WORK OF SUBSIDIARY BODIES AND ALLEGED USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS IN SYRIA RAISED BY DELEGATIONS AT THE CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT

The Conference on Disarmament this morning heard from its President Hussam Edin Aala, Permanent Representative of Syria, who briefed the Conference on the consultations he had been conducting since assuming the Presidency on 28 May 2018. The Conference discussed the work of subsidiary bodies and decision CD/2119, the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria, including impartial investigations into the attacks and the accountability thereon, as well as the attempts to strengthen the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention which would be discussed at the upcoming special session of the Conference of States Parties.

Mr. Aala recalled in his opening remarks that the main focus of the Presidency was to build consensus on a programme of work, which was a collective responsibility and not of the Presidency alone. The President regretted that two subsidiary body coordinators had not taken part in a consultative meeting on Monday 5 June, which raised questions about their commitment to the Rules of Procedure and the mandate contained in decision CD/2119 of 16 February.

During the plenary, a number of delegations said that, while accepting the Rules of Procedure which foresaw the rotation of the Presidency in alphabetical order, it was deeply regrettable that the Presidency of this most important body fell on Syria, which was blatantly violating the Conference’s objective of furthering peace by the way of disarmament. Several delegations, on the other hand, expressed their support for the Presidency and underlined that questioning the Rules of Procedure and the choice of the Presidency defined by those very Rules would put into question the functioning of the Conference on Disarmament as a whole.

The use of chemical weapons by Syria represented probably the most flagrant of all violations, delegations said, and demanded that Syria immediately stop using chemical weapons, including sarin, chlorine and mustard gas, and also immediately stop the deliberate targeting of civilians. The current state of impunity for the perpetrators of the use of chemical weapons was entirely unacceptable, and several delegations expressed regret at the non-renewal of the mandate of the Joint Investigative Mechanism in November 2017, as it had been a fully legitimate body and very instrumental in finding evidence of the use of chemical weapons.

Mr. Aala, speaking in his national capacity, said Syria reiterated its condemnation of the use of chemical weapons anytime and anywhere, and categorically denied that Syria possessed any chemical weapons, and had not possessed a chemical arsenal since 2013. Such allegations were a pretext for military intervention.

Delegations said the global norm against chemical weapons was under threat and that was why a number of States had called for a special session of the Conference of States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention which would take place on 26 and 27 June in The Hague. It would be the key moment to strengthen the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and also strengthen the Chemical Weapons Convention as the pillar of the international arms control and non-proliferation architecture. Several delegations objected to the holding of this special session, noting that it was nothing but a pursuit of narrow political goals which would turn a technical instrument into a political one and allow for verdicts on certain States and their leadership in harshest terms by a minority of States parties.

Speaking in the public plenary were Pakistan, United Kingdom, Canada, China, Cuba, Australia, Bulgaria on behalf of the European Union, Venezuela, Brazil, Iran, Mexico, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Russia, Egypt, Sweden, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Poland.


The next plenary session of the Conference on Disarmament will take place on Tuesday, 12 June 2018 at 10 a.m.


Statements

HUSSAM EDIN AALA, Permanent Representative of Syria and President of the Conference, said that the main focus of the Presidency was to ensure consensus between Member States on the programme of work and reiterated that he would engage in bilateral consultations in order to have a clear understanding of the issues at hand. The President said he would work in an open and inclusive manner and stressed that the programme of work was a collective responsibility and not of the Presidency alone. The consultations to date had shown a general support for the Presidency, said Mr. Aala, and stressed that the work of the subsidiary bodies should not undermine the function of the Presidency, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure, particularly as the objective of the subsidiary bodies and the Presidency were one and the same.

On Monday 5 June, the President had engaged in consultations with regional coordinators and coordinators of the subsidiary bodies in order to obtain the initial assessment of discussions to date and the prognosis for a common ground that might emerge and thus support the consensus on a programme of work. Unfortunately, two coordinators, of the second and fourth subsidiary bodies, had not participated in that meeting, which had prevented the President from obtaining a holistic view of the work of the subsidiary bodies. This had raised questions about the commitment of certain coordinators to the Rules of Procedure and the decisions of the Conference, putting aside political considerations, and about their role in strengthening cooperation and positive dialogue in subsidiary bodies. There must be an approach based on constructive communication and positive exchange of views in order to break the deadlock in the Conference, underlined the President.

Pakistan said that it was unfortunate and regrettable that two coordinators had refused to meet with the President, and had chosen to ignore the terms of the decision CD/2119. Pakistan stressed that no Member State should allow its political views regarding a fellow Member State to discredit the office of the President, or to implement the Conference’s decisions selectively. If those two coordinators were not comfortable working with one of the six Presidents during the 2018 session, they should not have volunteered for the positions, said Pakistan. It expressed its hope that the refusal by the two coordinators to engage with the current President would not prove to be the unravelling of the hard won consensus and carefully balanced compromise to hold substantive work in the Conference on Disarmament.

United Kingdom said that this meeting today was taking place just weeks after another shocking violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention in Syria, in which up to 75 people – including children – had been killed in a barbaric attack on Douma on 7 April. The world had seen the harrowing images of women, men and children lying dead with foam in their mouths, civilians who, at the time of the attack, were seeking shelter underground in basements. The Syrian regime had an abhorrent record of using chemical weapons against its own people, said the United Kingdom, noting that the chemical weapons use had become an all too regular weapon of war in the Syrian conflict. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons had recorded more than 319 allegations since the fact-finding mission established in 2014, while the Joint Investigative Mechanism with the United Nations had found Syria responsible for using chemical weapons on four occasions between 2014 and 2017, including chlorine and sarin.

The United Kingdom further said that Syria had not provided the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons with a complete account of its chemical weapons programme. Based on the persistent pattern of behaviour, and the cumulative analysis of specific incidents, it was highly likely that the Syrian regime had continued to use chemical weapons since the attack on Khan Shaykhun a year ago; if unchecked, all the evidence suggested that Syria would continue to do so, said the United Kingdom. The global norm against chemical weapons was under threat and that was why the United Kingdom together with Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, and the United States had called for a special session of the Conference of States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention that would be convened later this month. This would be the key moment for the international community to consider ways to strengthen the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Kingdom encouraged all countries to attend. The United Kingdom would continue to work tirelessly to hold those responsible for breaches of international law and norms to account and to uphold the global consensus that chemical weapons should not be used.

HUSSAM EDIN AALA, Permanent Representative of Syria and President of the Conference, stressed the importance of focusing on constructive work in order to ensure success in the Conference on Disarmament and said that insisting on such forms of politicization would not contribute to this objective. Affirming that each Member State had the right to raise any issue that was on the agenda of the Conference, Mr. Aala hoped that the conversation would follow the Rules of Procedure. It was also important to use diplomatic language when addressing other Member States and not use names that were not countries’ official names.

Canada reiterated its deep regret that Syria had assumed the Presidency of the Conference given its repeated violation of its disarmament obligations. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism had found in October 2107, for the fourth time, that the Assad regime was responsible for the use of chemical weapons. Most distressingly, the direct cost of this disregard for international laws and norms was paid by Syrian civilians, said Canada and then described testimonies by victims of such attacks in Syria, and medical staff who attended to them, which clearly showed Syria’s contempt for its disarmament obligations and international norms of behaviour.

Canada was also concerned about the similar behaviour of Syria concerning nuclear non-compliance, as it had constructed a covert nuclear reactor in Deir ez-Zor, since destroyed, and it had failed to declare it to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Regrettably, the State currently presiding over Conference on Disarmament was wilfully and arrogantly disregarding international laws and obligations under several non-proliferation treaties. Syria’s Presidency further eroded the credibility of the Conference on Disarmament.

China thanked the President for his transparent conduct of consultations and expressed its continued support for his work. China recalled that so far in 2018, the Conference had set up five subsidiary bodies to carry out frank and in-depth discussions on the agenda items of the Conference, and the momentum had so far been positive. China stressed that the subsidiary bodies should carry out their work under the guidance of the President and urged the coordinators to work closely with the President and keep each other informed in a timely manner in order to seize the positive momentum building up in the subsidiary bodies.

Cuba shared the concern expressed by Pakistan and China and stressed the importance of respecting the Rules of Procedure and decisions consensually adopted by this very body, as it would further the work of the Conference. Cuba urged all Member States to respect the mandate of the Presidency and Rules of Procedures. Representatives of the Netherlands and Germany were failing to respect the norms and rules of this forum and it would be their fault if the whole machinery that the Conference had created did not work.

Australia strongly condemned the use of chemical weapons and took note of the claims that, because the Conference on Disarmament was not a judicial or investigative body, it should leave such matters to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the Security Council, and focus instead on developing a programme of work. Australia remarked that as the body which had negotiated the Chemical Weapons Convention, the Conference had a legitimate interest in its effectiveness and implementation – a programme of work was meaningless without trust and confidence that States intended to comply with their commitments. The Conference on Disarmament did not exist in a vacuum. The international community could not accept any use of chemical weapons, anywhere, at any time, and it needed to reassert the critical importance of upholding obligations under international law.

Australia deplored Syria’s ongoing non-compliance with its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and said it was unconscionable that there was no formal international mechanism able to attribute responsibility for use of chemical weapons in Syria because of the intransigence of some States. Australia called on all States parties to support and attend the special session of the Conference of States Parties later in June to reaffirm their commitment to the Convention and express full support for the thorough, comprehensive and impartial work of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, including its fact-finding mission and Declaration Assessment Team in Syria. Australia also expressed its support for the International Partnership against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons, which was a timely, practical cross-regional initiative to reinforce the norms and support the existing international architecture. Australia concluded by stressing that responsible States did no look the other way when fundamental norms of the international community were breached, and that those who used, enabled or shielded the use of chemical weapons must be brought to account.

HUSSAM EDIN AALA, Permanent Representative of Syria and President of the Conference, asked the Secretariat to clarify the legal status of the European Union in the Conference on Disarmament and explain whether a State which was not a member of the Conference could speak on behalf of the European Union. He said he would give the floor to Bulgaria in its national capacity.

A representative of the Secretariat said that the matter would be looked into.

Bulgaria, saying that it was speaking on behalf of the European Union, reiterated the continued strong support for the Chemical Weapons Convention and strongly condemned the use of chemical weapons, which was a war crime and a crime against humanity for which there must be no impunity. The European Union recalled Syria’s obligations as a State party to the Chemical Weapons Convention, strongly condemned the repeated use of chemical weapons by the Syrian Armed Forces and by Daesh, and expressed strong support for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons fact-finding mission and the work of the Declaration Assessment Team. The European Union deeply regretted that the mandate of the Joint Investigative Mechanism established by the United Nations Security Council resolution 2235 to identify perpetrators of chemical attacks in Syria had not been renewed in November 2017, and stressed the critical importance of restoring an independent mechanism for attribution.

It was the responsibility of the international community to identify and hold accountable those responsible for the development and use of chemical weapons. In this regard, the European Union welcomed the work under the framework of the International Partnership against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons. The European Union was consistently taking action against the confirmed use of chemical weapons; it had imposed additional restrictive measures against Syrian high-level officials and scientists for their role in the development and use of chemical weapons, and remained ready to impose other measures as appropriate. The European Union expressed support for the special session of the Conference of States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention on 26 and 27 June in The Hague and encouraged all countries to attend and consider how best to respond to the challenge of the continued use of chemical weapons. The continued relevance of the Conference on Disarmament was of the utmost importance to the European Union, which fully supported the continuation of the work of subsidiary bodies and their coordinators rather than conducting parallel consultations with the current Presidency which did not have the necessary credibility and legitimacy to lead the work due to the repeated violations of international law.

HUSSAM EDIN AALA, Permanent Representative of Syria and President of the Conference, said that the statement by Bulgaria would be addressed in light of the forthcoming information about the legal status of the European Union in the Conference on Disarmament.

Venezuela supported the statements by Pakistan, China and Cuba and stressed that double standards must be removed from the work in the Conference. Decision CD/2119 was very clear in that the coordinators would conduct their work under the guidance of the Presidency, which meant that they had to work hand in hand with the President in order to fulfil their mandate.

Brazil expressed support for the Presidency and hoped that the activities of the subsidiary bodies and the consultations would build consensus on the five core items of the Conference’s agenda. Ensuring that the Conference continued to act as the only multilateral negotiating forum on nuclear disarmament must be prioritized over the issues that could be addressed in other fora, by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons which had both the mandate and the technical capacity to address the allegations of the use of chemical weapons, and by the United Nations Security Council in peace and security issues, including in attributing responsibility with respect to the use of chemical weapons and violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Brazil had declared support for renewing the mandate of the Joint Investigative Mechanism as an important step in the investigation of the chemical incidents in the conflict in Syria

Iran regretted that two coordinators of the subsidiary bodies had refused to meet with the President, which was in violation of decision CD/2119, the Rules of Procedure, and impartiality, and it also set a dangerous precedent in the work of the Conference. Iran agreed with Pakistan, China, Cuba, Venezuela and Brazil regarding the substantive work of the Conference and the importance of constructive consultations with the President.

Mexico reiterated its commitment to the Conference and stressed the importance of continuing work under the current Presidency in order to identify commonalities and move the body forward. At the same time, Mexico was duty bound to express its deep concern about the use of chemical weapons in Syria which it condemned in the strongest terms.

HUSSAM EDIN AALA, Permanent Representative of Syria and President of the Conference, also condemned the use of chemical weapons anywhere and at any time, and said that this was a shared principled position of all States.

Germany said that, while accepting the Rules of Procedure of the Conference on Disarmament which foresaw the rotation of presidencies in alphabetical order, Germany deeply regretted that the Presidency of this most important body fell on Syria. The Presidency of this most important organization should be a bright example of the goal which it represented: furthering peace by the way of disarmament. It was a cynical coincidence of the Rules of Procedure that a State in blatant violation of this objective executed the current chairmanship. Syria’s infractions concerning the use of chemical weapons were probably the most flagrant of all violations. Germany demanded that Syria stop using chemical weapons immediately. The reports by the Joint Investigative Mechanism and the Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry on Syria had indicated that the Syrian regime bore responsibility for the use of chemical weapons such as chlorine and mustard gas in Syria. Germany condemned in the strongest terms any use of chemical weapons and the deliberate targeting of civilians in Syria.

Syria must finally and immediately declare its entire chemical weapons programme and destroy it under the surveillance of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Germany stressed that the current state of impunity for the perpetrators of the use of chemical weapons was entirely unacceptable and that those responsible must be identified and eventually held accountable. Germany would not accept that the use of chemical weapons in Syria eroded the non-use norm enshrined in the Chemical Weapons Convention and it aimed to strengthen the Chemical Weapons Convention as the pillar of the international arms control and non-proliferation architecture. Germany remained committed to the goals of this organization and said that it was not by shying away from responsibilities that disarmament objective would be achieved. It was deeds and not words that were needed. As the coordinator of the subsidiary group number four, Germany said that the work in the group had successfully commenced and at the moment, there was no need for consultations.

HUSSAM EDIN AALA, Permanent Representative of Syria and President of the Conference, said that the discussion in the Conference today did not represent allegations but legitimate concerns by the Presidency and some Member States, in relation to the violation of the Rules of Procedure and the mandate given to the coordinators by CD/2119.

Netherlands recalled that decision CD/2119 adopted by this Conference on 16 February contained explicit language concerning the role of the Presidency in relation to the work of the subsidiary bodies, and said the words “under the guidance of the President” referred to the appointment of the coordinators and not the work of the subsidiary groups. As the coordinators had been successfully appointed as called for by the decision, no further role for the President was foreseen in relation to the subsidiary bodies. Additionally, the purpose of the meeting called for by the President, and the urgency, had not been made clear. The Netherlands would continue to take its responsibilities in guiding the work of the subsidiary body in accordance with decision CD/2119.

HUSSAM EDIN AALA, Permanent Representative of Syria and President of the Conference, said that the explanation offered by the Netherlands was clearly not widely shared by other Member States of the Conference and reminded the Netherlands of the mandate of the President to explore ways and means of building consensus on a programme of work. The subsidiary bodies and the President were working towards the same objective, thus the need to complete a picture about the ongoing work in the subsidiary bodies. There was no intention by the Presidency to interfere, said Mr. Aala.

Switzerland said that the terms of reference of the subsidiary bodies had been established by two decisions adopted by the Conference on Disarmament, CD/2119 and CD/2126, which had also clarified the relationship between the subsidiary bodies and the plenary. The subsidiary bodies would report to the plenary through the Presidency only when they completed their work in August. The guidance of the President referred to the appointment of coordinators, and this was exactly what had been done under the Swedish and Swiss presidencies, concluded Switzerland.

HUSSAM EDIN AALA, Permanent Representative of Syria and President of the Conference, clarified that the invitation to the coordinators of the subsidiary bodies was not to get them to report to the plenary but for the Presidency to get the full picture of the ongoing work prior to starting bilateral consultations.

Canada agreed with the Netherlands and Switzerland that CD/2119 was very clear about the division of responsibilities and in particular what the President’s role was going to be until the reports by the subsidiary bodies were ready. Canada said that re-examining and re-debating the purpose of the subsidiary bodies, and being too intrusive would be “making a bit of mischief” with regard to their functioning. Those groups were at the beginning of their work and there was not very much to share, so Canada suggested that they should be left to run as initially intended and report to the Conference when a full slate of meetings was concluded.

HUSSAM EDIN AALA, Permanent Representative of Syria and President of the Conference, disagreed with Canada and said that the meeting on Monday had been very significant and substantive in terms of the ideas exchanged with the coordinators in attendance.

Russia reiterated the call to delegations to refrain from transforming the Conference into a politicized forum of exchange on issues that were not on its agenda and also reiterated its consistent opposition to the use of chemical weapons by anyone and anywhere in the world. The urgent national programme for the destruction of chemical weapons was in place in Russia which would ensure it had reached the objective three years before the deadline. Russia had always supported independent and impartial investigations into the use of chemical weapons and had been a part of the establishment of the Joint Investigative Mechanism for Syria and in 2016 had voted in favour of the extension of its mandate. However, the functioning of the Mechanism had cast doubts on the conclusions of its work and this had raised the practical question of its reform. The proposal to the Security Council by Russia, together with China and Bolivia, to extend the mandate and bring the Mechanism in line with the highest standards of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons had been blocked by the Western States permanent members who wanted to keep the Mechanism unchanged and continue to use it for their purposes. It was the responsibility of those States that the Mechanism had ceased to exist, said Russia.

Those States were now attempting to achieve in the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons what they could not in the Security Council, and were talking about the Organization carrying out functions that it was not mandated for. Russia was fundamentally against this destructive ambition and underlined that the only international body, alongside the international courts, which could identify those responsible and measures to be taken against them, was the Security Council. Russia firmly suggested that its partners immediately seek to strengthen the effectiveness of the work of field missions created under the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Time was clearly ripe for the reform of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for the investigation into alleged chemical attacks in Syria and ensuring that the structure started to function properly pursuant to the highest standards of the Organization, its mandate and its governing bodies.

Convening the Conference of States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention and the intention to change the functioning of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons had nothing in common with the purposes of the Chemical Weapons Convention and was just a pursuit of narrow political goals. Pursuant with the Chemical Weapons Convention, decisions were adopted by a two-thirds majority of States voting; abstentions were not counted and their opinion therefore played no role. In this way, the major decision on the fate of the Chemical Weapons Convention, its reformatting, turning a technical instrument into a political instrument, and passing verdicts on certain States and their leadership in harshest terms, could be taken by a minority of States parties. Finally, Russia reiterated the conviction that all the work in the Conference should be conducted in accordance with the Rules of Procedure and the decisions adopted by the Conference itself.

Egypt objected to the interpretations of CD/2119 offered by the Netherlands, Switzerland and Canada, which were “utterly unfounded”. A question to be asked to the delegations which claimed that the President had no role in the work of subsidiary bodies was how the Presidency would fulfil its work and the mandate to build consensus on a programme of work otherwise. Egypt was seeing a deliberate tendency to undermine the work of subsidiary bodies in the 2018 session, and was determined not to let that happen.

Sweden agreed that subsidiary bodies needed to continue their work and also agreed with Switzerland on the interpretation of CD/2119. This had been the interpretation Sweden had followed while discharging the functions of the Presidency earlier this year. Sweden fully respected the mandate of the President in adopting a programme of work and said that subsidiary bodies were now up and running and should continue their work, and it was up to the coordinators to coordinate their work and report their results in August.

HUSSAM EDIN AALA, Permanent Representative of Syria and President of the Conference, said that he had heard in previous statements misinterpretations not only of CD/2119 but the Rules of Procedures as well, and reiterated the key task of the President to achieve a consensus on a programme of work.

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea commended the efforts of the President towards the adoption of a programme of work and joined Pakistan, Venezuela, Cuba, Iran and others in respecting the Rules of Procedure and the critical role of the President in pursuing consensus on a programme of work. It was deeply regrettable that two coordinators of subsidiary bodies had refused consultations with the President which was a violation of the CD/2119 and the Rules of Procedures. Such attempts to politicize the work of the Conference and undermine the role of the President were of deep concern.

Poland expressed regret at the non-renewal of the mandate of the Joint Investigative Mechanism which had been a fully legitimate body and very instrumental in finding evidence of the use of chemical weapons. Since 2014, the fact-finding mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons had identified 83 incidents involving the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria; the investigators had confirmed their use on 14 of those cases. Poland reminded that each use was a crime under international law which could also constitute a crime against humanity. The Security Council had failed to meet its responsibility to ensure accountability. Poland was working to build new leadership and to restore shared ownership and respect for the global ban on chemical weapons, which must include the creation of an impartial mechanism to identify those who used them. Poland supported the efforts to strengthen the Chemical Weapons Convention to ensure the effective implementation of this landmark disarmament treaty.

China reiterated its principled opposition to the use of chemical weapons and stressed that all allegations of their use must be based on facts and not rumours and that all conclusions must be based on impartial investigations. China agreed with Russia concerning the need for a major reform of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and called upon all countries to seriously consider such issues and also avoid their politicization. With regards to the Rules of Procedures of the Conference on Disarmament, China reminded that due process must be followed in order to avoid that all efforts were delegitimized.

Pakistan agreed with Egypt’s interpretation of CD/2119 and stressed that the words of the decision could not be twisted to suit anyone’s political views. The subsidiary bodies must be chaired by coordinators appointed by the Conference under the guidance of the President. It was ironic that countries that spoke of the rule of law were those that were not fulfilling their obligations under CD/2119. Pakistan was weighing its options on how to deal with this unfortunate situation.

Brazil said that it was a bit upsetting that at this point in time, while the work in subsidiary bodies was ongoing, that the Conference was getting bogged down on issues that should not have been raised in the first place. Questioning the Rules of Procedure and the choice of the Presidency, which was defined by those very Rules, would put into question the functioning of the Conference on Disarmament as a whole, as thereon everything could be questioned.

Iran expressed surprise at the recent innovative interpretations of the decisions and the Rules of Procedure and it put on record its reservations in this regard. It was regrettable that the two coordinators who had declined to meet with the President had resorted to fallacious interpretations of the Rules of Procedure. The Chemical Weapons Convention was a comprehensive treaty; if it was going to be fully implemented, any politicization of the rules must be avoided, warned Iran.

Germany fully respected the opinion of others on the validity of decisions CD/2119 and CD/2126 and the respective connection to the Rules of Procedure, and said that the only thing that could be stated with certainty was that there were diverging views in the Conference. At the moment, it was premature to make judgements on possible outcomes on a programme of work, especially as some subsidiary bodies had not started their work yet. There was no need to interfere in the work of subsidiary bodies, thus any effort to come to any preliminary conclusion would not contribute constructively to an adoption of a programme of work.

HUSSAM EDIN AALA, Permanent Representative of Syria and President of the Conference, speaking in his national capacity, said that it was regrettable to witness politicization and polarization in the work of the Conference in an unprecedented manner. There were attempts to raise extraneous issues which were outside the mandate of the Conference, due to political motives and objectives of some that were well known. Syria agreed that those issues would be more effectively addressed by relevant technical fora. Some delegations had raised allegations of the use of chemical weapons in Syria claiming that the Conference on Disarmament, as a body which had negotiated the Chemical Weapons Convention, could do so. Syria insisted that the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons was the optimum forum to discuss the issue, given its legal and technical capabilities, just as the International Atomic Energy Agency was an appropriate venue for other discussions, including the Deir ez-Zor site.

In light of the recent admission of Israel concerning the deliberate targeting of the Deir ez-Zor site, Syria noted the responsibility of Israel for this act of aggression, and insisted that the International Atomic Energy Agency was the appropriate forum for this discussion. Syria reiterated its condemnation of the use of chemical weapons anytime and anywhere, and categorically denied that Syria possessed any chemical weapons, and had not possessed a chemical arsenal since 2013. Such allegations were a pretext for a military intervention, said Syria, and noted the tripartite military aggression launched against Syria on the pretext of the Douma incident against a scientific laboratory in Damascus. Syria had repeatedly indicated that it no longer possessed any kind of chemical weapons and that it had discontinued its production and dismantled the production facilities. And yet, some States continued to launch such allegations without waiting for the results of investigative actions by authorized bodies.


For use of the information media; not an official record

DC18.28E