Thank you, Madam President.

We would also like to thank High Representative Nakamitsu for her briefing.

Madam President,

Syria became Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2013.

As every other Party, the Syrian regime has the following obligations under the Convention as well as the UN Security Council Resolution 2118:

- First, never, under any circumstances, develop, produce, transfer or use chemical weapons.

The reports of investigative bodies mandated by the UN and the OPCW, however, established the Syrian regime’s responsibility in nine chemical weapon attacks in Syria, both before and after the date on which the regime became a party to the Convention.

- Second, fully cooperate with OPCW and provide assistance to its Technical Secretariat.

115th monthly report of the OPCW Director General, as well as the briefing this morning by the High Representative shows that it was not possible to hold the next round of consultations between the OPCW Declaration Assessment Team (DAT) and the Syrian National Authority for over 2 years now, inter alia, because of the regime’s objection to the composition of the DAT delegation.

- Third, submit timely, accurate and complete declarations related to chemical weapons and chemical weapons facilities on its territory.

In the latest monthly report of the Director General, we see once again that the pending declarations and other documents, requested by the Declaration Assessment Team since 2019 have not been submitted by the regime.

The regime has also yet to provide sufficient technical information or explanations that would enable the Secretariat to close the issue of Schedule 2 chemical detection at Barzah facilities.

Neither has the Secretariat received a response to its inquiries regarding the unauthorized movement of two cylinders related to 2018 Douma attack.

As a result of the identified gaps, inconsistencies, and discrepancies that still remain unresolved, the OPCW cannot still consider the declaration submitted by the regime accurate and complete.

We call on the Syrian regime to fulfill its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Security Council Resolution 2118.

The use of chemical weapons anywhere constitutes a threat to international peace and security. It is a grave violation of international law and unacceptable under any circumstances.

We strongly condemn the repeated use of chemical weapons in Syria.

We will continue to support the efforts by the UN and OPCW to ensure accountability for these grave violations.

Ending impunity and holding perpetrators to account is indispensable in order to achieve lasting peace in Syria.

Thank you.