UN Complains about Syria’s ‘Procrastination’ in Eliminating its Chemical Program

UN Complains about Syria’s ‘Procrastination’ in Eliminating its Chemical Program

The High Representative of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, complained about the Syrian authorities’ procrastination in responding to requests by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Technical Secretariat to complete the elimination of its chemical weapons program.

She made her remarks on Monday while briefing the UN Security Council on the progress in the implementation of Security Council resolution 2118 (2013) on the elimination of the Syrian chemical weapons program.

Nakamitsu affirmed that her office has been in regular contact with its counterparts at the OPCW on its activities related to resolution 2118.

She said that efforts by the OPCW Declaration Assessment Team (DAT) to clarify all outstanding issues regarding the initial declaration and the Syrian government’s subsequent declarations have not progressed since the Council last met on this issue.

She regretted the unsuccessful efforts by the OPCW Technical Secretariat to organize the next round of consultations between the DAT and the Syrian National Authority.

Nakamitsu attributed the postponement of inspections of the two facilities of the Scientific Studies and Research Centre (SSRC) scheduled for December 2022 to “operational reasons.”

“I have been advised that the OPCW Technical Secretariat has not yet received the requested information from the Syrian