 and visited six CWPFs, including two types of hangars (single and double), as well as four of the five underground structures (tunnels). One underground structure could not be visited due to security considerations. Based on the outcome of the on-site visits and detailed discussions with the team of experts from the Secretariat, the Syrian Arab Republic is expected to submit to the Secretariat its revised detailed plan for the destruction of the remaining CWPFs. 10. As previously reported, at its Thirty-Eighth Meeting, the Council approved a model agreement (EC-M-38/DEC.1, dated 30 January 2014) specifying the arrangements governing on-site inspections at commercial facilities selected pursuant to paragraph 24 of decision EC-M-34/DEC.1 or sponsored by States Parties pursuant to paragraph 7 of decision EC-M-36/DEC.2. On the basis of this model agreement, the Secretariat conducted negotiations with the governments of Finland, Germany, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America. An agreement with Finland and an arrangement with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland were approved by the Council at its Seventy-Fifth Session (EC-75/DEC.4 and EC-75/DEC.3 respectively, both dated 5 March 2014). An arrangement with Germany and a facility agreement with the United States of America are being finalised with the aim of submitting them to the Council for approval at its Fortieth Meeting. Once destruction activities commence at these facilities, the Director-General will report on progress via these monthly reports, as required by paragraph 4 of EC-M-38/DEC.1. 11. As reported previously, the Secretariat, as required by paragraph 13 of EC-M-34/DEC.1, has developed a draft facility agreement for Syrian CWSFs and submitted the draft to the Syrian authorities for their comments, which are still pending. Supplementary resources 12. As reported in the previous monthly report, several States Parties are providing assistance and resources for the purposes of the transportation, removal, and destruction of Syrian chemical weapons. All equipment requested by the Syrian Arab Republic has now been provided, either through the Joint Mission or under bilateral arrangements, and all the elements necessary for the removal of chemical weapons EC-M-40/DG.1/Rev.1 page 5 from the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic and their subsequent destruction are now in place. 13. As at the cut-off date of this report, the balance in the Syria Trust Fund for the Destruction of Chemical Weapons stood at EUR 47.5 million. Contributions have been received from Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, the European Union, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, the Republic of Korea, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This includes the contributions that were originally made to the first OPCW Trust Fund for Syria and which have, at the request of the donor, subsequently been transferred, in part or in whole, to the Syria Trust Fund for the Destruction of Chemical Weapons. A further contribution of EUR 2 million is expected from Italy, and India has committed to contribute approximately EUR 736,000. Conclusion 14. With the accelerated pace of removal that is now under way, important progress has been made towards meeting the 30 June 2014 deadline for the completion of destruction of all declared chemicals. 15. The Syrian Arab Republic has reaffirmed its commitment to the complete elimination of its chemical weapons by this deadline. In order to realise this objective, it will be important to maintain and possibly enhance the current momentum of removal activities.