The OPCW Technical Secretariat in The Hague will deploy a second team of inspectors for the mission in Syria that will augment the advance team of OPCW experts, who have been in Syria since 1 October conducting verification and destruction activities.
In his opening statement to the 74th session of the OPCW Executive council, Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü reported on the progress of the OPCW mission in Syria, inter alia:
- On 4 October the Syrian Arab Republic submitted additional information updating its initial disclosure, which drew in part on technical assistance provided by the OPCW team and will help the OPCW plan its future activities.
- On 6 October Syrian officials commenced destroying certain Category 3 chemical weapons and destroying or disabling a range of items, towards the goal of rendering unusable all production facilities and mixing and filling equipment by 1 November of this year.
“These developments present a constructive beginning for what will nonetheless be a long and difficult process,” the Director-General stated.
The Director-General further stated that he will shortly sign a supplementary agreement between the OPCW and the United Nations to facilitate the provision of security and field and logistics support by the UN for the joint OPCW-UN mission. He thanked States Parties for their generous contributions and offers of assistance to date for the mission, including the provision of transportation for the two teams of OPCW inspectors by the Governments of Germany and Italy.