We also express our full support for the impartial, independent and expert work of the OPCW as well as its Technical Secretariat, who have proved helpful tirelessly over the years on the Syria file. So , today, we contact Syria, yet again, to remove any obstacles and cooperate fully with the OPCW and fulfil its international obligations beneath the Chemical Weapons Convention and UNSCR 2118. This is the ninth impartial impartial expert finding on the basis of sufficient and reliable body of information that the Syrian Arab Republic was responsible for the usage of chemical weapons, and yet we have been still no closer to responsibility for the perpetrators or justice for the victims. This document should be a further step towards accountability and justice for the victims of these attacks. Failing to hold those who violate the particular Chemical Weapons Convention in order to account signals to other people that these attacks are acceptable. Impunity for the use of chemical weaponry, by anyone, in any conditions, cannot and will not be permitted. We will not give up until we have assurance from the OPCW that Syria has taken the actions necessary to exclude completely the possibility of the use of chemical weapons anywhere, at any time, under any circumstances. We welcome this particular report as an important plus necessary step in establishing inescapable fact regarding the horrific 2018 attack on Douma. We commend the efforts of the investigation teams and acknowledge the bravery and contributions from the first responders, witnesses and everything those who participated in the worldwide investigation. As Under-Secretary-General for disarmament affairs and OPCW Director General have made clear in their many reports and briefings to the Council, including throughout today’s meeting, Syria’s preliminary and subsequent declarations towards the OPCW cannot be considered accurate and complete. Today, the Security Council discussed the most recent report from the OPCW’s Analysis and Identification Team (IIT) on the use of chemical weapons in Syria. The IIT has concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Syrian Arab Republic was accountable for the 2018 chemical tool attack in Douma, which usually killed 43 men, women and children and affected a bunch more. This lack of peace of mind of the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles and the ongoing failure of Syria to implement its obligations under the CWC and UNSCR 2118 poses an ongoing risk to international peace plus security. Syria remains within violation of its commitments underneath the Chemical Weapons Convention, despite its accession in 2013. Syria is still in infringement of its obligations under UNSCR 2118, which was unanimously followed by the Council in 2013.
