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| The Security Council votes on Friday (UN photo by Amanda Voisard) |
In a landmark move, the
Security Council on Friday evening endorsed the expeditious destruction of Syria’s
chemical weapons program, with inspections to begin by Tuesday (October 1). It agreed
that in the event of non-compliance, it would impose “Chapter VII”
measures.
This follows the
international outrage caused by the use of chemical weapons on two Damascus suburbs on August 21,
as concluded by a United Nations investigation team.
But the war in Syria
has been raging since March 2011 through the use of conventional weapons. It
was going on before August 21 and continues still.
More than 100,000 people have been killed. One out of every
three Syrians is displaced. One out of every three Syrians needs humanitarian
assistance. The medical system has collapsed. And third of Syria is in rubble
because conventional weapons are being used indiscriminately every day.
Will the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, his supporters and backers be deterred from continuing to use conventional
weapons?
By keeping the regime untouched, does Assad now have license
to kill through conventional weapons?
Unanimously adopting Resolution 2118 (2013),
the 15-member Security Council determined that the use of chemical weapons anywhere
constituted a threat to international peace and security. It called for the
full implementation of the September
27 decision of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
(OPCW), which contains special procedures for the expeditious and verifiable
destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons.
Specifically, the
Council prohibited Syria from using, developing, producing, otherwise
acquiring, stockpiling or retaining chemical weapons, or transferring them to
other States or non-State actors. It underscored also that no party in Syria
should use, develop, produce, acquire, stockpile, retain or transfer such
weapons.
Also, Syria should
comply with all aspects of the OPCW decision, notably by accepting personnel
designated by OPCW or the UN and providing them with immediate and unfettered
access to -- and the right to inspect -- any and all chemical weapons sites.
Further, the Council
decided to regularly review Syria’s implementation of the OPCW Executive
Council decision and the present resolution, requesting the OPCW
Director-General, through the Secretary-General, to report to it within
30 days and every month thereafter.
Fully endorsing the
Geneva Communiqué of 30 June 2012, the Council called for the
convening, as soon as possible, of an international conference on Syria to
implement that Communiqué.
Following is the full text of Security Council Resolution 2118 (2013):
“The Security Council,
“Recalling the Statements of its
President of 3 August 2011, 21 March 2012,
5 April 2012, and its resolutions 1540 (2004),
2042 (2012) and 2043 (2012),
“Reaffirming its strong
commitment to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the
Syrian Arab Republic,
“Reaffirming that the
proliferation of chemical weapons, as well as their means of delivery,
constitutes a threat to international peace and security,
“Recalling that the Syrian Arab
Republic on 22 November 1968 acceded to the Protocol for the
Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases and of
Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, signed at Geneva on 17 June 1925,
“Noting that on
14 September 2013, the Syrian Arab Republic deposited with the
Secretary-General its instrument of accession to the Convention on the
Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical
Weapons and on their Destruction (Convention) and declared that it shall comply
with its stipulations and observe them faithfully and sincerely, applying the
Convention provisionally pending its entry into force for the Syrian Arab
Republic,
“Welcoming the establishment by
the Secretary-General of the United Nations Mission to Investigate Allegations
of the Use of Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic (the Mission)
pursuant to General Assembly resolution 42/37 C (1987) of
30 November 1987, and reaffirmed by resolution 620 (1988)
of 26 August 1988, and expressing appreciation
for the work of the Mission,
“Acknowledging the report of
16 September 2013 (S/2013/553) by the Mission, underscoring the need for the
Mission to fulfill its mandate, and emphasizing that
future credible allegations of chemical weapons use in the Syrian Arab Republic
should be investigated,
“Deeply outraged by the use of
chemical weapons on 21 August 2013 in Rif Damascus, as concluded in
the Mission’s report, condemning the
killing of civilians that resulted from it, affirming that the use of chemical weapons constitutes a
serious violation of international law, and stressing that those responsible for any use of chemical
weapons must be held accountable,
“Recalling the obligation under
resolution 1540 (2004) that all States shall refrain from providing
any form of support to non-State actors that attempt to develop, acquire,
manufacture, possess, transport, transfer or use weapons of mass destruction,
including chemical weapons and their means of delivery,
“Welcoming the Framework for
Elimination of Syrian Chemical Weapons dated 14 September 2013, in
Geneva, between the Russian Federation and the United States of America
(S/2013/565), with a view to ensuring the destruction of the Syrian Arab Republic’s
chemical weapons program in the soonest and safest manner, and expressing its commitment to the
immediate international control over chemical weapons and their components in
the Syrian Arab Republic,
“Welcoming the decision of the
Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
(OPCW) of 27 September 2013 establishing special procedures for the
expeditious destruction of the Syrian Arab Republic’s chemical weapons program
and stringent verification thereof, and expressing its
determination to ensure the destruction of the Syrian Arab Republic’s chemical
weapons program according to the timetable contained in the OPCW Executive
Council decision of 27 September 2013,
“Stressing that the only solution
to the current crisis in the Syrian Arab Republic is through an inclusive and
Syrian-led political process based on the Geneva Communiqué of
30 June 2012, and emphasizing the
need to convene the international conference on Syria as soon as possible,
“Determining that the use of
chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic constitutes a threat to
international peace and security,
“Underscoring that Member States
are obligated under Article 25 of the Charter of the United Nations to
accept and carry out the Council's decisions,
“1. Determines that the
use of chemical weapons anywhere constitutes a threat to international peace
and security;
“2. Condemns in the strongest terms
any use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic, in particular the
attack on 21 August 2013, in violation of international law;
“3. Endorses the decision of the
OPCW Executive Council 27 September 2013, which contains special
procedures for the expeditious destruction of the Syrian Arab Republic’s
chemical weapons program and stringent verification thereof and calls for its
full implementation in the most expedient and safest manner;
“4. Decides that the
Syrian Arab Republic shall not use, develop, produce, otherwise acquire,
stockpile or retain chemical weapons, or transfer, directly or indirectly,
chemical weapons to other States or non-State actors;
“5. Underscores that no party in
Syria should use, develop, produce, acquire, stockpile, retain, or transfer
chemical weapons;
“6. Decides that the Syrian Arab
Republic shall comply with all aspects of the decision of the OPCW Executive
Council of 27 September 2013 (Annex I);
“7. Decides that the Syrian Arab
Republic shall cooperate fully with the OPCW and the United Nations, including
by complying with their relevant recommendations, by accepting personnel
designated by the OPCW or the United Nations, by providing for and ensuring the
security of activities undertaken by these personnel, by providing these
personnel with immediate and unfettered access to and the right to inspect, in
discharging their functions, any and all sites, and by allowing immediate and
unfettered access to individuals that the OPCW has grounds to believe to be of
importance for the purpose of its mandate, and decides that all parties in Syria shall cooperate fully in
this regard;
“8. Decides to authorize an advance
team of United Nations personnel to provide early assistance to OPCW activities
in Syria, requests the
Director-General of the OPCW and the Secretary-General to closely cooperate in
the implementation of the Executive Council decision of
27 September 2013 and this resolution, including through their
operational activities on the ground, and further requests the Secretary-General, in consultation
with the Director-General of the OPCW and, where appropriate, the
Director-General of the World Health Organization, to submit to the Council
within 10 days of the adoption of this resolution recommendations regarding
the role of the United Nations in eliminating the Syrian Arab Republic’s
chemical weapons program;
“9. Notes that the Syrian Arab
Republic is a party to the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the
United Nations, decides that
OPCW-designated personnel undertaking activities provided for in this
resolution or the decision of the OPCW Executive Council of
27 September 2013 shall enjoy the privileges and immunities contained
in the Verification Annex, Part II (B) of the Chemical Weapons Convention,
and calls on the
Syrian Arab Republic to conclude modalities agreements with the United Nations
and the OPCW;
“10. Encourages Member States
to provide support, including personnel, technical expertise, information,
equipment, and financial and other resources and assistance, in coordination
with the Director-General of the OPCW and the Secretary-General, to enable the
OPCW and the United Nations to implement the elimination of the Syrian Arab
Republic’s chemical weapons program, and decides to authorize Member States to acquire, control,
transport, transfer and destroy chemical weapons identified by the
Director-General of the OPCW, consistent with the objective of the Chemical
Weapons Convention, to ensure the elimination of the Syrian Arab Republic’s
chemical weapons program in the soonest and safest manner;
“11. Urges all Syrian parties and
interested Member States with relevant capabilities to work closely together
and with the OPCW and the United Nations to arrange for the security of the
monitoring and destruction mission, recognizing the primary responsibility of
the Syrian Government in this regard;
“12. Decides to review on a
regular basis the implementation in the Syrian Arab Republic of the decision of
the OPCW Executive Council of 27 September 2013 and this resolution,
and requests the
Director-General of the OPCW to report to the Security Council, through the
Secretary-General, who shall include relevant information on United Nations
activities related to the implementation of this resolution, within
30 days and every month thereafter, and requests further the Director-General of the OPCW and the
Secretary-General to report in a coordinated manner, as needed, to the Security
Council, non-compliance with this resolution or the OPCW Executive Council
decision of 27 September 2013;
“13. Reaffirms its readiness to
consider promptly any reports of the OPCW under Article VIII of the
Chemical Weapons Convention, which provides for the referral of cases of
non-compliance to the United Nations Security Council;
“14. Decides that Member States shall
inform immediately the Security Council of any violation of
resolution 1540(2004), including acquisition by non-State actors of
chemical weapons, their means of delivery and related materials in order to
take necessary measures therefore;
“15. Expresses its strong
conviction that those individuals responsible for the use of chemical weapons
in the Syrian Arab Republic should be held accountable;
“16. Endorses fully the Geneva
Communiqué of 30 June 2012 (Annex II),
which sets out a number of key steps beginning with the establishment of a
transitional governing body exercising full executive powers, which could
include members of the present Government and the opposition and other groups
and shall be formed on the basis of mutual consent;
“17. Calls for the convening, as soon
as possible, of an international conference on Syria to implement the Geneva
Communiqué, and calls upon all
Syrian parties to engage seriously and constructively at the Geneva Conference
on Syria, and underscores that
they should be fully representative of the Syrian people and committed to the
implementation of the Geneva Communiqué and to the achievement of stability and
reconciliation;
“18. Reaffirms that
all Member States shall refrain from providing any form of support to non-State
actors that attempt to develop, acquire, manufacture, possess, transport,
transfer or use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and their means of
delivery, and calls upon all
Member States, in particular Member States neighboring the Syrian Arab
Republic, to report any violations of this paragraph to the Security Council
immediately;
“19. Demands that non-State actors
not develop, acquire, manufacture, possess, transport, transfer or use nuclear,
chemical or biological weapons and their means of delivery, and calls upon all Member States, in
particular Member States neighboring the Syrian Arab Republic, to report any actions
inconsistent with this paragraph to the Security Council immediately;
“20. Decides that
all Member States shall prohibit the procurement of chemical weapons, related
equipment, goods and technology or assistance from the Syrian Arab Republic by
their nationals, or using their flagged vessels or aircraft, whether or not
originating in the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic;
“21. Decides, in the event of
non-compliance with this resolution, including unauthorized transfer of
chemical weapons, or any use of chemical weapons by anyone in the Syrian Arab
Republic, to impose measures under Chapter VII of the United Nations
Charter;
“22. Decides to remain actively
seized of the matter.
