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| A convoy of chemical weapons disarmament experts leave their residence at the Four Seasons Hotel in Damascus, capital of Syria, on Oct. 8, 2013. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday proposed the establishment of a team of about 100 people based in Cyprus "in order to achieve the timely elimination of the Syrian chemical weapons program in the safest and most secure manner possible." (Xinhua/Bassem Tellawi) |
UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday proposed the establishment of a team of about 100 people based in Cyprus "in order to achieve the timely elimination of the Syrian chemical weapons programme in the safest and most secure manner possible."
In a letter to the UN Security Council, the secretary-general proposed the establishment of a Joint Mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the United Nations to verify the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons in accordance with the latest resolution unanimously adopted by the 15-nation UN body.
"The Joint Mission will establish a staging area and support base in Cyprus," the secretary-general said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Xinhua.
"The Joint Mission will be headed by a civilian special coordinator, whom I would appoint in close consultation with the director-general of the OPCW, at the level of (UN) under-secretary-general," Ban said.
"My two highest priorities are the elimination of the Syrian chemical weapons program and the safety and security" of the OPCW-UN a Joint Mission, he said, anticipating "the complete elimination of Syrian chemical weapons material and equipment by the first half of 2014."
"Strong support and assistance from member states is also necessary," Ban said, in a 10-page letter delivered late Monday to members of the UN Security Council, citing the "specialist nature of the Joint Mission."
Ban told the Security Council that he made the proposal after his consultation with the director-general of the OPCW, Ahmet Uzumcu.
On Sept. 27, the Security Council voted 15-0 to adopt a resolution to rid the war-torn Syria of chemical weapons.
The UN fact-finding group, set up in March by the secretary-general at the request of the Syrian government, has confirmed the use of chemical weapons outside Damascus, the Syrian capital, on Aug. 21.
Under the supervision of experts from the OPCW on Sunday, "Syria began to destroy its chemical weapons," the UN chief said.
"Syrian personnel used cutting torches and angle grinders to destroy or disable a range of materials, including missile warheads, aerial bombs and mixing and filling equipment," Ban said. "I welcome this historic step, and urge all parties to do their part to ensure that this encouraging progress is maintained and indeed accelerated."
The mission was triggered with the confirmation by a preliminary inspection team of an Aug. 21 chemical weapon attack in Ghouta near Damascus, which killed at least hundreds and possibly as many as 1,400 people, including women and children. It was not determined whether the government or opposition used such munitions.
Syria has been engulfed in a 2.5-year-old civil war that has seen more than 100,000 people killed and 6 million others displaced, including about 2 million refugees currently living in neighboring countries, according to UN figures.
Because of the ongoing fighting in Syria, the secretary-general said that the team would initially have a "light footprint" in taking on its assignment, "establish a staging area and support base in Cyprus," and rotate personnel in and out of Syria.
"The base would also serve as a training center for mission personnel, who, depending on their role, may have a need for some combination of technical training and special security training," Ban's report said.
"The Joint Mission will build upon the advance team deployment and expand to a staff of approximately 100 personnel" in three stages and it "will be constantly shifting depending on operation requirements," he said.
In the first stage, already underway, he said the team is conducting "initial verification activities, notably through dialogue" with Damascus "to clarify the initial Syrian declaration to the OPCW" last month when it announced accession to the Chemical Warfare Convention (CWC) and the OPCW.
"During Phase II, through Nov. 1, the OPCW must complete its initial inspections of all Syrian chemical weapons production and storage facilities, and oversee the destruction by the Syrian Arab Republic of all chemical weapons production and mixing and filling equipment," the secretary-general said.
The director-general of the OPCW "will lead consultations with member states, especially in areas related to destruction in Phase III," Ban said.
"I will also conduct consultations with member states, especially in areas related to the operational and security dimensions of the verification activities in the phase, as well as the possible public health and environmental impact of the work of the Joint Mission."
"Phase III will be the most difficult and challenging phase," Ban said. "From Nov. 1 to June 30, 2014 (a period of eight months) the Joint Mission will be expected to support, monitor and verify the destruction of a complex chemical weapons program, involving multiple sites spread over a country engulfed in violent conflict, which includes approximately 1,000 metric tons of chemical weapons, agents and precursors that are dangerous to handle, dangerous to transport and dangerous to destroy."
He said such an operation will require movement -- by the OPCW and UN civilian personnel -- "across active confrontation lines and in some cases through territory controlled by armed groups that are hostile to the objectives of the Joint Mission."
The secretary-general said he anticipated "complicated technical questions related to the destruction."
"There will be significant operational and logistic challenges related to the transport of specialized equipment and personnel to operate it, as well as perhaps, to the movement of highly dangerous weapons and materials," he said.
All this will result in "exceedingly complex security challenges," he said.
"The timelines associated with this destruction phase would be ambitious under the most peaceful and benign of circumstances," Ban said, adding the pressure of the tight time table "will not only enhance operational and security risks, but also potential public health and environmental risks."
He said the dangerous, expedited mission will attempt "an operation the likes of which, quite simply, have never been tried before."
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