Statement by Caroline Quinn, UK Deputy Political Coordinator, at
the UN Security Council meeting on Syria.
"The United Kingdom remains resolute in its commitment to
eradicating the threat posed by chemical weapons in
Syria.
We welcome the 22 January publication of the fifth Organisation
for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Investigation and
Identification Team (IIT) report.
The report concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe
that the Syrian Arab Air Force under the former Assad regime
carried out the chlorine attack on Kafr Zeita on 1 October 2016,
injuring at least 35 people.
Its findings add to an already extensive body of evidence
confirming a systematic pattern of chemical weapons use by the
former Assad Regime.
Publication of this report is a significant milestone.
It is the first attribution report to have received direct
support from a Syrian government.
It demonstrates Syria's commitment to accountability and
represents a crucial step towards truth and justice.
The United Kingdom thanks the OPCW technical secretariat staff
for their unwavering dedication and professionalism in the
pursuit of attribution.
And we look forward to the conclusion of other ongoing and future
investigations into chemical weapons attacks in Syria.
President, the progress made by the Syrian government and the
OPCW provides a genuine opportunity to eradicate the threat of
Assad era chemical weapons once and for all.
However, progress is neither inevitable nor assured.
As we stated in this Council in January, and as the OPCW Director
General has reaffirmed at the Executive Council meeting in The
Hague today, significant and sustainable additional financial and
in kind support from the international community remains
essential to ensure the safe, verifiable, and rapid elimination
of Assad's chemical weapons programme.
The United Kingdom has contributed over $3.8 million to the OPCW
Syria Missions since the fall of Assad.
We encourage other States Parties who have not previously
supported Syria-related destruction activities financially to
contribute at the earliest opportunity.
For our part, we will continue to provide technical expertise to
both Syria and the OPCW.
Colleagues, let us not squander this window of opportunity.
Together, we can support Syria and the OPCW to make further
progress to eliminate Assad's chemical weapons programme and help
to ensure those responsible for chemical weapons use are held to
account."
