Declaração da Delegação do Brasil em reunião do Conselho de Segurança sobre o Oriente Médio - 20 de julho de 2022 (texto em inglês)

United Nations Security Council

Briefing - Middle East (Syria) [CW]

UNSC Chamber, 20 July 2022

Statement by the Delegation of Brazil

I shall now make a statement in my national capacity.

At the outset, I would like to thank Ms. Nakamitsu for her briefing. I would also like to thank the Director-General of the OPCW for his latest report. As we can infer from reading the document, little has changed in the situation on the ground or in the relationship between the Syrian Arab Republic and the Organization. We hope that in the near future we can have positive developments in this file and that the Director-General will be able to brief the Council in person.

We welcome recent understanding to address shortcomings in the Syrian Arab Republic’s initial declaration through the exchange of correspondence, even if such exchanges cannot replace consultations between Syria and the Declaration Assessment Team (DAT). We hope this may constitute a further step towards the resumption of constructive dialogue.

Brazil continues to advocate for the need to restore trust between the OPCW and the Syrian Arab Republic, as well as for the need to overcome the regrettable politicization that has undermined the culture of consensus within the Organization and its decision-making bodies.

Finally, as my delegation noted in previous opportunities, while the Council should pay close attention to the progress in the elimination of chemical weapons in Syria, as well as enforce accountability for their use, the periodicity of these meetings needs to be urgently reassessed. Not having held a meeting on the topic in June did not affect the Council's work on the file in any way. This reinforces our perception that the ideal frequency for such exchanges is quarterly. Holding monthly meetings when there is little or no relevant development on the ground does not seem efficient in terms of both time and resources.

I now resume my functions as President of the Council.