Statement by the Brazilian Delegation at the UNSC meeting on the Middle East - Syria (CW) - July 11, 2023

Madam President,

I thank Mr. Adedeji Ebo, the Deputy to the High Representative of the United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs, for his briefing and welcome the participation in today’s meeting of the representatives of the Syrian Arab Republic, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Türkiye.

We have closely read the OPCW Director-General’s report, dated June 23rd, 2023, and, once again, we have found little new information that would merit the attention of this Council.

We continue to follow the results of the Limited In-Country Activities (LICA) by members of the Declaration Assessment Team (DAT). We welcome the fact that the OPCW Secretariat and the Syrian National Authority have agreed on holding a meeting to discuss matters related to the Syrian chemical dossier.

We hope that these renewed contacts will lead to further cooperation between the Organization and Syria to address all the outstanding issues related to its initial declaration and to the violations of the CWC in the conflict in Syria.

Madam President,

We reiterate that the work of the OPCW in establishing the factual truth regarding these incidents must be carried out with unequivocal commitment to transparency, impartiality, and technical rigor. Only this will provide the basis for the attribution of responsibility by the United Nations Security Council, as the competent body to deliver on this task. With that in mind, we understand that all instances of investigation and fact-finding deployed by the Organization should be impervious to any suspicion of political interference.

Brazil received with deep concern the latest report circulated by the Berlin Group 21 in The Hague on the process that led to the publication of the Final Report of the Mission deployed to investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons in Douma, in April 2018.

The document raises a host of extremely concerning issues that the OPCW should not ignore. In order to preserve the credibility of its conclusions - not only regarding the Douma incident, but all aspects of non-verification missions. We expect the OPCW Director General and the Secretariat to address the issues raised in the Berlin Group Review in a transparent manner, preferably by the next session of the OPCW Executive Council.

At the very least, the organization should strengthen its internal practices to stave off any suspicion of lack of technical rigor and to ensure freedom from political interference in its verification activities.

Madam President,

In closing, I reiterate that Brazil strongly condemns the use of chemical weapons, anywhere, by anyone, under any circumstances. Any use of such weapons represents a serious threat to international peace and security. Closer cooperation both between Syria and the OPCW and between the OPCW and the UN remains our best hope for closing the so-called "Syrian chemical file" and for preventing and deterring any future uses of these weapons.

Thank you.