CLEAR AND CONVINCING’ EVIDENCE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS USE IN SYRIA, UN TEAM REPORTS

From: UNNews <UNNews@un.org>
Date: 16 Sep 2013 16:00:02 -0400
Subject: 'CLEAR AND CONVINCING' EVIDENCE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS USE IN
SYRIA, UN TEAM REPORTS
To: news11@ny-mail-p-lb-028.ptc.un.org

'CLEAR AND CONVINCING' EVIDENCE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS USE IN SYRIA, UN
TEAM REPORTSNew York, Sep 16 2013 4:00PM A United Nations team
probing the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria has found "clear
and convincing evidence" that Sarin gas (Sarin, or GB, is an
organophosphorus compound with the formula [(CH3)2CHO]CH3P(O)F. It is
a colorless, odorless liquid, used as a chemical weapon owing to its
extreme potency as a nerve agent. It has been classified as a weapon
of mass destruction in UN Resolution 687. Production and stockpiling
of sarin was outlawed by the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993 where
it is classified as a Schedule 1 substance.
Sarin can be lethal even at very low concentrations, with death
following within one minute after direct ingestion due to suffocation
from lung muscle paralysis, unless some antidotes, typically atropine
or Biperiden and pralidoxime, are quickly administered to a person.
People who absorb a non-lethal dose, but do not receive immediate
medical treatment, may suffer permanent neurological damage. Sarin
degrades after a period of several weeks to several months. The shelf
life can be shortened by impurities in precursor materials. According
to the CIA, some Iraqi sarin had a shelf life of only a few weeks,
owing mostly to impure precursors.
Its otherwise-short shelf life can be extended by increasing the
purity of the precursor and intermediates and incorporating
stabilizers such as tributylamine. In some formulations, tributylamine
is replaced by diisopropylcarbodiimide (DIC), allowing sarin to be
stored in aluminium casings. In binary chemical weapons, the two
precursors are stored separately in the same shell and mixed to form
the agent immediately before or when the shell is in flight. This
approach has the dual benefit of solving the stability issue and
increasing the safety of sarin munitions.) was used in an incident
that occurred on 21 August in the Ghouta area on the outskirts of
Damascus and which reportedly killed hundreds of people.

"The <"http://www.un.org/disarmament/content/slideshow/Secretary_General_Report_of_CW_Investigation.pdf">report
makes for chilling reading," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
<"http://www.un.org/sg/offthecuff/index.asp?nid=2985">told reporters
following a closed-door briefing to the Security Council on the team's
work, which concludes that on the basis of evidence obtained during
its investigation, "chemical weapons have been used in the ongoing
conflict between the parties in [Syria], also against civilians,
including children, on a relatively large scale."

The team, led by Swedish scientist Dr. Åke Sellström, also concludes
in particular that the environmental, chemical and medical samples
collected provide "clear and convincing evidence that surface-to-air
rockets containing the nerve agent Sarin were used in Ein Tarma,
Moadamiyah, and Zamalka, in the Ghouta area of Damascus."

Formally known as the Mission to Investigate Allegations of the Use of
Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic, Dr. Sellström's team was
established by the Secretary-General on 21 March 2013 and was assisted
by experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

"The results are overwhelming and indisputable. The facts speak for
themselves. The United Nations Mission has now confirmed,
unequivocally and objectively, that chemical weapons have been used in
Syria," declared Mr. Ban, underscoring that 85 per cent of blood
samples from the sites in Ghouta tested positive for Sarin, and the
majority of the rocket fragments were also found to be carrying the
deadly nerve agent.

"There must be accountability for the use of chemical weapons. Any
use of chemical weapons by anyone, anywhere, is a crime,' said Mr.
Ban, stressing: "But our message today must be more than: Do not
slaughter your people with gas. There must also be no impunity for the
crimes being committed with conventional weapons."

"This is a war crime," the Secretary-General said, stressing that the
incident marked the most serious chemical weapons incident since
Saddam Hussein's attack on the Halabja region of Iraq, and the worst
use of weapons of mass destruction in the 21st century. "The
international community has a responsibility to hold the perpetrators
accountable and to ensure that chemical weapons never re-emerge as an
instrument of warfare."

The accession of Syria to the Chemical Weapons Convention and its
belated acknowledgement that it possesses chemical weapons are welcome
developments that come with strict obligations, the UN chief said.

Responding to questions, the Secretary-General said Dr. Sellström's
team had been able to determine objectively that Sarin was used on a
relatively large scale. It was the team's job to determine whether and
to what extent chemical weapons were used, not who used them.

"It is for others to decide whether to pursue this matter further to
determine responsibility. We may all have our own thoughts on this,
but I would simply say that this was a grave crime and those
responsible must be brought to justice as soon as possible," he said.

Speaking during the closed-door Council session, the UN chief said the
team had interviewed more than 50 survivors, medical personnel and
first responders. It applied a rigorous and objective selection
process designed to identify survivors who may have been exposed to
chemical agents. It assessed these individuals' symptoms and collected
biomedical samples, including from hair, urine and blood.

The Mission also documented and sampled impact sites and munitions,
and collected 30 soil and environmental samples – far more than any
previous such UN investigation, he said.

"The statements by survivors offer a vivid account of the events of 21
August," said the Secretary-General, noting that survivors reported
that following an attack with shelling, they quickly experienced a
range of symptoms, including shortness of breath, disorientation, eye
irritation, blurred vision, nausea, vomiting and general weakness.

"Many eventually lost consciousness. First responders described
seeing a large number of individuals lying on the ground, many of them
dead or unconscious," he said.

On related developments, Mr. Ban said that Russia and the United
States, led by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Secretary of State
John Kerry, held intensive consultations in Geneva last week, along
with their experts. He welcomed the understanding they reached
regarding the safeguarding and destruction of Syria's chemical weapons
stockpiles.

"I hope the Security Council and the Executive Council of the OPCW can
move quickly to consider and implement this plan. I stand ready to
support this plan in every way possible, while also fully realizing
the complexities of such an undertaking in the midst of a civil war,"
he said.

"The unity of the Security Council will be crucial. Given the gravity
of the situation, I urge the Council to consider ways to ensure
enforcement of, and compliance with, the plan through a clear
resolution."

Mr. Ban also said that the humanitarian situation in Syria is
desperate. Food supplies are dangerously low in some places.
"Families face intolerable choices between the risk of remaining in
place and the risk of taking flight. Communities that once lived in
relative harmony are now torn with sectarian tension."

"We need to do everything we can to bring the parties to the
negotiating table. This is the only path to a durable solution. I
stand ready to convene the International Conference on Syria in Geneva
as soon as possible," he said, adding that he looked forward to
meeting with Mr. Lavrov and Mr. Kerry on 28 September. He hoped the
officials would be able to set a date for the conference at that
time.Sep 16 2013 4:00PM
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