The Hague-Sana
Ambassador Milad Attia, the permanent representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague, affirmed that Syria has always believed that the Chemical Weapons Convention is the source of the world’s salvation from an entire class of weapons of mass destruction, and that the mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is to implement the provisions of this Convention professionally and impartially. away from politicization.
In the statement of the Syrian Arab Republic, which he delivered during the opening of the work of the 101st session of the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague, Ambassador Attia said: In practical application, we find that since 2018, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has been used as a tool to implement the political agendas of some Western countries against state parties. In the agreement, and the best evidence for that is the new approach to the decision-making mechanism within the decision-making organs of the organization, which led to a state of division and polarization within it, and fear has become serious about the future of this organization, and its lofty technical goals if this approach continues.
Attia added in the statement:“My delegation regrets that this technical organization has again involved geopolitical and security issues of a regional and international nature, and diverted it from the goals for which it was established, as the United States of America and some Western countries were not satisfied with what they have done over the past nine years in Syria by fabricating plays of the use of chemical or chemical weapons. Preparing to use these weapons to accuse the Syrian government of them, but rather repeated the same scenarios with the Russian Federation in Ukraine, accusing the Russian forces of them, and other accusations. In this context, Syria supports Russia's right to defend itself and protect its national security in response to aggressive Western policies. Russia does not It defends not only itself but the world, and the principles of justice and humanity and the right of everyone in a world that rejects the logic of hegemony and unipolarity,” noting that Syria’s position in support of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine was and will remain based on well-established political, moral and legal considerations and principles.
Attia pointed out that the United States of America and some Western countries have turned this organization into a tool for political manipulation that has kept it away from its professionalism and thus undermined its credibility, and we ask with regret: Will the organization be able to carry out its mandate under the agreement?
Will it be able to withstand the pressures on it from the United States and its Western allies?
We are very concerned about the state of affairs, and it has become necessary to stop this continuous decline in the course of the Organization's work, and to begin seriously and urgently to correct it in order to return the Organization to the implementation of its mandate entrusted to it.
Attia stressed that Syria's accession to the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2013 stemmed from its deep belief in rejecting the use of chemical weapons by anyone, anywhere, and under any circumstance, and that during eight months from October 2013 to June 2014, Syria faithfully and credibly implemented its decision. Sovereignty has completed the Syrian chemical file, and this has already been done, within a record time, and has accomplished what some of the countries acceding to the agreement have not accomplished many years before, despite the very difficult and complex circumstances that Syria has gone through.
Attia continued: “Syria has faced a historically unprecedented campaign of skepticism and false accusations of not cooperating with the organization and its technical secretariat, and that the behavior of these countries is in stark contrast to the provisions of the agreement, the principles of international law, and the Charter of the United Nations, and it is nothing but an attempt to employ the organization, and what It remains of the technical aspects in the Syrian chemical file to serve its political purposes represented in exerting pressure on Syria. Despite all this, Syria has continued its full positive cooperation with the organization, and has committed itself to an organized dialogue with the “Declaration Evaluation Team” through rounds of consultations that amounted to twenty-four rounds with the aim of ending The rest of the technical issues are pending.
Attia explained that it was remarkable what was recently stated in the reports of the technical secretariat of the organization of baseless and false accusations, in which she indicated that Syria is obstructing the work of the technical secretariat, and that it does not want to hold the 25th round of consultations between the experts of the National Committee and the “Declaration Evaluation Team.” While the truth is that Syria welcomed everything proposed by the Technical Secretariat, based on its firm keenness to end the file of outstanding issues, and expressed its welcome and its serious desire to close this file forever. The technical secretariat of the organization, and who dictates its policies from Western countries against Syria.
Attia added: Syria, along with many other countries, on more than one occasion expressed objective observations regarding the work of the fact-finding mission, and with all that, Syria cooperated with the teams of this mission, and provided them with all the facilities required for the success of their missions, and the fact-finding mission failed in more than It is a test, and the evidence for this is clear to all States Parties, and their bias, unprofessionalism, and falsification of facts have been proven in more than one report it has issued so far, and the best example of this is the 2018 Douma Incident Report. The provisions of the agreement, adherence to professional standards and the terms of reference document that were agreed upon with Syria.
Attia stressed that Syria still maintains its firm position on the investigation team, and the identification lacks legitimacy, which was given a mandate that violates the provisions of the agreement. Therefore, Syria, along with other countries, does not recognize the legitimacy of this team and its work and rejects any outputs issued or those that will be issued by it in the future, based on the Respect, adherence to and adherence to the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Attia indicated that the expansion of chemical terrorist threats constitutes a serious threat to international peace and security, and no country is immune from this dangerous threat. Syria's documented information in this field encouraged those terrorists to commit more heinous crimes against Syrian citizens, including the use of toxic materials over the past nine years.
Attia referred to what Syria has repeatedly stressed that achieving the universality of the Chemical Weapons Convention represents an important step in ensuring the establishment of an effective global regime against chemical weapons, but that this matter will not be achieved without obligating Israel to join this agreement and place its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons under international control. .
Ambassador Attia concluded his statement by saying that Syria calls for international cooperation to confront the illegal restrictions imposed by some well-known countries on transferring scientific technology for peaceful purposes to developing countries, and subjecting them to illegal unilateral coercive measures with the aim of preventing them from achieving economic and scientific development for their peoples, and preventing them from using chemistry for such purposes. Peaceful in violation of the provisions of the Convention and international law.
This session will continue until Friday, October 7, 2022, in which members of the Executive Council and a number of states parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention will participate in the capacity of observers. The Syrian delegation, consisting of Ambassador Attia and his deputy, Minister Plenipotentiary Dr. Louay Al-Auji, attaché Basem Al-Hanoun and Nour Al-Miqdad, the follow-up official in mission.
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