Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Monday, October 28, 2013
OPCW First Monthly Report on Syria
The UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon transmitted this report to the Security Council today, October 28th 2013.
It enclosed the first report of the Director - General of the OPCW on the 'Progress in the Elimination of the Syrian Chemical Weapons Program'.
Click here to get a copy of the report.
THE
SECRETARY-GENERAL
It enclosed the first report of the Director - General of the OPCW on the 'Progress in the Elimination of the Syrian Chemical Weapons Program'.
Click here to get a copy of the report.
 |
Sigrid Kaag, Special Coordinator of the OPCW-UN Joint Mission
to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons programme,
speaks to journalists in Damascus. 22 October 2013
|
28
October 2013
Dear
Mr. President,
I
have the honour to transmit the first monthly report of the
Director-General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons (OPCW) pursuant to paragraph 2 (f) of OPCW Executive Council
decision EC-M-3 3fDEC.1 and paragraph 12 of Security Council
resolution 2118 (2013). This letter also provides the information
requested in that resolution on the activities of the United Nations
related to the implementation of the resolution from 27 September to
22 October 2013.
Introduction
At
the outset, I would like to congratulate the OPCW for being awarded
the Nobel Peace Prize. I pay tribute to the leadership of the
Director—General, to the professionalism and dedication of OPCW
staff, and to their Work, which has earned them this year’s Nobel
Peace Prize.
I
Wish to recall your letter of 11 October 2013 (3/2013/603) conveying
the Security Council’s decision to authorize the establishment of
the OPCW-United Nations Joint Mission as proposed in my letter of 7
October 2013 (8/2013/591). I am pleased to confirm that, on 16
October 2013, the Director-General of OPCW and I established the
Joint Mission and concluded a Supplementary Arrangement concerning
cooperation . between the United Nations and the OPCW for the
implementation of Executive Council decision EC-M-3 3/DEC. 1 and
Security Council resolution 2118 (2013) relating to the elimination
of the chemical weapons programme of the Syrian Arab Republic.
Also
on 16 October 2013, in close consultation with the Director-General,
I appointed Ms. Sigrid Kaag as Special Coordinator to head the Joint
Mission. I have every confidence that the strong cooperation that has
already defined the work of the OPCW and the United Nations will
bolster the role of the Special Coordinator and guide the efforts of
our two organizations, Within our respective roles and
responsibilities, to fully implement the Executive Council decision
and Security Council resolution 2118 (2013).
His
Excellency
Mr.
Agshin Mehdiyev
President
of the Security Council
New
York
Upon
appointment, the Special Coordinator immediately assumed her
responsibilities and continued the effective and efficient
functioning of the Joint Mission to date. After a series of meetings
at United Nations Headquarters she travelled to the OPCW Headquarters
in The Hague for consultations on 19 and 20 October with the
Director-General and his staff, along with other stakeholders.
On
21 October 2013 the Special Coordinator travelled to the Syrian Arab
Republic to begin her work from the Joint Mission operations base in
Damascus. She met with Foreign Minister Waiid Al-Moualem, the Deputy
Foreign Minister and Head of the National Committee for the
Implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, Faisal Mekdad, and
other Syrian counterparts to identify ways to finalize phase
II—related activities and discuss arrangements for phase Hi
destruction, as described in my letter of '7 October 2013. During
those discussions the Government reiterated its support to the Joint
Mission, its commitment to fully implement the requirements of
Security Council resolution 2118 (2013) and the decisions of the
Executive Council
of
the OPCW. While in the Syrian Arab Republic, the Special Coordinator
Visited a chemical weapons production facility on 22 October 2013 and
observed the early results of destruction activities.
The
Special Coordinator travelled to Cyprus on 23 October 2013 to develop
the Joint Mission Staging Area and Support Base and convened a.
planning conference attended by OPCW and United Nations officials.
The planning conference focused on phase III activities, and made
important progress on key operational matters. The participants
finalized a mission concept, a planning framewoik, a draft
operational plan, and a range of supporting documentation.
Thus
far the Joint Mission, in particular the OPCW, with the support of
the United Nations, has focused on clarifying elements contained
Within the Government disclosure submitted to the OPCW on 21
September 2013, ahead of an initial declaration to be submitted by 27
October 2013. The Joint Mission has conducted verification activities
at 37 out of 41 disclosed facilities. As the Director-General of the
OPCW indicates in his attached report, Joint Mission personnel have
not been able to visit a few locations due to highly insecure
conditions at the respective locations. The security situation at
each of the locations is under constant review by the Joint Mission,
in close consultation with the Syrian authorities, with the intention
or" visiting them as soon as conditions permit. The Joint
Mission has confirmed the functional destruction of the production
and mixing and filling capabilities at all the sites it has
inspected. In all of these activities the Government of the Syrian
Arab Republic has extended consistent, constructive cooperation.
United
Nations activities
Since
the adoption of resolution 2118 (2013), the United Nations has worked
first to deploy and support the OPCW-United Nations advance team, and
subsequently to launch the Joint Mission. To this end, and guided by
the principles of the Organization’s global field support strategy,
the United Nations has rapidly deployed a range of personnel, assets
and capabilities to the Syrian Arab Republic and Cyprus.
To
accomplish this, the United Nations has drawn frOm other missions in
the region and from Headquarters with the flexible allocation of
personnel, assets and capabilities. As 1 indicated in my letter of '7
October 2013, I intend to make full use of the authorities provided
to me to ensure the timely achievement of the mandate of the Mission
in a safe manner. The costs of these United Nations activities and
deployments will he met by the Joint Mission budget, and will not
come at the expense of other missions’ financial resources.
Currently,
there are 26 OPCW experts and 50 United Nations personnel working in
the Joint Mission, including national staff. These numbers fluctuate
constantly, depending on operational requirements. In addition, some
of the United Nations support responsibilities are being met through
temporary surge deployments of UN personnel who provide short-term
capabilities critical for the start-up of the Joint Mission, but
whose services are required only for a short time and who are
temporarily Joint Mission staff.
During
this reporting period, the United Nations has worked to develop the
Joint Mission’s operational capability across a range of areas. The
United Nations has established office and personnel accommodation for
the Mission, deployed 22 armoured vehicles with the support of
donors, a diesel fuel tanker, and an armoured ambulance. The United
Nations is also providing logistic, administrative and public
information support as well as medical assistance, including a United
Nations doctor and nurse who work in concert with OP CW paramedics.
The United Nations has
also
provided emergency trauma bags for office premises and vehicles,
together with scheduled related training, and a range of chemical
protection equipment. The Mission has established a strategic
communications network by linking through other United Nations
missions in the region, establishing a VHF base station, and
providing computers and satellite and mobile telephones. The United
Nations has provided for the Geographic Information System
requirements of the Joint Mission, including affiliated equipment.
Finally, the United Nations has been central to the outreach effort
to Syrian, international and local partners.
The
safety and security of all Joint Mission personnel are a central
concern for
me
and for the Special Coordinator. The security environment in the
Syrian Arab Republic remains difficult and unpredictable. The
security of OPCW and United Nations personnel remains the ultimate
responsibility of the Government of
the
Syrian Arab Republic. The Joint Mission has taken a proactive role in
assessing the security context, working with the host Government to
ensure the necessary security arrangements, and advising on and
supporting the conduct of operations.
The
United Nations liaises with the Government and local groups related
to site access. Opposition groups have a central role in ensuring the
safety of the Mission and access to sites where they may exert
influence. One of the primary risk mitigation measures employed by
the Joint Mission is to deploy to the Syrian Arab Republic only staff
that need to be in the country to perform their function, and to keep
staff in the country only as long as their presence there is
operationally required. In this regard, the Joint Mission Staging
Area and Support Base in Cyprus will play an increasingly important
role as staff are deployed there in support of the Mission, but also
as staff move between Damascus and Cyprus. I
In
other efforts to establish the Mission, and further to paragraph 9 of
Security Council resolution 2118 (2013), in which the Council called
on the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic to conclude modality
agreements with the United Nations and OPCW, on 16 October 2013 the
United Nations and OPCW jointly proposed a draft tripartite
status-of-mission agreement to the Government of the Syrian Arab
Republic with a view to concluding the agreement by 1 November 2013.
The
United Nations and the OPCW have also concluded a tripartite exchange
of letters with the Government of Cyprus, for the Joint Mission
Staging Area and Support Base. Arrangements have also been put in
place in Lebanon to facilitate the transit of Joint Mission personnel
and equipment. The United Nations and the OPCW appreciate the support
of both Governments.
On
the same day that the Joint Mission was officially hunched on 16
October 2013, both the United Nations and the OPCW launched trust
funds to support our respective contributions to this mission. There
has been donor interest in both funds and discussions are ongoing
with a number of countries related to contributions to the United
Nations trust fund.
Phase
III activities
It
is clear that the Joint Mission, and in particular the OPCW, have a.
vital role in verifying Syrian activities with respect to the
destruction of the chemical weapons programme of the Syrian Arab
Republic. Less clear, but vital to the work of the Joint Mission, is
the degree to which the Mission will be expected to provide direct
support t0 Syrian authorities in their own planning or operations.
The role of the Joint Mission, if any, in conducting actual
operations, for instance in the packing, safe transport, and possible
removal from the Syrian Arab Republic of chemical agents, requires
further consultation and review. The Joint Mission is prepared to
contribute to the destruction of the Syrian chemical weapons
programme in the most efficacious manner possible, consistent with
the decision of the OPCW Executive Council and resolution of the
Security Council. I have asked the Special Coordinator, operating
under the guidance of the OPCW Director-General and myself, to
rapidly conclude the necessary consultations with the Syrian
authorities and relevant stakeholders in order to arrive at a shared
understanding of the operational role to be played by the Syrian Arab
Republic, by the Joint Mission, and possibly by Member States. This
is an urgent task if the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic and
the Joint Mission, working together, are to meet the envisaged
deadlines.
As
part of this effort, the Joint Mission will identify areas where
support may. be required from Member States or other organizations. I
am grateful for the offers of assistance that have been made thus far
to the OPCW and the United Nations for this mission. Already the
Joint Mission has received valuable support from Canada, the
Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European
Union. This support has included armoured vehicles vital to the
operational activities of the Joint Mission, airlift capacity for
personnel including the Special Coordinator and for ' material
including armoured vehicles and mapping information. In addition,
Sweden has agreed to place an aircraft at the disposal of the Joint
Mission for an initial period of two months. The aircraft will be
based in Cyprus and used primarily to transport personnel between
Cyprus and Beirut for onward travel to Damascus.
Related
to possible areas of support for the Joint Mission’s work is the
support that the Syrian authorities may require or benefit from for
the conduct of their activities I related to the destruction of the
chemical weapons programme. The Syrian authorities have developed an
initial security plan for the transport of materials associated with
the chemical weapons programme Within the country. That plan will be
further discussed between the Joint Mission and the Government. In
addition, the Syrian Arab Republic is obliged to submit its
destruction plan to the OPCW by 27 October 2013. The ExecutiVe
Council of the OPCW will consider the plan and take a decision by 15
November 2013 outlining the detailed requirements for the complete
elimination of all chemical weapons material and equipment. The
Special Coordinator will work closely with the OPCW headquarters, the
Syrian authorities and interested Member States to ensure
synchronization of the related planning efforts.
The
Syrian Arab Republic remains responsible for the destruction of its
chemical weapons programme and has delivered a copy of a letter
addressed to the OPCW Director—General by the Syrian Deputy Foreign
Minister that contained a list of “requirements for the
implementation of the security plan”. The extensive list included
items related to transportation, material packing and handling,
communications, safety and security, power generation, and personnel
support.
The
Joint Mission is currently analysing the list. The United Nations,
possibly using the trust fund that I have established for this
operation, will consider meeting certain of the validated support
requests either through the direct provision of assistance to the
Government, through the conditional loan of material assistance to
the Government, or through its own direct operational engagement,
acting through the Joint Mission. Some of the support requested by
the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic could potentially be used
for legitimate purposes associated with the destruction of the
chemical weapons programme, while at the same time have practical
military applications. The United Nations will not pro cure or
otherwise provide such dual-use material to the Government. Any
assistance provided by the United Nations will be subject to strict
conditions in order to ensure that it is used solely for the intended
purposes.
The
Special Coordinator will consult With the Syrian authorities, and the
OPCW and the United Nations Headquarters as appropriate, in order to
develop as quickly as possible a list of support requirements for the
Syrian Arab Republic and separately for the Joint Mission, which she
will share with interested Member States as soon as it is available.
As
part of its planning activities, the Joint Mission, with support from
the Health and Safety Branch of the OPCW and the United Nations
Environment Pro gramme, has developed an initial environmental
protection and health and safety analysis. Both parties are prepared
to provide additional assistance once more detail regarding the
overall operational plan of the Joint Mission is established. The
United Nations is
also
in contact with the World Health Organization regarding the possible
public health implications of activities associated with the
destruction of the Syrian chemical weapons programme.
Conclusion
The
Security Council demonstrated the importance of eliminating the
chemical weapons pro gramme of the Syrian Arab Republic when it
unanimously adopted resolution 2118 (2013). The Director-General of
the OPCW and I, together with our staffs, have acted on this mandate
with singular focus to ensure timely progress for the sake of the
Syrian people and for the sake of regional and international peace
and security. The OPCW and the United Nations have managed Within the
brief time of the reporting period to establish a fully functioning
Mission capable of confronting the challenging tasks and operating in
a dangerous and volatile environment.
The
decisions taken by the two Councils rightly accorded operational
priority to disabling the capability to produce chemical weapons in
the Syrian Arab Republic from their separate component parts.
Accordingly, since the initia} deployment of a joint advance team
less than one month ago, the OPCW with the support of the United
Nations, has verified the destruction of critical equipment in
chemical weapons production, mixing and filling facilities. The
functional destruction of the declared capacity of the Syrian Arab
Republic to produce chemical weapons is expected to be completed as
planned by 1 November 2013, a mere 34 days after the adoption of
resolution 2118 (2013), with the possible exception of two sites that
could not be accessed for security reasons. Efforts _will continue to
conduct verification of destruction work at that site.
Let
me reiterate that all destruction of chemical Weapons facilities,
stocks | and associated materials is the responsibility of the Syrian
Government. Neither the OPCW nor the United Nations is mandated to
conduct actual destruction activities. First and foremost, success of
this Joint Mission will depend on the sustained commitment by the
Syrian authorities to fulfil their obligations under the Chemical
Weapons Convention, the decision of the OPCW Executive Council and
the resolution of the Security Council. Without sustained, genuine
commitment by the Syrian authorities, the Joint Mission will not its
objectives.
I
would also like to underscore that the Joint Mission is carrying out
its work in an extremely dangerous, volatile, and unpredictable
environment. It impacts the ability of the Joint Mission to conduct
its highly technical work and we should remain vigilant to do all in
our powers to support the men and women of the OPCW and the United
Nations who have worked so hard, and so well together to achieve
these initial steps. However, the job is far from complete and much'
impmtant work remains to be done. The United Nations will continue to
act in partnership with the OPCW, and through the Joint Mission, to
implement the provisions of resolution 2118 (2013) in their entirety.
I
should be grateful if you could bring this letter urgently to the
attention of the members of the Security Council.
Please
accept, Mr. President, the assurances of my highest consideration.
BAN
Ki-moon
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