TEHRAN – Repeated UN Security Council meetings on Syria have been condemned, according to the UN ambassador and permanent representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Amir Saeed Iravani addressed Monday ahead of the Council’s meeting on “Situation in the Middle East: (Syria – Chemicals)”, touching on remarks on repeated accusations against Syria and calling for any investigation into the use of chemical weapons. Suggested that it should be fair and professional, trustworthy and objective.
Below is the full text of the Ambassador’s statement.
I would like to congratulate Ghana on taking up the Presidency of the Board in November. I also congratulate Gabon on successfully completing his presidential term in October.
Iran once again strongly condemns the use of chemical weapons by anyone, anywhere, under any circumstances, as a flagrant violation of international law.
We reiterate that any investigation into the use of chemical weapons must be impartial, professional, credible and objective, and must comply fully with the requirements and procedures of the Convention. .
Equally important, the OPCW must be able to carry out its duties in an impartial, professional, and objective manner to establish facts and draw evidence-based conclusions.
We reiterate our call that the Chemical Weapons Convention must be fully, effectively and without discrimination implemented.
We believe that politicizing the application of the Convention and using the OPCW for political reasons jeopardizes the credibility of both the OPCW and the Convention.
Syria voluntarily joined the treaty in 2013, dismantling its arsenals and facilities used to produce such weapons. While encouraging dialogue and consultation between the parties, we believe that the Syrian Arab Republic and her cooperation with the OPCW should be recognized.
We further commend the Syrian Arab Republic for submitting monthly reports to the OPCW Secretary General detailing activities on its territory related to the destruction of chemical weapons and their production facilities.
We look forward to a high-level meeting between the Syrian Foreign Minister and the OPCW Executive Director, which could pave the way for the parties to resolve outstanding issues.
Syrian National Authorities requested the Technical Secretariat to convene a coordination meeting in Beirut to agree on an agenda for the high-level meeting, which the Technical Secretariat responded to on 3 October.
The last Board meeting on the Syrian Chemicals File was held on October 25, and less than two weeks later another meeting was held today, during which no new developments were made. It is therefore clear that there is no new point in today’s discussion other than the repetition of allegations against the Syrian Arab Republic.
We agree with this view that holding monthly conferences on this subject is costly, not only in terms of United Nations resources, but also in terms of the Security Council’s time.
Moreover, while the Syrian Arab Republic has met the requirements of the treaty and continues to cooperate constructively with the OPCW, treating this file in a political and double-standard manner distracts from the technical nature of the discussion. only.
We support a discussion of this issue in the OPCW’s own technical track to facilitate a positive dialogue between Syria and the OPCW and to resolve outstanding issues.
