By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
DAMASCUS, Syria-Following a breakthrough agreement between the U.S. and Russia to ultimately strip Syria of its chemical weapons, an enforceable resolution has been put to the United Nations Security Council.
Under the agreement, Syria must provide a “full catalog of its chemical arsenal within a week and allow United Nations inspectors to start working no later than November.” If Syria fails in complying, the UN Security Council will take affirmative action.
While it is unclear what steps the UN Security Council will take, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that it was agreed that there will be no “use-of-force trigger” in the resolution. However, Kerry further went on to say, “The President of the United States always retains the right to defend the United States of America and our interests.”
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated, “There is nothing said about the use of force and not about any automatic sanctions.”
A UN spokesperson said there are ways to establish the “Chapter 7” resolution with a compromise on the use of force. “Some use the explicit language that allows for the use of military force…others refer to the possibility that the use of force may be invoked if there is non-compliance within the text of the resolution.”
The deal was welcomed and supported by Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General. He stated that he “hoped that would not just prevent further chemical use in Syria but help pave the path for a political solution to stop the appalling suffering inflicted on the Syrian people.”
On Saturday, the UN said that all necessary documents for Syria to join the chemical weapons convention had been received and that Syria will become part of the treaty on October 14th.
“The Convention will enter into force for the Syrian Arab Republic on the 30th day following the date of deposit of this instrument of accession, namely on 14 October 2013,” stated the U.N press office.
Monday will see the revealing of the UN report on the deadly chemical-weapons attack that occurred last month in Syria. The report will be presented to Ban Ki-moon by chief inspector Ake Sellstrom, and it has been quoted to be “overwhelming in showing that chemical weapons were used.
A Security Council permanent-member diplomat said, “If the report points to accountability by the Assad government, there may be more discussion of a referral to the International Criminal Court.”
As plans regarding action to be taken in Syria continue to unfold, Kerry and Lavrov will again meet at the UN General Assembly later this month while President Obama is set to address the assembly on September 24.
Despite the cooperation and progress that has been made, international responses have still been guarded. Many Western nations are wary of Assad and are all too familiar with the frustrated attempt of UN weapons inspectors dealing with Saddam Hussein in Iraq, along with the difficulties of disassembling Syria’s chemical weapons during a civil war.
For more information, please see the following:
Reuters-Assad’s forces on attack after U.S.-Russia arms deal-September 15, 2013
Aljazeera-US and Russia agree on ‘framework’ to remove Syrian chemical weapons-September 14, 2013
CBS News-Syrian chemical weapons agreement bound for United Nations Security Council-September 14, 2013
NBC News-US, Russia reach deal on Syria’s chemical weapons-September 14, 2013
