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27 September 2013 – In the wake of an August chemical attack in
Syria which a United Nations team later confirmed had killed hundreds of
civilians, the Security Council on Friday called for the elimination of
the country’s chemical weapons, while endorsing a diplomatic plan for
Syrian-led negotiations toward peace.
Through the unanimous adoption of resolution 2118 (2013), the Council called for the speedy implementation of procedures drawn up by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) “for the expeditious destruction of the Syrian Arab Republic’s chemical weapons programme and stringent verification thereof.”
In the text, the Council underscored “that no party in Syria should use, develop, produce, acquire, stockpile, retain, or transfer chemical weapons.”
Defiance of the resolution, including unauthorized transfer of chemical weapons, or any use of chemical weapons by anyone in Syria, would bring about measures under the UN Charter’s binding Chapter VII, which can include sanctions or stronger coercive action, the Council said.
The 15-member body added that it would work with the OPCW in deploying a chemical weapons “monitoring and destruction team” – expecting the full cooperation of the Syrian Government – and it appealed to UN Member States for support, including personnel, expertise, funding and equipment.
It also authorized Member States to acquire, control, transport, transfer and destroy chemical weapons identified by the Director-General of the OPCW, in a way consistent with the Chemical Weapons Convention and the interest of non-proliferation.
“Today’s historic resolution is the first hopeful news on Syria in a long time,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Council following the adoption. “For many months, I have said that the confirmed use of chemical weapons in Syria would require a firm, united response.
“Tonight, the international community has delivered,” he stated.
“As we mark this important step, we must never forget that the catalogue of horrors in Syria continues with bombs and tanks, grenades and guns,” Mr. Ban added. “A red light for one form of weapons does not mean a green light for others. This is not a license to kill with conventional weapons. All the violence must end. All the guns must fall silent.”
Earlier today, Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said that the UN team led by Swedish scientist ?ke Sellström has been able to resume its fact-finding activities related to all pending credible allegations of chemical weapons use, following its return to Syria this week.
Those allegations include, he said, the 19 March incident at Khan al-Asal, reported first by Syria and subsequently by other Member States. As previously agreed with Syria, the other allegations to be investigated include the 13 April incident at Sheikh Maqsud, reported by the United States, and the 29 April incident at Saraqueb, reported by France and the United Kingdom.
In addition, he said, the mission has continued to follow-up with the Government of Syria and to evaluate information it has provided on three additional allegations, including the incidents at Bahhariyeh on 22 August, at Jobar on 24 August, and at Sahnaya on 25 August.
The team, assisted by experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the OPCW, visited the country last month and found “clear and convincing evidence” that Sarin gas was used in an incident that occurred on 21 August in the Ghouta area on the outskirts of Damascus in which hundreds of people were reportedly killed.
Under the General Assembly-approved guidelines, the spokesperson recalled, the mission is obliged to evaluate all available information related to all allegations reported by Member States, for the purpose of preparing its final report.
Also in today’s resolution, the Council endorsed a plan for a Syrian-led process, with participation of all parties, to end the conflict, which has claimed over 100,000 lives since it began in March 2011 and has led to over 2 million people fleeing the country, with some 4 million internally displaced.
It also called for convening, as soon as possible, an international peace conference that is fully representative of the Syrian people.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mr. Ban said the aim is to hold the conference in mid-November. “The United Nations is ready to host Geneva II. It is time for the parties to focus on how to build the peaceful, democratic future Syria needs. All those with influence on the parties must use that influence now. It is crucial to keep up the momentum.
“Today can and must be a stepping stone to peace.”
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=46103&Cr=Syria&Cr1=#.UkZcc3-IzJc
27/9/13
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- Lavrov: UN SC resolution on Syria’s CW does not allow for automatic coercion
UNITED NATIONS, September 28 (Itar-Tass) - The just-adopted UN Security Council’s resolution on Syria’s chemical weapons does not allow for the automatic use of measures of coercion, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday after the 15-member Security Council unanimously voted for the document.
“The resolution does not fall under the operation of Chapter 7 of the UN Charter and it does not envisage any automatic mechanism of using measures of coercion. It reiterates the agreement achieved at the Russian-US meeting in Geneva to the effect that any violations of its requirements, just as the use of chemical weapons by whatever party, should become a matter of close consideration by the UN Security Council, which would be prepared to take action under Chapter 7 of the Charter,” Lavrov explained. “All measures by the SC will be proportionate to the gravity of the offenses, which are to be proven with 100-percent certainty.”
Lavrov said the responsibility for complying with the resolution rested not only on the Syrian government.
“Under SC requirements the Syrian Opposition is expected to cooperate with international experts, too,” he said.
Also, Lavrov pointed to the special responsibility placed on the countries that support the rebels.
“They are obliged to rule out the risk extremists may lay hands on chemical weapons,” he said.
When it joined the chemical weapons ban convention in the middle of September, Syria in fact began to act on its commitments by presenting to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons a detailed declaration describing the condition of its chemical arsenal,” Lavrov said. Moscow proceeds from the assumption Damascus will continue to interact with the international inspectors “constructively and diligently.”
As Lavrov said, Russia proceeds from the assumption that the work of UN and OPCW experts in Syria will proceed professionally and impartially and with full respect for that country’s sovereignty. “Russia will be prepared to participate in all components of the forthcoming mission in Syria and will be actively and closely involved in preparations for the Geneva-2 conference.”
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Geneva-2 was due in the middle of November. The need for convening it at an early date is emphasized in the just-adopted UN SC resolution 2118.
As Lavrov said, “it is fundamentally important the resolution establishes the framework for overcoming the Syrian crisis by political and diplomatic means.”
“It approves without any reservations the Geneva communique of June 30, 2012 as a settlement platform,” Lavrov said.
He voiced the hope that “the ever more fragmented groups of the Syrian Opposition” will follow in the footsteps of the Syrian government to declare their readiness to participate in the international conference without any preconditions.
“We are urging the Opposition’s sponsors to put the necessary pressures on them,” he said.
Lavrov pointed to the benefits which the whole region would derive from the implementation of the plan for eliminating Syria’s chemical weapons.
“It will bring closer the solution of the old-time problem of turning the Middle East into a zone free from weapons of mass destruction and the delivery vehicles,” Lavrov said.
http://www.itar-tass.com/c32/894534.html
28/9/13
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UN Chief Meets with Syrian Opposition Leader...
ReplyDeleteUNITED NATIONS, September 29 (RIA Novosti) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon has met with the leader of Syria’s main opposition group, Ahmad Jarba, and asked him to agree with other opposition forces to select a person who would represent the opposition at the upcoming Geneva conference in November, the UN has reported.
Jarba leads the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces in Syria.
“The Secretary-General welcomed Mr. al-Jarba's commitment to send a delegation to the Geneva Conference, and urged the National Coalition to reach out to other opposition groups and agree on a representative and united delegation,” the UN reported on its website Saturday following the meeting.
“He stressed the paramount importance of embarking on serious dialogue as soon as possible, as well as the need to ensure accountability for war crimes,” the statement said.
Ban said Friday the United Nations aims to hold an international peace conference on Syria in mid-November. Both the Syrian government and opposition are invited to take part.
More than 100,000 people have died in Syria over two years of fighting between government and opposition forces, according to UN estimates.
The UN Security Council unanimously passed a draft resolution on Friday, imposing binding obligations on the Syrian government to eliminate its chemical weapons program for the first time since unrest began there in March 2011.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20130929/183820568/UN-Chief-Meets-with-Syrian-Opposition-Leader.html
29/9/13
Syrie: l'opposition doit déposer les armes avant de négocier (Assad)...
ReplyDeleteLes autorités syriennes sont prêtes à négocier avec l'opposition anti-Assad dans le cadre de la conférence dite Genève-2 à condition que cette dernière dépose les armes, a déclaré dimanche le président syrien Bachar el-Assad dans une interview à la chaîne italienne RaiNews24.
"Si des rebelles sont armés, il ne s'agit pas de l'opposition, mais de terroristes (…). S'ils déposent les armes, nous serons prêts à dialoguer avec eux", a indiqué le dirigeant syrien.
Dans le même temps, M.Assad a assuré que son gouvernement respecterait l'ensemble des exigences avancées par l'Onu au sujet de ses arsenaux chimiques.
En mai 2013, les chefs de diplomatie russe et américaine Sergueï Lavrov et John Kerry ont convenu à Moscou d'organiser une nouvelle conférence internationale sur le règlement du conflit syrien. Ce forum doit faire suite à celui de Genève tenu le 30 juin 2012. La nouvelle conférence - baptisée "Genève-2" - se tiendra aussi dans cette ville suisse.
Samedi, le secrétaire général des Nations unies Ban Ki-moon a déclaré que la conférence Genève-2 devrait se tenir à la mi-novembre.
http://fr.rian.ru/world/20130929/199426587.html
29/9/13
Ban calls on Syrian opposition forces to send united delegation to peace conference...
ReplyDelete29 September 2013 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the National Coalition for the Syrian opposition forces to reach out to other groups and agree on a united delegation for an upcoming peace conference, as he met with the President of the Coalition on Saturday.
During the meeting in New York, the Secretary-General welcomed Ahmad al-Jarba's commitment to send a delegation to the conference, which is expected to take place in mid-November in Geneva and aims to resolve the conflict that is now in its third year.
Mr. Ban “urged the National Coalition to reach out to other opposition groups and agree on a representative and united delegation,” according to a readout of the meeting issued by his spokesperson.
He also stressed the paramount importance of embarking on serious dialogue as soon as possible, as well as the need to ensure accountability for war crimes, it added.
The conflict, which began in March 2011, has claimed over 100,000 lives, sent more than 2 million people fleeing for safety to neighbouring countries and displaced 4 million within Syria.
In the meeting, Mr. Ban underlined the suffering of the Syrian people on all sides, as a result of the conflict, and also the hardship of the neighbouring countries hosting Syrian refugees.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=46129&Cr=Syria&Cr1=opposition#.Ukh8X3-IzJc
29/9/13
Turkish FM Davutoğlu chides Kerry over US praise for al-Assad...
ReplyDeleteTurkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has reproached his U.S. counterpart, John Kerry, for recent remarks praising Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for quickly complying with a resolution to destroy Damascus’ chemical weapons.
“Anyone who speaks about Syria should not say anything elsewhere that they wouldn’t be able to say when looking into the faces of Syrian refugees who are suffering,” Davutoğlu said on Oct. 8, speaking during a press conference with his Danish counterpart, Villy Sovndal.
“It is not possible to find a solution to the Syrian crisis unless we feel the same with the Syrian refugees when someone says the Syrian regime deserves credit,” he added, when asked about Kerry’s recent remarks.
Touching on Turkey’s support for a recent deal on the elimination of chemical weapons in Syria, the minister said he “openly discusses” the issues with Kerry, while underlining that he had a “close, friendly relationship” with the U.S. secretary of state.
“Any discourse that does not address the hearts of the Syrian refugees will not bring peace; on the contrary, it will raise offensiveness ... will egg on an offensive regime to stage more attacks just after chemical weapons were used,” he said.
Davutoğlu referred to pictures of dead children due to recent chemical attack in Syria and stressed that many world leaders, including Kerry, had seen them. “We don’t think those who are responsible for the attack deserve any praise,” he added.
Davutoğlu also warned against the risks if the international community lost its decisive stance against the Syrian government.
The U.S. secretary of state praised al-Assad on Oct. 7 for beginning to destroy chemical weapons in Syria just a week after a U.N. Security Council resolution was passed on the matter.
“I think it’s also credit to the al-Assad regime for complying rapidly, as they are supposed to. Now, we hope that will continue. I’m not going to vouch today for what happens months down the road, but it’s a good beginning, and we should welcome a good beginning,” Kerry said.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Davutoğlu also once again refuted allegations that Turkey was supporting the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front fighting in Syria.
“Turkey has never allowed al-Qaeda-linked groups … to cross its borders,” he said. “No one should bring this allegation, as Turkey is one of the countries fighting against terrorism.”
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-fm-davutoglu-chides-kerry-over-us-praise-for-al-assad.aspx?pageID=238&nID=55931&NewsCatID=338
9/10/13
(Reuters) - Saudi Arabia, in an unprecedented show of anger at the failure of the international community to end the war in Syria and act on other Middle East issues, said on Friday it would not take up its seat on the United Nations Security Council.....
ReplyDeleteThe kingdom condemned what it called international double standards on the Middle East and demanded reforms in the Security Council, which has been at odds on ways to end the fighting in Syria.
Riyadh's frustration is mostly directed at Washington, its oldest international ally, which has pursued policies since the Arab Spring that Saudi rulers have bitterly opposed and which have severely damaged relations between the two, Saudi analysts have said.
Saudi Arabia has also been angered by a rapprochement between Washington and Iran, Riyadh's old regional foe, which has taken root since President Barack Obama spoke by telephone last month to the new Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, in the highest-level contact between the two countries in more than three decades.
Citing the Security Council's failure to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, take steps to end Syria's civil war and stop nuclear proliferation in the region, Riyadh said the body had instead perpetuated conflicts and grievances.
"Saudi Arabia ... is refraining from taking membership of the U.N. Security Council until it has reformed so it can effectively and practically perform its duties and discharge its responsibilities in maintaining international security and peace," said a Foreign Ministry statement.
A decision of such magnitude would have to have been taken by King Abdullah or Crown Prince Salman, said a Saudi analyst who asked not to be named.
"Saudi Arabia has been working on (getting onto the Security Council) for the last three years. They trained diplomats, male and female, the cream of the Foreign Ministry, our best talented youths. Then somebody made the decision suddenly to pull out," he said.
The conservative Islamic kingdom has traditionally avoided big political statements, preferring to wield its influence as the world's top oil exporter, birthplace of Islam and chief Arab ally of the United States behind closed doors.
However, immersed in what they see as a pivotal struggle for the future of the Middle East with arch rival Iran, Saudi rulers are furious that the U.N. has taken no action over the Syrian conflict where they and Tehran back opposing sides.
POISON GAS
Blood-drenched images of Syria's civil war, in which more than 100,000 have died and in which millions have been displaced, are aired daily on Saudi news.
Prince Saud has previously described President Bashar al-Assad's assault on areas held by rebels supported by Saudi Arabia as "genocide".
Saudi anger boiled over after Assad escaped U.S.-led military strikes in response to a poison gas attack in Damascus by agreeing to give up his chemical arsenal.
"There are people being killed every day, every hour. And the Muslim world is very angry because we don't see any action or any strong stance from the Security Council towards this situation," Abdullah al-Askar, chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the kingdom's quasi-parliament, the Shoura Council, told Reuters.
The Security Council has been split on how to handle the civil war in Syria, with Western powers pushing for stronger sanctions against Assad and Russia vetoing resolutions to that end. Saudi Arabia has backed the rebels in that conflict......http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/18/us-saudi-securitycouncil-idUSBRE99H0FL20131018?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
18/10/13
President Gül says Saudi Arabia's UN move aims to draw attention to international body’s failure...
ReplyDeleteTurkish President Abdullah Gül said the recent turn down by Saudi Arabia on U.N. Security Council membership would hopefully draw global attention to some of the international body’s failure, according to Anadolu Agency.
Gül was leaving an Emirgan mosque following Friday prayers when he was asked about the kingdom’s rejection of the Security Council seat, which Gül said should be respected.
“The United Nations loses a lot of credit in the eye of human conscience. I always criticized, during General Assembly meetings, its failure to counter many incidents. It seems like Saudi Arabia is trying to grasp the world’s attention and to give a meaningful response. If they had chosen such a path, it should be met with respect,” Gül said.
The president added that he hoped the kingdom succeeded in shifting the global focus on the failures of the international body.
Saudi Arabia rejected membership of the U.N. Security Council on Oct. 18, a day after it was elected to the body, accusing it of “double-standards” in resolving world conflicts.
“Work mechanisms and double-standards on the Security Council prevent it from carrying out its duties and assuming its responsibilities in keeping world peace,” the foreign ministry said, according to Agence France-Presse.
“Therefore Saudi Arabia... has no other option but to turn down Security Council membership until it is reformed and given the means to accomplish its duties and assume its responsibilities in preserving the world’s peace and security,” a statement said.
For the first time ever, oil-rich, conservative Saudi Arabia won a seat on Oct. 17 on the 15-member council, which has a key role in dealing with world conflicts.......http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/president-gul-says-saudi-arabias-un-move-aims-to-draw-attention-to-international-bodys-failure.aspx?pageID=238&nID=56462&NewsCatID=338
18/10/13
The Syrian authorities are providing full cooperation to the OPCW and UN experts- Sigrid Kaag ...
ReplyDelete“The Syrian government is fully cooperating with the OPCW and UN chemical weapon experts,” said Sigrid Kaag, head of the joint mission of the OPCW and the UN for the destruction of chemical weapons in Syria.
Kaag arrived in Damascus on Monday to monitor the work of the OPCW and UN experts in Syria. “The Syrian Government has provided full support to the UN and OPCW joint mission,” she said.
The mission head also expressed her gratitude to the people of Syria for the warm welcome and also to the Government for the cooperation.
Inspections are being conducted in Syria by 60 experts of the OPCW and the UN who will need to make a road map for the transfer and complete destruction of chemical weapons by mid-2014.
Read more: http://indian.ruvr.ru/news/2013_10_22/The-Syrian-authorities-are-providing-full-cooperation-to-the-OPCW-and-UN-experts-Sigrid-Kaag-3283/
22/10/13
Four out of twenty three chemical weapon sites in Syria remain to be inspected by OPCW experts....
ReplyDeleteThe experts of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) have completed inspection of 19 sites out of the 23 chemical weapons sites declared by Syria, says a report on the OPCW website on Friday.
According to the report, the international experts visited one of the sites on Thursday and made sure that all the chemicals suitable for making weapons were destroyed.
Earlier this week, the OPCW declared that inspections were carried out in 17 sites, and 14 of these sites had the chemicals and equipment’s already destroyed before the visit.
According to the decision taken on September 27th, the OPCW will need to complete the inspection of the sites declared by the Syrian authorities by the end of October, and also visit those sites which the member countries of the OPCW may like to be inspected at a later time, before the experts leave Syria.
Read more: http://indian.ruvr.ru/news/2013_10_25/Four-out-of-twenty-three-chemical-weapon-sites-in-Syria-remain-to-be-inspected-by-OPCW-experts-3027/
25/10/13