I thank the High Representative Izumi Nakamitsu for her briefing. As always, we appreciate your strong voice on calling for accountability.
Estonia welcomes the adoption of the decision by the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention on the 21st of April 2021 suspending the voting rights and privileges of the Syrian Arab Republic at the OPCW. This is a measured and fitting response to Syria’s continued possession and use of chemical weapons. The international community could not look past any longer and sent a strong message that this abhorrent behaviour has consequences and needs to stop.
Since the beginning of the Syrian conflict, the regime has terrorized its people by using toxic substances against them in grave violation of international law. Last month, on the 12th of April, the OPCW’s Investigation and Identification Team released its second report that found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Syrian Arab Air Force is responsible for a chemical weapons attack in Saraqib, in February 2018. This is now the eighth case of chemical weapons use attributed to the Assad regime in five years. We strongly condemn each one of them and hope that in the face of clear evidence this Council takes action to uphold its resolutions and the UN Charter. The victims of the Syrian regime’s war crimes deserve to see those responsible held accountable for their heinous actions. Accountability is needed to build peace in Syria.
Mr President, resolution 2118 stipulates that the Syrian Arab Republic shall cooperate fully with the OPCW. We have reached now to the ninety-first monthly report of the Director-General and the gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies in the Syrian declaration stubbornly persist. We note with worry that against evidence to the contrary, Syria continues to deny having ever used a chemical weapons production facility. New, previously undeclared findings of neat chemical warfare agent have triggered the need to open another outstanding issue.
Estonia once again calls that the Assad regime must declare its entire supply of chemical weapons so that they may be verifiably destroyed, as required under the Chemical Weapons Convention and the resolution 2118.
Mister President, to conclude, allow me to reiterate our full trust in the independent, impartial and professional work of the OPCW Technical Secretariat, its investigative bodies and in the credibility of their reports. Attempts to undermine the OPCW and weaken the international architecture against the use of chemical weapons is deeply concerning and unacceptable. We continue to call on the Russian Federation to cooperate with the OPCW and to disclose, urgently, fully and in a transparent manner, the circumstances of the poisoning of Mr Navalny with a chemical nerve agent of the Novichok group and to inform the Security Council in this regard.
I thank you, Mister President.