Ending Syrian Chemical Weapons

in twenty twenty five. There is lots happening that we have heard that Donald Trump has cut a aid, suspended intelligence reports to Ukraine. Since did the Friday that the whole thing broke down where mister Zelenski wouldn't sign an agreement with Donald Trump and was and he was told that he was not great full enough to Donald Trump. And how Donald Trump said that he couldn't couldn't build a deal with a person who isn't willing to talk reasonably.

Mister Zalinski and the Ukrainian people have been under attack from Russia for a number of years, three years to be exact, and they are looking for it into the war. But they want it into the war that actually preserves the sovereignty of Ukraine. So preserves the borders of Ukraine and sends a clear and definitive message to Russia police, do not cross, do not send any weapons of destruction across those borders into our country, and a lot of respects.

It's not a lot to ask for it. It isn't a lot to ask for the A A leader does represent his people. He does represent the people who want a a lasting piece, not just a simp a simple temporary cease fire. They want to be able to get along with their with their brothers and sisters in the Russian Federation. Along with this, families have been split and the land itself belongs to to the to the people, not to a particular government. So moving forward, mister Zelenski

looks like he will. He will be dependent on the getting help from the European Union and from Canada, who still stand with him in his fight against tyranny and a tyrant leader who is his next door neighbor. Okay, So moving on the on again off again with with the taris and how mister Trump says that the tariffs are are going to happen, and then he pushes the pause button again and delays the happening of terrifs to

especially to Mexico and Canada. So, but Canada is coming with a plan that will counter the any terriffts that that that are put on products they cross into the United States then, and they are looking to ban certain items from entering Canadian markets, and they are looking to counter the tariff attacks with other tariffs themselves so that

it balanced. Is what is happening. Some of the latest things were actually things like dairy goods and other types of and agricultural products that Trump is putting up on the chopping block for the ongoing terrors and the on again, off again part. What we need to understand is it is mister Trump's way of causing enough chaos that he can get his way. That's how he does things, is he causes chaos so that he can undermine the system and get what he wants out of it. It's something

that he has done for a number of years. So how to handle mister Trump, Well, maybe the Canadian government should just imposed the towers against the United States, leave it at that and move forward on to other trade partners who are willing to sit down at the table

and do business in a reasonable fashion. So why don't we move on to today's show, which is the United Nations Security Council as they're talking about Syria and the use of chemical weapons and what was a Seriance civil war they are the United Nations is auditing them and looking to ensure that not only is the chemical weapons program ceased, but the weapons themselves find their way towards destruction. We need to see more of this, We need to

see more disarmament. In other episodes, you heard us talking about nuclear disarmament and we had the UN Security Council as as they had comments from a civil society as they talk about the destruction and even building the nuclear weapons and the type of destruction that caused to indigenous people not only in North America but also in Australia. Chemical weapons also posts similar danger in the by products that are produced are toxic to the land and they're

toxic to the people who are living nearby. And banning of chemical weapons and ensuring this Syria shuts down their chemical weapons program is extremely important work and communication of that of how of that progress should be open to the op CW teams that are there to provide evidence and find evidence of the destruction of such weapons, So why don't we listen to the UN Security Council floor as they talk about what is happening in Syria.

this meeting. It is so decided, in accordance would Rule thirty nine of the Council's Provisional Rules of Procedure, I invite Miss Issumi Nakamitsu, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, to participate in this meeting. It is so decided. The Security Council will now begain its consideration of Item two of

the agenda. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to document s Slash twenty twenty five Slash one hundred and twenty seven, a latter dated cent twenty seven February twenty twenty five from the Secretary General addressed to the President of the Security Council. I now give the floor to Issumi Missiksumi Nakamitsu.

the chemical weapons program of the Siran Arab Republic. Since the last consideration of this matter by the Council, and consistent with established practice, the Office for Disarmament Affairs has been in regular contact with his counterparts in the OPCW Technical Secretariat on activities related to the implementation of Resolution

twenty one eighteen. I spoke to Director General Arias on twenty eighth of February and received full briefing, and I also had a pleasure of meeting with Ambassador at a alder Hack of Syria on third of March, Madame President. Since the Council's previous meeting on this matter, and as we all know, a new political reality has emerged in Syria.

As the Sector General has emphasized, the people of Syria are now facing an historic opportunity to build a stable and peaceful future for the Syrian people after fourteen years of brutal war. As part of such stable and peaceful future, the new reality also presents an opportunity to obtain long overdue clarifications on the full extent and scope of the Syrian chemical weapons program, to read the country of all chemical weapons, to normalize relations with the OPCW, and to

ensure long term compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention. Syria has started to take its steps towards this objective, Madam President, the importance of closing all outstanding issues related to Serious Chemical Weapons Dossier cannot be overstated. As I reported before, the previous Syrian authorities submitted twenty amendments to the Syrian

Arab Republic's initial decoration. However, OPCW Declaration Assessment Team or DAT was never able to confirm that the declaration submitted was accurate and complete because of the insufficient and inaccurate information it contained. Over the last eleven years, the DIGHT has raised and reported a total of twenty six outstanding

issues with serious Declaration, of which nineteen remained unresolved. The OPCW Technical Secretariat has reported that the substance of the nineteen outstanding issues remains a serious concern as it involves large quantities of potentially undeclared or unverified chemical warfare agents

and chemical munitions. In addition, the OPCW Fact Finding Mission or FFM and the OPCW Investigation and Identification Team itIt have documented the use of chemical weapons in Syria and in a number of incidents ID identified the Syrian Arab

Armed Forces as the perpetrators. Thus, the OPCW Technical Secretariat has reported that it is undeniable that the previous authorities in Syria did not declare the full extent of the Syrian chemical weapons program and that they they continue to use and possibly produce chemical weapons after joining the Chemical Weapons Convention in twenty thirteen, Madam President, the situation left

by the previous Syrian authorities is extremely worring. Therefore, I am encouraged that the new authorities have expressed their desire and commitment to embark on a new chapter of cooperation with the OPCW to close the outstanding issues. On eight of February, the OPCW Director General and a high level demigation from the OPCW Technical Secretariat visited Damascus at the invitation of the Caretaker Foreign Minister Assad Hassan al Shaibani.

During this visit, the Director General also met with Mister Ahmed Hussein al Shara, who gave assurances of the new authority's intent to cooperate with the OPCW. Following the visit, I was informed that on twenty first February, the Director General received a letter from the Caretaker for our Minister with the appointment of a focal point for chemical weapons

matters within the ministry. Shortly thereafter, the focal point official traveled to the Hague for in person meetings with the OPCW Technical Secretariat on how to advance the o pcw's

nine point action Plan for Syria. I am further encouraged by the statement Mais made by the Caretaker Foreign Minister on Wednesday at this week's session of the OPCW Executive Council, in which he emphasized the new authorities commitment to destroying any remains of the chemical weapons program developed under the previous authorities, bringing justice to the victims, and ensure serious

compliance with international law. I am pleased to note that as a result of the renewed commitment, the new Serian authorities and the OPCW Technical Secretariat have already begun to work towards these goals. In the coming days, a team of technical experts from the OPCW Technical Secretariat will be deployed to Damascus to work on establishing the OPCW's permanent physical presence in Syria and start jointly planning deployments to

chemical weapons sites. Madam President, the OPCW Technical Secretariat remains fully committed to implementing its mandate aimed at verifying the fulfillment of the Syrian Arab Republic's declaration obligations under the Convention,

decisions by OPCW policy making Organs and the Security Council Resolutions. Furthermore, the commitment of the caretaker authorities in Syria to fully and transparently cooperate with the o PCW Technical Secretariat is commandment that said the work ahead would not be easy. The new reality, while presenting an opportunity to charte a new course for Syria, also presents significant challenges and its

significant humanitarian, security and recovery needs in the country. In order to accomplish all the tasks needed to read Syria of all chemical weapons, the RPCW Technical Secretariat and the new authorities in Syria will require strong support and additional resources from the international community. Madam President, Distinguished members of the Security Council, I urge the members of this Council to unite and show leadership in providing that support that

these unprecedented efforts will require. This is a priority action directly addressing the future security of Syria, states in the region, as well as the global community. The United Nations stands ready to provide support however we can and will continue to do our part to uphold the norm against the use of chemical weapons anywhere, at any time. I thank you very much for your attention.

is how to achieve peace through strength. Madame President, we have an historic opportunity to close this dark chapter in history and to start a new one, creating Assyria that is safer for its people and more secure for the region than the world world. All elements of the Asad regime's chemical weapons program must now be secured, declared, and

safely destroyed under international verification. This imperative is twofold to bring Syria into compliance with its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention, and critically to ensure that any remaining elements do not end up in the wrong hands. The window of opportunity is short. All stakeholders need to act quickly to facilitate the work of the OPCW. The United States welcomes the initial positive steps taken by the OPCW and

the Interim Syrian Authorities. We are encouraged that, as the High Representative just noted, following OPCW Director General Arius's historic visit to Damascus, the Syrian Interim Authorities named a focal point for chemical weapons in order to commence this work. The OPCW has a tremendously important mission before it, one that contributes directly to global security and one that requires

support from all. And we in this Council have a responsibility to finish what we started back in twenty thirteen when the Council adopted Resolution twenty one eighteen with the aim of eliminating Seria's chemical weapons program and holding those responsible for use of chemical weapons to account. We must remain remain seized of this critical matter until the work is done. We all seek to achieve a world free

of chemical weapons. Achieving this goal will help us in our pursuit of peace in the region and around the world. Let us move one step closer by supporting the OPCW as it assumes this vital role in Syria.

resolve the remaining outstanding issues in serious initial declaration. On the understanding that the Technical Secretary oft the TS leadership and the state's party to the Convention will ensure a deep politicized, impartial and professional approach to closing the Syrian chemical dossier. We stend ready to cooperate constructively to close

the aforementioned file. We're all well aware that it's thanks to the Russian Federation that Syria acceeded to the CWC in twenty thirteen, placing its chemical arsenal under international control. And yet we're not going to play along with attempts to politicize this issue. We're not going to level groundless acusations at the former government, nor will we advertise this topic through fakes. On this issue, we cannot accept any artificial urgencies, nor is it appropriate to settle scores on

the pretext of trying to close this chemicals dossier. Unfortunately, we still harbor founded doubts about the obcw's ability to exercise its strictly technical duties in good faith owing to politicization of its work, politicization of its work that was off the charts for many years. More evidence of this situation is, to put it lightly contentious language contained in

the report under discussion today. According to this language, the current political situation in Syria supposedly fosters the Technical Secretariat of the OBCDW getting maximum volume and scope of information about the military chemical program in Syria. First, such assessments

go far beyond the mandate of the ob PAW Technical Secretariat. Second, it's not clear what new or additional inspections at sites or what further evidence gathering in the field is being referred Toria when Syria has been subjected to bombing on several occasions. Just think about the assertions of the French President in April twenty eighteen about the destruction of Syrian chemical weapons storage and production sites. Such a take on

what needs to be done lost or meaning. When Israel conducted massive strikes three months ago over the last three months aimed to complete destruction of any ability to trace

Siria's military defense capabilities. Under these conditions, it's hard to be sure that the deployment of a fully flaged OBCW mission in Syria will not boil down to advertising at the West's behest yet further provocations and blatant accusations of chemical weapons use and concealment of Syria's military chemicals program.

We want to warn you right away given the ts's methods and practices of establishing illegitimate structures under its auspices, which we've seen over the last few years, any conclusions that such missions will draw won't enjoy the trust of the international community. Against this backdrop, we're concerned by the Secretariat's statements, the ts' statements about supposedly impediments being waged by the former government to the work of the OBCW

in the country. They are inappropriate because it is the TS leadership that refused to meet with the head of the Syrian National Authority on the on the CWC and Damascus, and this such a meeting could have helped settle such contentious issues. Despite and this, despite the fact that despite the political context, we shouldn't forget that the Syrians, from the very moment they joined the convention were very open and ready to cooperate with the OBCW, but the OPCW

didn't take up this offer. In Syria, as far as we're aware, there's no one that they can talk to professionally because those who were in charge of working with the OBCW are no longer there. Furthermore, work on the Syrian Chemicals Dossier under these new conditions should happen with due regard for many instances of toxical chemicals being used in other warfare agents being used by radical and extremist groups,

including ISIS. The latter have the technological and production capacities to synthesize various chemicals prohibited under the c WC, as evidenced by UNITAD reports and a number of objective assessments of the Fact Finding Mission. Specifically, I'm referring to episodes in Maria on the first and third of September twenty fifteen.

In light of the above, we note that the Syrian Chemicals Dossier in the current environment, despite assertions of the OBSWDG about supposedly conditions being conducive to swiftly closing this file, well, it seems to be a confused formula with the many variables. Let me repeat what I said. The Technical Secretariat has tarnished its reputation in the eyes of the entire developing world owing to its in appropriate political games and machinations.

The situation is complicated. It's going to get more complicated if there are further groundless accusations leveled at the former Syrian government. Under such conditions, we recommend insistently to Mysterious and to his team to focus their efforts on investigating existing data and facts and then on conducting a professional

investigation so as to close and resolve outstanding issues. We call on our colleagues on the Security Council, when adopting approaches to discussions of the Syrian Chemicals File, to fully take into consideration the specificities of the domestic political situation in Syria. Syria is currently confronting a number of existential issues.

Existential issues they need to maintain its sovereignty, independence, territorial integratory and unity, as well as to ensure national reconciliation, to create new state structures, to propare for and hold general elections, and to return to the state the monopoly of the use of force. In addition to addressing threats from terrorists groups of the last few days, we've heard very worrying news from Syria which show that we're very far off a stabilization of the situation in the country.

Clear under such conditions, verifying information about whether there are chemical weapons or there aren't any is not the top priority for the current authorities. We need to understand this and not to push ahead with this topic.

pillar of global arms control and disarmament. Pakistan remains committed to advancing the objectives of the Chemical Weapons Convention and upholding the OPCW's effectiveness, impartiality, and the protection of its verification mechanisms. We support continued efforts for the cwc's universal

adherence and is full, effective and non discriminatory implementation. We support the stabilization of Syria through an inclusive, Syrian owned and Syrian led political process facilitated by the United Nations President. We must uphold serious unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and terrorism must not be allowed to re emerge from Syria. Terrorists cannot be allowed to have access to weapons of

mass destruction, including chemical weapons. In accordance with the provisions of Security Council Resolution fifteen forty Madam present on the issue of chemical weapons in Syria, I would like to make the following points. First, we note the commitment of the Syrian in terram authorities to secure suspected chemical weapons

sites and their cooperation with the OPCW so far. New Syrian New Syrian authorities must address long standing questions and ensure unimpeded access to enable independent and full verification by the OPCW on the elimination of chemical weapons in Syria and any threats of proliferation in compliance with the CWC. Second, we commend the direct to General OPCW's engagement with the Syrian caretaker authorities for implementing the mandate of Security Council resolutions.

In this regard, we appreciate the Direct General's recent visit to Damascus. His efforts have the potential to open a path for renewed, effective and sustained dialogue with the Syrian interim authorities. We welcome the discussions by the Syrian focal Point with the OPCW and the impending physical presence of the OPCW in Syria. All these efforts should would be

pursued in a transparent and equitable manner. That everyone should seize the present opportunity to address outstanding issues in Syria, including those relating to chemical weapons. We urge continued dialogue cooperation in full compliance with CWC and Security Council resolutions as a way forward to close the Syrian chemical weapons

file as soon as possible. Finally, we urge we remain concerned about aspects of the situation in Syria, in particular the military occupation by Israel and its continuing strikes against Syrian sites and facilities. We urge consensus and unity within the Council in addressing all the outstands issues relating to Syria and restoring the restoration of normalcy in Sydria and the preservation of peace and security in the region. I think you manifest.