Statement by the Republic of Slovenia at the UN Security Council briefing on the situation in the Middle East, Syria

Thank you, Mr. President.

I would like to thank the High Representative and Under-Secretary Ms. Nakamitsu for her briefing.

I also wish to acknowledge the hard work of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Slovenia commends its constant, professional and impartial action to ensure the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Mr. President,

Let me begin by reiterating our resolute condemnation of any use of chemical weapons. We will never tire of condemning, and fighting against, the use of chemical weapons anywhere and by anyone, be it a State or a non-State actor. In this vein, we fully support the holding of the Security Council meetings on this issue, including meetings on the use of Chemical Weapons in Syria in accordance with the resolution 2118.

Mr. President,

While welcoming successful work of the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission in Syria (FFM) and the Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) as well as the resumption of consultations between the Declaration Assessment Team (DAT) and the Syrian Authorities, we voice once again our concern at the many unanswered questions regarding Syria’s chemical weapons program. The findings of the international investigation bodies confirm that Syria has in fact concealed a part of its chemical weapons program, in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, and worse – has used chemical weapons in at least nine confirmed cases in the past ten years.

We express our deepest sympathy for the victims of chemical weapons use, we strongly believe that those abhorrent crimes cannot remain unpunished and that we owe it to the victims and survivors to take action. Accountability for the use of chemical weapons in Syria must be ensured.

We call on all parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention to continue fighting impunity by sending a clear signal from international community that such use will not be tolerated.

Once again, we call on Syria to comply with its obligations under the Convention, declare all its chemical weapons production and research activities, destroy any remaining secret caches, and fully cooperate with the OPCW. This should include providing unfettered access to sites, documents and people needed to resolve all outstanding issues and any other issues resulting from OPCW mandated investigative activity.

Mr. President,

We must spare no effort to prevent the re-emergence of these horrific weapons, which must be relegated to history books as a warning and deterrence. To this aim, the attention of the Security Council is fundamental, even more so when there is a lack of substantial progress in the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention by one State Party. Only a multilateral approach, with respect for international law at its center, can pave the way to a world free from the terror and the destruction brought about by chemical weapons.

Slovenia will continue to support, in the Council and elsewhere, all efforts to resolve the outstanding issues on this file.

Thank you.

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