December 5, 2024
I shall now make a statement in my capacity as the representative of the United States.
Let me first thank Under-Secretary-General Nakamitsu, for your briefing. And thank you Mr. Shikhani. Your testimony highlights the gravity of the situation facing the Syrian people.
Let me just say very briefly, a very, very small group of states present in this chamber, would obviously prefer to hide the truth about the Assad regime’s repeated use of chemical weapons against the Syrian people.
The truth cannot be hidden. The perpetrators of these acts will not be able to hide. They will be held accountable. And Mr. Shikhani, thank you for your contributions to this effort to hold the perpetrators accountable.
Let me add one another thing before going into my statement. The Russian statement this morning was a sad moment for this Council. We heard nothing but lies, pathological prevarication, personal attacks.
The statement was right out of the Russian playbook: blame others, ridicule the professionalism of the international mechanisms and their employees – and then claim it’s illegitimate, the findings of these international bodies. And then state, that any future evidence of chemical weapons use is not to be trusted, because of its “political nature.”
Colleagues, the United States is closely monitoring the situation in Aleppo and Idlib and are in contact with partners on the ground. We have seen some reports of human rights abuses, and we hope to see those now in control of Aleppo and Idlib hold those accountable who have perpetrated these abuses and promote fair and equal rights and access to resources. The litmus test for any government is the way the most vulnerable populations are treated.
The events currently unfolding in Syria are a reminder of the relevance of the Council’s regular meetings on Syrian chemical weapons and the continued applicability of Resolutions 2118 and 2254. Indeed, it is in situations like the one we face today, when the Assad regime feels most at risk – and this is important – that the regime previously unleashed chemical weapons on its own people.
Over the years, the Assad regime and its backers have attempted to distort the truth through lies and elaborate campaigns of misinformation about these chemical weapons attacks and those who have documented them. The facts are obvious, and no one should be fooled by these cheap tricks.
Investigations by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Investigation and Identification Team and the UN-OPCW Joint investigative mechanism impartially and independently confirmed that the Syrian regime was responsible for nine chemical weapons attacks.
The Director General of the OPCW is clear on this: to this day, the Syrian regime has not declared all elements of its chemical weapons program as required by the Chemical Weapons Convention. These elements include large quantities of chemical warfare agents and munitions, but the OPCW cannot verify what happened to them because Syria refuses to answer inspectors’ questions.
Equally concerning is the fact that, per the OPCW Director General, the Syrian Arab Republic failed to sufficiently explain traces of undeclared chemical warfare agents in samples collected in 2020, 2023, and 2024.
Consequently, the OPCW Director General has concluded that, “despite more than a decade of intensive work, the Syrian Arab Republic chemical weapons dossier still cannot be closed.”
As we said last week at the OPCW’s 29th Conference of the States Parties: if Syria had the capacity to produce chemical weapons, then it has the capacity to tell the world what happened to them.
Colleagues, at this moment when we see the regime and its backers ramping up attacks on civilians in Aleppo and Idlib, our message is simple: the eyes of the international community are on you, and will remain on you until justice and accountability are reached.
The United States firmly believes the Security Council must remain seized of the Syrian chemical weapons dossier. Syria’s chemical weapons program is not a relic of the past; it is a threat to international peace and security.
Let’s not ignore the facts, uncovered at great cost by organizations like the White Helmets and independently and impartially confirmed by OPCW and the UN.
Let’s not forget that Resolution 2118 includes decisions that all UN Member States must carry out, and it establishes obligations on the Syrian regime that are still valid today.
And let’s not forget Resolution 2118’s call for those responsible for the use of chemical weapons in Syria to be held to account.
The United States therefore calls on all Member States to implement without delay the recommended collective measures called for in the decision by the OPCW Conference of the States Parties in 2023, including those aiming to prevent the transfer to Syria of certain dual-use chemicals and equipment.
And we call on Member States to join us in seeking justice for those injured and killed in chemical weapons attacks in Syria.
There must be no impunity for the use of chemical weapons anywhere, at any time, by anyone, under any circumstances.