Please join me in thanking Charles Duelfer for his presentation today. [applause] [inaudible conversations] taking you now to new york city where the u. N. Security council is about to meet discuss and possibly vote on a resolution to set guidelines for removing chemical weapons from syria. It was announced yesterday that five the councils permanent members including the u. S. And russia had come to an agreement on a resolution and its now going to be brought before the other members of the Security Council for consideration. Reuters has a story on a resolution saying the major Sticking Point up to this point was russias opposition to enforce compliance with the threat of sanctions or military force. The article goes on to say the draft resolution makes the measure for removing weapons legally binding but provides no automatic enforcement of syria fails to comply. Instead the Security Council would have to draft a second resolution and we will take a look now inside the room. The Security Council meeting and watch as they all come together. Just take a look here as is the meeting comes together. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] we are live at the u. N. In new york city at this hour. The Security Council meeting coming together possibly to vote on the resolution that would set guidelines for removing chemical weapons from syria. The Associated Press has a report that says the worlds chemical weapons watchdog has approved a disarmament plan for syria. The decision late to date paves the way for the u. N. Security council to adopt a resolution enshrining it plan which will make it legally binding. Already agreed on by five veto wielding members its expected to pass easily to break a nearly threeyear deadlock on the council which has been deeply divided on syria. Again waiting here for the Security Council meeting to come to order and take a look as the leaders congregate in the room. [inaudible conversations] s [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] just taking a look at the u. N. Security council coming together, meeting on syria to talk about them possibly vote on a resolution that was set guidelines for removing chemical weapons from syria. While we wait for the meeting to begin we will take a look at remarks by Russian Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. He was instrumental in coming to the resolution and spoke earlier today before the u. N. General assembly and he talked about syria among other topics. [speaking spanish] secretarygeneral ladies and gentlemen International Relations are becoming increasingly complex and multidimensional while developments in the world are even more rapid and less predictable. In these circumstances as never before there is an urgent need to agree upon collective responses to the key issues of today. Is solely within the power of such a truly universal organization as the United Nations to address this challenge. Moreover the solitary efforts might be productive only if they reflect the entire spectrum of views of the International Community on global challenges and threats all historical experience and all cultural and civilizational diversity in the modern world. For most of the members this approach is an axiom however there is also another tendency within which collective actions are understood primarily as agreements with the viewpoint of one group of countries. Such views manifest themselves in various areas. InterNational Security settlement of complex situations functioning of the World Economy the choice of Development Models and core values. Many problems in todays world have been reflected in the tragic situation in syria and ambiguous developments and not the least of africa overall. Russia has consistently called developments to common approach for the International Community which would combine support on their path to transformation and the understanding of the fact that objectively these processes would be lengthy and sometimes painful and it would be quite important not to harm with outside interference. To act in a balanced way and take into account the complex developments are taking place which are stressing among other things a search for compromises against the mosaic of arab societies. We have called consistently for the choice of evolutionary way and a peaceful settlement of crises through dialogue and reconciliation. Another point of view is manifested itself in attempts to determine who is legitimate or not among the leaders of the region and to impose an opinion regarding which side should be supported and Domestic National complex and detained from outside readymade prescriptions for democratic transformation. The desire to portray in a simplified Way Developments in the arab world is the struggle of democracy or good against evil have long obscured the problems associated with the rising waive of extremism which is spilling over into other regions today as well. The terrorist attacks in kenya have demonstrated the full gravity of this threat. Its Common Knowledge that the jihadist groups that contain quite a few radicals coming from all parts of the world are the most capable units of opposition having nothing to do with democracy and are based on intolerance and the destruction of secular states and caliphates. A policy which on substance either mounts military resistance in as in mali or provide support to the same groups as in syria. The use of chemical weapons is inadmissible. This does not mean one cant reserve the right to accuse all the chemical weapons by whoever that might be in syria must be investigated in a professional and unbiased manner and then examined by the u. N. Security council exclusively on the basis of fact rather than assumptions. In june this year there was an agreement of the leaders of the eight leading states. Recently a common argument has been increasingly used to prove that the threat or use of force is virtually the most effective weapon to address International Problems including settlement of National Domestic complex. There are attempt to extrapolate such a situation in syria. This happens despite the fact that all the experience of such dimensions with the use of force has proven they are an effective meaningless and destructive. This is a extremely dangerous path leading to the subversion of the debian d. Regimes. Military force to ensure ones interest in the region. Under the pretext of the remaining international affairs. All of recent history testifies that no matter how big or powerful most can cope alone with challenges faced by mankind today. There is no doubt that the leadership is required. However today it can only be collective leadership based on the agreedupon actions of the leading members of the International Community with strict respect for the principles and norms of International Law. Is it growing understanding opening the way towards achieving russiau. S. Understanding and putting International Control and subsequent elimination of syrian syrian this became possible thanks to the decision to join the convention and fulfill relevant observations with an expedited procedure. We expect the decisions of the opcw counsel and the u. N. Security council will contribute to establishing a required framework for elimination of chemical arsenals in syria. The progress in chemical disarmament in syria should give impetus to the implementation of existing arrangements to convene a conference in establishing a zone free of weapons of mass destruction and delivery in the middle east. There are number of confiscated issues related to ensuring full participation. We know that but they cannot be referred to endlessly. This is exactly the case when true leadership must be demonstrated for the common benefits. People continue to die and peaceful citizens suffer every day in syria. Religious minorities in living the Christian Communities and are becoming victims of this conflict which is increasingly acquiring a sectarian character. Virtually the only possibility today to to put an end to this turmoil is to remove remove the deadlock under the searing crisis. We continue to work vigorously for the convening of a piece conference to the communique of july 30, 2012. We hope that following the government is syria the opposition will constructively respond to the russiau. S. Initiative. The searing crisis should not overshadow the task of addressing the palestinian problem. We expect leaders will step up to the level of their responsibility for the future of their people at this current critical stage when the parties have resumed direct talks after a lengthy introduction duly recognizing u. S. Efforts in the middle east efforts we believe is necessary to intensify the quartet which remains internationally recognized method. The 7000 the 7038th meeting of the National Security is called to order. The provisional agenda for the meeting is the situation in the middle east. The agenda is adopted. I warmly welcome the distinguished secretarygeneral the deputy Prime Minister of luxembourg ministers of the Security Councilmembers and other distinguished representatives present in this era to carry the Council Chamber tonight. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of item 2 of the agenda. Members have before them document s structs 2013, 575 the text of the draft resolution prepared in the course of the councils prior consultations. I note that this document contains an annex one which is the text of the decision by the executive council of the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons on 27 september. Entitled and i quote destruction of Syrian Chemical Weapons. It is my understanding that the council is ready to proceed to the boat on the draft resolution before it. I would like to thank all councilmembers for cosponsoring the draft resolution which is now a president ial text. I shall put the draft resolution to a vote now. All those in favor of containing the document for resolution containing the document is 2013 strike 575 please raise their hands. The result of the voting is as follows. The draft resolution received 15 votes in favor so the draft resolution has been adopted unanimously. This resolution 2118 of 2013. I now get give the floor to the secretarygeneral his excellency mr. Ban kimoon. Secretarygeneral. Mr. President other ministers excellencies today is the historic resolution is the first first on syria in a long time. For many months i have said that the use of chemical weapons in syria would require a firm united response and tonight the International Community has delivered. I commend the members of the council and especially am grateful for the support of the Russian Federation Foreign Ministry Sergey Lavrov and u. S. Secretary of state john kerry. Mr. President , sent to investigate the allegations confirmed chemical weapons were used in syria. The perpetrators of this crime must be brought to justice. This week the mission on the returned to syria to complete his investigations including the instance i expect the teams findings by next week. I will transmit a final report you and all Member States. At the same time the International Community has a responsibility to ensure that these weapons of mass destruction never remain as an instrument of terror. I welcomes syrias declaration to implement todays decision by the effective counsel for the prohibition of chemical weapons establishes ambitious but realistic deadlines for the verified elimination of the syrian program. Given this task in the continuing conflict in syria the United Nations and the opcw have a preliminary agreement that will be fully developed based on this resolution and will be the basis for my proposal to the council. I think director general for his collaborative spirit. We will meet in damascus on tuesday. The inspections teams will have full support from all relevant departments and offices. Todays resolution will ensure that the elimination of the Syrian Chemical Weapons program happens as soon as possible and with the utmost transparency and accountability. Ensuring the destruction of chemical weapons is a difficult task in any circumstance. In syria the inspectors who are scientists and technical experts will have to contend with the realities of the country. The success of this mission will depend on the Syrian Government implementing these obligations faithfully and without delay. This includes ensuring the safety of opcw and u. N. Personnel. The full cooperation of Opposition Forces will also be important. Both sides share a common interest in the permanent destruction of these weapons. This process will also require the active engagement of the International Community. I am grateful for the pledges of support for u. N. And opcw activities received today. In the days ahead how to facilitate the elimination of syrias chemical weapons program. I will provide the recommendations to the Security Council in due course. Mr. President , distinguished members of the council as we marked this important step we must never forget that the catalogue of horrors and syria continue with the bombs and tanks combat grenades and guns. Doesnt mean a green light for others. This is not a license to kill with conventional weapons. The violence must end. All of the violence must fall silent. We must capitalize upon the newfound unity of the council by focusing on two other equally crucial dimensions of the country the dire humanitarian situation and the political crisis. We expect councilmembers to firmly demand that the Syrian Government and the operation uphold their obligations under International Humanitarian law including the lifting of all humanitarian access. Some communities have received no assistance in more than 10 months. The council has agreed that the only way to bring peace to syria is an increasing syrian led political process based on the geneva conference from jersey convening on the conference in and syria to implement the geneva communique. Excellencies, it is time to make this happen as quickly as possible. The United Nations has completed all of the preparatory work. President assad has stated that he is prepared to send a delegation to geneva and the Syrian Coalition has expressed its willingness to engage. Our conversations over the last week have focused on launching geneva to. On wednesday i will have lunch with the five permanent members of the council. We are going to make sure that the syrian participants come to the conference to negotiate in good faith. Now today the United Nations joins special representative rahimi and i continued discussion with the Member States. We are aiming toward a conference in november. In the meantime mr. Brahimi will launch all the necessary preparations to ensure success. Distinguished members of the council, no one is naive to the challenges of ending this conflict. The syrian side busting gauge constructively towards the creation of a Democratic State that guarantees the human rights of all. The regions have a responsibility to challenge those who would actively and of mine the process and those who did not fully respects sovereignty unity and territorial intake eddie. The Security Councilmembers individually and collectively have a key role in ushering the geneva process towards a lasting peaceful solution. I thank you. Thanks his excellency. I now give the floor to his excellency mr. Sergey Lavrov Ministry of Foreign Affairs in russia. [speaking in native tongue] translator in full keeping with the russianamerican agreements achieved in september. This was a result of coordinated efforts by the Russian Federation backed by Security Councils as well as the majority of states. The leading role in the upcoming work lies with the opcw. The u. N. Will provide assistance. We believe that the will act as a professional and impartial way in stereo with full respect for the sovereignty of this country. Theres a need to do Everything Possible to ensure the syrian chemical arsenals which are taken under control only happen in a timely and effective way in a way which would respect all safety laws. We expect the opc w. Will cooperate closely and ensure true coordination pursuant to the Security Council resolution. We expect recommendations of the Inspector General regarding the organization of his work including issues of ensuring the safety of the international personnel. Russia stands ready to participate in the forthcoming operation in syria. An important precondition for the success of the upcoming work is damascus readiness for real cooperation by joining the cwc. Syria has started the implication of its commitments by providing the opcw with a detailed list of its chemical arsenal holdings. We believe damascus will continue in good faith instructed to cooperate with international inspectors. They responsibility for this resolution lies not only with the continent of syria but certainly the demands of the Security Council the International Experts will also have to enjoy the cooperation of the Syrian Opposition. In this respect report should be regarding the course of implantation for this opcw and will have to be objective and cover the situation regarding all parties and does not fall under chapter 7 of the u. N. Charter and does not call for any automatic use of measures of enforcement. It reaffirms the agreement which the agreement was which is reached at the russianamerican meeting in geneva. Violations of this requirement as well as the use of chemical weapons by anyone will have to be carefully investigated by the Security Council of United Nations which will stand ready to take action under chapter 7. Actions which are commensurate with the violations which will have to be proven by 100 . Special responsibility lies with those who back and sponsor the opposition but they have to ensure chemical weapons not fall in the hands of extremists. In the resolution there are relevant requirements for the Security Council to all countries especially syrias neighbors. They mt report to Security Council and any any attempts by nonstate actors to obtain chemical weapons. What is even more unacceptable is all similar cases will be immediately considered by the Security Council. We believe the resolution adopted a result of the problem with searing chemical weapons but the decision of the creation of a zone free of weapons and means of delivery. In accordance with decisions made by the International Community. The resolution sets up the framework for the diplomatic overcoming of the searing crisis. It adopts without reservations the geneva communique through july 2012 as a platform for settlement and also backs the convening on this basis of interNational Conference. In our system and one which is shared by the other permanent members of the secret counsel as well as the secretary general this could take place as early as the middle of november. We expect the increasingly diverse Syrian Opposition opposition will in the end be able to participate in the conference as the government has has serious tone has serious done. We call him the sponsors of the opposition to exert the necessary pressure to do this. The Russian Federation will willamette acted directly participate in implementing the Disarmament Program in preparing for geneva to. I thank you. I think his excellency mr. Lavrov for a statement i now give the floor to john kerry secretary state of the United States of america. Thank you very much and thank you mr. Secretarygeneral distinguished minister and members of the Security Council. Five weeks ago the world saw rows upon rows of murdered children lying on on the hospital floor a loan or beside slain parents all wrapped in bloodied burial shrouds. The worlds conscience was shocked but our collective resolve hardens. Tonight with a strong enforceable precedentsetting resolution requiring syria to give up its chemical weapons the u. N. Security council has demonstrated that diplomacy can be so powerful it can peacefully defuse the worst weapons of war. So tonight we are declaring together for the first time that the use of chemical weapons which the world long ago determined to beyond the bounds of acceptable Human Behavior are also a threat to International Peace and security anywhere they might be used, anytime they might be used under any circumstances. As a community of nations we reaffirm our responsibility and defend the defenseless those whose lives remain at risk every day that anyone believes they can use weapons of mass destruction with impunity. Together the world with a single voice for the first time is imposing binding obligations on the assad regime requiring it to get rid of weapons that have been used to devastating effect as tools of terror. This important resolution reflects what president obama and president putin and colleagues around the world set out to do. I want to thank foreign minister lavrov for his personal efforts and cooperation continuing through this week so that we could find common ground. I also want to thank my good friends and counterparts foreign secretary hague foreign minister foggiest who have been partners every step of the way. Our original objective was to degrade and deter syrias chemical weapons capability. The option of military force with president obama has kept on the table could have achieved that. But tonight to resolution in fact accomplishes even more. Through peaceful means it will for the first time seek to eliminate entirely the nations chemical weapons capability and in this case specifically serious. On the site inspections at the place whose weapons are stored will begin in november and under the terms of this agreement those weapons will be removed and destroyed by the middle of next year. Our aim was also to hold the assad regime publicly accountable for its horrific use of chemical weapons against its own people on august 21. This resolution make clear that those responsible for this heinous act must be held accountable. In this resolution the council has importantly endorsed the geneva communique which calls for a transfer of power to a transitional governing body paving the way for democratic elections and the government that can be chosen by the people of syria to represent the people of syria. We sought a legally binding resolution and that is what the Security Council has adopted. For the First Time Since serious civil war began the Security Council is spelling out in detail what syria must do to comply with its legal obligations. Syria cannot select or reject the inspectors. Syria must give those inspectors unfettered access to any and all sites and to any and all people. We also want a resolution that can be enforced and again that is what the Security Council has adopted. We are here because actions have consequences and now should the regime failed to act there will be consequences. Progress will be reported back to the Security Council frequently and in the event of noncompliance the council will impose measures of the chapter 7 of the u. N. Charter. Just two weeks ago when the Syrian Regime would not even acknowledge the vast supply of chemical weapons and say that they existed, this outcome frankly would have been utterly unimaginable but thanks to the cooperation within p5 of the United Nations, thanks to our friends and partners around the world many of whom are here in this room, the Security Council has shown that when we put aside politics for the common good we are still capable of doing big things. Provided this resolution is fully implemented we will have eliminated one of the largest chemical weapons programs on earth from one of the most volatile places on earth. The assad regime carries the burden of meeting the terms of this agreement and when it comes to those who murder their own citizens the worlds patience needs to be short but make no mistake, the rest of the world still carries the burden of doing what we must do to end mass killing by other means. We must Work Together with the same determination and the same cooperation that has brought us here tonight in order to end the conflict that continues to this tear syria apart even this very day. They must continue to provide desperately needed humanitarian aid that neither assad or anyone else should stand between that game and the people who need it. Only when we do these things have we fulfilled our responsibility to the Syrian People and to ourselves. Only then will we have advanced our own interest in their own security and that of our allies in the region. Only then will we have shown that the u. N. Security council is meeting its responsibility to enforce International Peace and security. So we are here united tonight in support of our belief that International Institutions do matter that International Norms matter. We say with one voice that atrocities carried out with the worlds most heinous weapons will not be tolerated. When institutions like the Security Council stand up to defend the principles and values we all share, when we put violent regimes on notice that the world will unite against them it will lead not only to a safer syria but it will lead to a safer world. Ci think his excellency mr. Kerry for his statement and i now give the floor to his excellency mr. William hagues secretary of state Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom of great britain. Thank you mr. President. The 21st of august chemical weapons attack in syria was horrific in its nature and its scale and the secretary general has rightly described as a war crime. So it is welcome that the Security Council has recognized the appalling nature of the act and has come together to agree on a serious and farreaching response. We have done so in adopting the first Security Council resolution of syria in 17 months and i pay particular tribute to my colleagues secretary kerry and foreign minister lavrov for all the work they have done to make this possible. It is a groundbreaking resolution. First it recognizes that any use of chemical weapons is a threat to International Peace and security. This establishes an Important International marmot which is essential in the wake of the Syrian Regimes appalling actions on the 21st of august. It upholds the principle of accountability for this proven use of chemical weapons. It imposes legally binding and in sort and forcible obligations in the Syrian Regime to comply with the opcw decision adopted earlier this evening. It makes clear this Council Shall impose measures under chapter 7 of the u. N. Charter if there is noncompliance and it endorses the Geneva Convention of june 2012. We shall be in no doubt about the challenges ahead in implementing this resolution but properly implemented and this council must ensure that it is, it will prevent a repeat of the atrocities committed on the 21st of august or any other use of chemical weapons in syria. The United Kingdom will play its full part in this pic i can announce the u. K. Is making an additional contribution of 3 million to the opcw syrian trust fund. I echo the executive councils call that all states in a position to do so should provide ellen terry contributions and expertise to achieve but will be a challenging task. Let us not forget console action today is, only after two and a half years of unchecked brutality and well over 100,000 dead and millions displaced. The failure of the council to tackle the crimes committed on a daily basis has resulted in a culture of impunity in which it brutal regime league ticket giveaway with murdering its own men women and children. So it is vital that the council now builds on the can sensibly has reached today to make progress towards a sustainable resolution of the crisis. With renewed purpose and resolve we need to achieve a political transition and that is why i welcome the fact that we have as the secretarygeneral said earlier agreed on the permanent members of the Security Council to aim for a midnovember date for the start of geneva to. This will be a difficult process involving tough choices and compromises but crucially we are all committed to making our best collective effort to make it work. The goal is something on which we all agree and negotiated transition and serious starting with the formation of a transitional governing body with full executive power fall on the basis of Mutual Consent but no political process can deliver results. Until it says we must make a greater effort of the humanitarian crisis. The scale of suffering is truly horrific. 100,000 dead billionths displaced. The United Kingdom has provided a total of 800 million to the humanitarian response so far. We are yet to reach those inside syria. For this we need genuine progress on humanitarian access to his belief in the next few days the council must agree to apply its weight and authority to securing unfettered access to those in need in syria. Mr. President todays resolution is about ensuring the horrors of the 21st of august cannot happen again. The immediate need now is to focus on the other everyday every day horrors of the dire humanitarian situation and we need to redouble our determination to work through the geneva to process to end the conflict and secure a Better Future for syria. Thank you mr. President. I think his excellency mr. Hague for his statement and i give the floor to his excellency that the Prime Minister and minister for Foreign Affairs of luxembourg. [speaking in native tongue] translator mr. President the resolution just adopted unanimously as a historic that contain strong a specific elements to constrain syria to respect its obligations and prevent chemical weapons from being used once again in syria. The Security Council is put in place a robust mechanism which creates legally binding obligations through rigorous verification measures. The objective is clear. It could not lead to mistakes. Syria must fully cooperate with the opcw and the United Nations with a view to dismantling its Chemical Program as quickly as possible. If the syrian authorities respect their obligations of the resolution will make it possible to eliminate one of the most significant chemical weapons programs in the world through nonmilitary means. We have all borne witness one month ago to the terrible massacre in the suburbs of damascus using chemical weapons. What occurred on the 21st of august each of us was able to see with our own eyes on dozens of videos, unbearable images of the agony of victims dozens of children corpses lined up. Its important that these events never be reproduced. This resolution is in the right direction ines of e normative level. For the first time the Security Council is determined that the use of chemical weapons wherever it occurs is a threat to peace and interNational Security. This authorizes the council to be seized automatically if the issue in the future. This is significant progress. The resolution is innovative in another critical area of. For the the first time the Security Council was able to agree to endorse the geneva communique calling for the creation of the Transitional Government body with full executive powers in syria. The adoption of this resolution as is important as it is will not prevent a war nor to the enormous suffering of the Syrian People. In the long run the humanitarian challenge and the security challenge cannot be resolved in any other way but through a negotiated political solution to the crisis. Syria must engage in a political transition process that leads to respecting the aspiration of all of syria. Consequently we acreage of concerned parties to take advantage of the positive dynamic that has been created in this case of chemical weapons toward progress of the cessation towards the holding of geneva two in the political transition in syria. Any delay will only lead to more death and more suffering. Mr. President while our attention is focused on the most recent chapters in recent days concerning chemical weapons we cannot forget the humanitarian catastrophe which continues to unfold in syria and neighboring countries especially lebanon and jordan but also iraq and he. If i met would like to quote the high commissioner for refugees. Syria he said has become the greatest tragedy of the century the humanitarian calamity which is full of suffering and displacement of people without precedent in history. The syrians need assistance and they need it now. They have a right to assistance based on the criteria of humanity the most elementary is codified in their International Law. Its urgent that syria respond to the demands of humanitarian actors and they facilitate immediate unimpeded and free access to the affected populations. Its urgent to lift bureaucratic obstacles and ensure supplies of medical equipment to establish humanitarian routes to make possible access across borders and across lines to the populations that are affected. With australia luxembourg is spent on amplifying the humanitarian actors who are parties to the conflict in syria and anchoring a common message of the council. We help these efforts will soon lead to the adoption of a strong humanitarian text. The secret council must also assume responsibility on this point as well and i listened with interest and carefully to the words of the minister of Foreign Affairs for the United Kingdom William Hague in this regard. I would like to reiterate our concluding conviction that the offenders of the crime perpetuated on the 21st of august are behind other atrocities committed in syria since the beginning of hostilities and must be held accountable for their acts. The time is come to finally refer the situation in syria to the International Criminal courts. Thank you. I think his excellency for his statement and they give the floor to his excellency rauf of the republic of azerbaijan. Minister of Foreign Affairs of france followed by [speaking in native tongue] translator mr. President secretarygeneral ladies and gentlemen ministers and representatives of the United States Security Council tonight the syrian tragedy the Security Council has finally lived up to its name. August 21 the regime of bashar allah saw it committed an action which it was simply unacceptable. It gassed and so killed close to 1400 civilians including hundreds of children. The use of chemical weapons so horrible that they have been banned for over 100 years is clear. All the evidence points to the regime and no one, no one of good faith could deny this. As a result of the threat of strikes which were not just a strategy we have finally move things forward. We have exerted pressure on the regime. I want to remind you that even though until now they have denied the existence of chemical weapons in just a few days they have to turn their position around completely. They have recognized this and they will be destroyed. France as others especially the United States of america took this responsibility and we consider the Standing Firm has paid off. The resolution which we have just adopted meets the three requirements which the president of the French Republic and by self had set out at the beginning of this week which will perhaps go down in history whether one refers to syria or iran as the international week, the beginning of the end of chemical weapons. This resolution qualifies as a threat to National Peace and security. The security counsel may and wolves and with disarmament. The perpetrators of such crimes will have to answer for their actions. And finally the resolution also provides for as american and russian colleagues have accepted back in geneva that they have worked a great deal to achieving. This resolution also provides in the event of noncompliance with its commitments by the regime of damascus measures will be taken under chapter 7. Ladies and gentlemen this resolution is not an endpoint. It is but a first stage. Unfortunately one cannot simply believe a regime was just recently denied that they possessed such weapons if United Nations and the opcw must without further delay employ the giant mission with the time id set out in the decision adopted for syria [inaudible] the Security Council which will be regularly informed will decide and it will if necessary take measures to ensure this objective is achieved. In short this resolution must not only be passed, it must also be implemented and france will to us see to it. Ladies and gmen regardless of the positive nature of this resolution the be humanitarian catastrophe and the repression is our responsibility to ask to put an end to this. France wishes to take it damage of this unity within the framework of the council to progress with you in the political process. The political process which alone will enable us to put an end to the fighting in to see peace prevail again. We have to prepare geneva ii within the framework determined by the chief of one agreement which provides as we said of executive power to a transition body. With the secretarygeneral of the united United Nations and his envoy and i would like to congratulate and thank them for their work, the 500 members of the Security Council bear a special responsibility here for achieving this and has just been done on the chemical weapons aspect. Yesterday i shared with the representatives of a great many states a meeting with the president s of the Syrian National coalition. He stands ready to send a delegation to the negotiations as part of geneva ii. The supporters of the regime in damascus will have to assure us that they will make similar commitments and thus invite the secretarygeneral and his special envoy to take every possible initiative to make progress in this direction as well as we have indicated during a meeting of the p5 which has which was just held and yielded positive results for geneva ii. France of course will back all of these efforts. Secretarygeneral mr. President ladies and gentlemen dear colleagues we know that despite its usefulness one resolution alone will not save a city. This is why the Security Council must assume its responsibility and see it through to the end. In the next few weeks we will think about one thing alone. The Syrian People and their martyrdom which must as rapidly as possible come to an end. This will be frances position. France which will remain firm and coherent in blending its full support to the search for peace. I think his excellency for his statement and i now give the floor to his excellency minister of Foreign Affairs for azerbaijan. Thank you very much mr. President. Azerbaijan welcomes the adoption of the resolution and expresses hope that the unanimous in strong position by the Security Council will contribute to finding a political solution to the conflict in syria putting an end to the suffering of the Syrian People and ensuring compliance by the parties concerned with their obligations and commitments under International Law. We are grateful for the members of the United Nations mission to investigate allegations that the use of chemical weapons and for the work they have done that is extremely difficult. It is essential that the mission completes its investigation to all allegations of the use of chemical weapons in syria and submits its final report. The continued support of this process by all concerned is critical to that and. I azerbaijan strongly condemns the use of chemical weapons in syria particularly the killing of civilians that resulted from it. The resolution just adopted that the use of chemical weapons is a serious violation of International Law and a threat to national pulled peace and security. Import and the Security Council expresses its strong conviction that those individuals responsible for the use of chemical weapons in syria should be held to account. Azerbaijan welcomes the Understanding Reached between the Russian Federation and the United States regarding the safeguarding of the serious chemical weapons stockpiles as well as the decision adopted by the executive council and the organization for the dash of chemical weapons. The key objective is obviously to ensure compliance with all aspects of opcws decision and full accreditation of the Security Council resolution. It is critical that while placing legally binding resolutions implementations in syria and the event of noncompliance imposing measures under chapter 7. By endorsing the geneva communique on 30 june of 2012 calling for a National Conference in syria the Security Council paved the way for achieving a peaceful transition stability and reconciliation. It is imperative that all parties this engage constructively in the political process of the communique. Its important that the resolution just adopted once again reaffirms the strong commitment of the Security Council with the integrity of syria and an understanding of surprise john sponsors the resolution 2180. Thank you very much. I think his excellency for his statement and i give the floor to his excellency foreign minister of the republic of korea. Mr. President to republic of korea welcomes the adoption of resolution 3118. This resolution marks a historic moment in the Security Council with the unified position on the crisis in syria. It is my sincere hope that this consensus propels us forward to the long overdue responsibility of the Syrian People. In this regard the republic of korea commands intensive efforts made by the United States russia and other stakeholders as well as secretarygeneral wonky moon over the last several weeks. The republic of korea condemns the use of chemical weapons in the strongest possible way and reiterates all chemical weapons not just in syria and all other state should be eliminated. The use of chemical weapons is a crime and a serious violation of International Law. Most significantly todays resolution articulates that the use of chemical weapons anywhere constitutes a threat to International Peace and security. By adopting this resolution is an important step. Only its true pullman tissue will determine the value of our commitment enterprise. The robust language in the binding nature of this resolution reflects this Council Strong commitment to eliminate chemical weapons in syria. Its also significant this resolution reserves measures under chapter 7 in the case of noncompliance. We agree that it is indeed the task of the entire International Community to encourage better and prompt implementation of this resolution. This conference will be convened as soon as possible to put an end to the suffering of the sudan people and the instability caused by the syrian situation. Thank you. Thank you mr. Yun for his statement and give the floor to his Foreign Affairs for the people of china. [speaking in native tongue] translator in the past two years and more, over 7 million syrians became homeless and there were tremendous loss of life and their property. In this august halls we had discussed major issues involving war and peace on many occasions. Neither syria or the middle east region can afford another war. Keeping with the issue with the Security Council must keep in mind the principal purpose of the u. N. Charter and the way of the world and history and ensure that any decision antiques can stand the test of history. Several weeks ago they overshadowed and many countries were deeply worried. China opposes the force in International Relations. We believe that it cannot solve the syrian issue. Rather it will bring who greater turmoil and disaster. We are happy to see that the Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution 2118 bringing the syrian situation back to the track of peace and the presenting and new opportunity for the public oracle settlement of this year the initio triet this is the first time that the Security Council takes a joint major action on the syrian issue. This resolution is in keeping with the general direction of the political settlement of the seeley initio and of the Security Council and upholds the solidarity of the Security Council and china welcomes the adoption of the resolution. China suffered deeply from the use of chemical weapons by the invaders during the second world war. We are opposed to the use of chemical weapons by any country, a group or individual whenever there is use of chemical weapons should be condemned by all. China welcomes the fact of the Syrian Government joins the convention not long ago with 21 the team theyve set of the overall objective of the disruption of the chemical weapons and syria and the road map. The chinese side is willing to find experts particularly in the Financial Support in this regard. We hope that the parties will stay in close cooperation for respective responsibilities and increase the decision and the Security Council resolution and a comprehensive and accurate manner so to eventually achieve a proper settlement of the issue of the chemical weapon and syria. Mr. President , the humanitarian situation in syria is getting gramm and china is concerned the government has provided over 11 million u. S. Dollars of humanitarian assistance to the civilians in and outside of syria. China is providing the the emergency humanitarian aid to jordan and provide over 24 for the humanitarian aid to the program and the work of the organizations that will be used to help the displaced people inside syria and the assyrian refugees in lebanon where we will continue providing humanitarian help to syriac and its neighbors to the best of our capability. Mr. President , a political settlement is the only way out for syria. This process should go side by side with the destruction of a chemical weapon and syria. Resolution 2118 for the implementation of the geneva communicate and the cause for the location of the conference. Relevant parties and syria should keep in mind the interest of syria and its people and realize the ceasefire and cessation of violence when possible. Put an end to the crisis with dialogue and we built homes for syria. China hopes the International Community will build consensus and early convening to cover. China will continue its support for the efforts of the secretary of for ban kimoon. Mr. President , the syrian issue is highly complex. Neither destruction of the chemical weapon or process of the political settlement. Going forward, there will probably be this problem or that. We hope that all parties will keep this issue inconclusive. Uphold the principal of the settlement of the dispute and speak to the direction of the political settlement. As a permanent member of the Security Council, china stands ready to work with the parties to make efforts for the comprehensive, proper and longterm settlement of the issue. Thank you. Thank his excellency for the statement and i now give the floor to his excellency the of the republic of guatemala. [speaking in native tongue] translator mr. President , and our delegation for the last 18 months how to spend lamenting the fact that the Security Council has been incapable of stepping up to one of the bloodiest and painful internal conflict of our time. I am referring of course to the situation and syria and also passing to the impact on its neighbors and the painful humanitarian costs. Despite the fact that on two occasions we came together to produce resolutions 2042 and 2043 the fact that there were internal divisions that we are aware of prevented further progress. Because of this, the fact that there was a point of convergence between the Russian Confederation and the United States over one issue to which the rejection on the use of chemical weapons should be welcome and we congratulate the minister lavrov and secretary kerry that gave rise to september. We appreciate the efforts in codify in that agreement so that both of the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons and the Security Council could act today. We believe that this step is highly significant for its intrinsic rall you and because it brie of this new life into efforts to resolve the underlying issues to put an end to the violence, resolve the humanitarian crisis and meet the demands of the Syrian People. For those reasons, we have consistently supported the final communique of the action group for syria for june, 2012, and the need for an interNational Conference with a view to the implementations. This explains also why my delegation cosponsored the resolution 2118 of 2013 which was just adopted. Is it for the mechanism for the verification and destruction and syriac. It provides for the principal of accountability, and it provides for the urgency of a political transition process and the question of compliance by syria with the conditions set forth in this agreement. The adoption of this resolution is of vital importance, considering the fact that the last resolution the Council Adopted on the situation and syria was in april, 2012 of last year. We would also like to emphasize at this time that this decision was taken unanimously by this council. And thats why this resolution is not the victory of any single country in particular. It is a great for the United Nations and through the United Nations. Its a victory for all of mankind. Having said that, we would like to stress the following points first. We understand the sensitivity around this particular situation as well as its urgency. And despite our understanding of this, we would have preferred to have a greater opportunity to principate in the development of this resolution, and we might have been able to contribute positively to eight. Second, it is necessary to look forward and commit to ensuring strict implementation of this recently approved a resolution. We recognize there for whom the importance of cooperation between the organization and prohibition of chemical weapons and the United Nations. Especially in terms of personal access, safety, operational support, privileges and immunities and sufficient Financial Resources in order to properly carry out their duties. Third, and as a result of the aforementioned, we trust that in the short term, compliance will take place so that the interNational Conference known as jenny the tube will take place and that a Transitional Government with full executive power can be established with Mutual Consent of all parties and that all of these parties will engage constructively in the search for stability and reconciliation. We believe that its essentials that would be an inclusive government and that it would take advantage of the positive aspects of institutions developed over decades by the syrian state. Finally, having said all of the above, we can reaffirm our commitment to the objectives contained in the charter of the United Nations and the final communique of the action group for 2012. And we can express our hope that the ceasefire will be reached in the short term. Thank you very much. Thank you his excelencia for the statement and i give the floor to his excellency the adviser to the Prime Minister of National Security and Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of pakistan. Thank you, mr. President. Resolution 2118 adopted the this evening is a landmark in the searing in conflict. By rewriting behind the common cause of the domestic peace and security, the security demonstrated once again its effective and dismantled. We thank secretary john kerry and the foreign minister lavrov for taking a personal interest in persisting in the efforts in that consensus on a difficult issue. For sponsorship of the resolution by all 15 Member States is a manifestation that the Security Council has of the implementation taken by the executive council of the organization of chemical weapons earlier today. Mr. President the issue of chemical weapons has long virtual consensus in the International Community and is used and condemned. The Chemical Weapons Convention is the primary responsibility to the it Security Council is meant to augment and implement. Mullen implementation could lead to serious consequences. The cooperation and this new form of unity in the council will remain. This is just the first step to navigate the difficult waters the focus should be on the people of syria and theyre suffering must end. Any action that we take in this war should keep the people of syria defended. Chemical weapons in the country is important but is not a remedy of all of the other problems. The killing has to stop. More than 100,000 people have already lost their lives. Political solutions are the only option. It is time to move back to geneva. Adopted in june of 2012, the communique delineates the process acceptable to the Syrian People. Its call for the establishment of the authority would prove executive power. The resolution adopted today also outlines the similar process. All the ingredients are contained in the communique and is therefore imperative that is implemented in spirit. The announcement regarding the convening is a manifestation to negotiate a political process in ending the conflict in the National Conciliation and for the legitimate expeditions of the Syrian People. This war is not going to be easy. There is no military solution to the situation in syria only of great ones and suffering. Mr. President , we have to move beyond differences on interpretation of the geneva communique and pursue the political process with unity and purpose. We urge all sides in this hearing in conflict to fully seize this opportunity and work towards dialogue and diplomacy although it is indeed already too lateor10,000 but there is still time for the millions who safety and security is at risk. This should remain foremost in our minds. Thank you. Thank you his excelencia reinstatement and i give the floor to his excellency, the dena minister for Foreign Affairs and cooperation of the kingdom of morocco. Mr. President , thank you barry leche. At last, the Security Council was able to agree on a resolution. It was able to agree on a very important resolution on the syrian situation that reflects determination and the genuine will to begin to put an end to the syrian conflict and paving the road to a political settlement for that crisis. We highly appreciate the efforts made by the members of the Security Council towards a solution that would find the syrian and chemical weapons, destroy them and ensure they are never used again. We also appreciate the intense efforts made by secretary kerry and foreign minister kerry leading to the agreements that were signed in geneva on the 14th of september on the Syrian Chemical Weapons. We also pay tribute to the United Nations with the secretarygeneral as its head for responding so promptly to the use of chemical weapons and syria through the setting up of the verification permission led by the doctor who undertook with his team in major effort in a very short period of time despite Security Problems that confronted their inspection. In this context let me add that the area of state also undertook a leadership role and was in the lead of the initiatives concerning the situation and syria and the use of chemical weapons. It was roundly in its decision of september 1. The resolution before us is truly historic by any measure. In addition to it providing the steps for dealing with the Syrian Chemical Weapons of the Framework Agreement between the United States and the Russian Federation, it entrenches as the geneva agreement towards the holding of geneina ii read and hear the resolution also says that is to be held. The resolution is also a precedent because for the first time and in a who general term it recognizes that chemical weapons are a threat to the peace and security and this will be is the Security Council of such weapons in the future. The resolution would also prevent the petition of all the massacres that we witness in the region. The resolution will eliminate one of the largest arsenals of chemical weapons in the middle east by peaceful means. The resolution may also considered a preamble to the creation of weapons of mass destruction free zone in the middle east. Proceeding from the above, the kingdom of morocco fully supports this resolution. We cosponsored it, and we hope this dynamic continues with the setting of a date for the holding as soon as possible towards a political settlement satisfying the aspirations of the Syrian People for a Democratic State preserving the sovereignty and integrity of syria. And in conclusion, let me recall it as other colleagues in the council have already, let me recall of the need to followup on the humanitarian situation on the ground. It is a catastrophe. A catastrophe on the Syrian People, refugees killed, injured in the hundreds of thousands pity it every effort must be made to support United Nations agencies to help in that regard. They deserve our appreciation for what they have and continue to do to bring to those civilians and need. We also Pay Attention to the neighboring countries. They are suffering just as the refugees on their land are suffering. They are also baffled by the humanitarian, political and security repercussions of this year in crisis including particularly the surge of the refugees to the land. Once again, we value the resolution and we truly hope it is a First Step Towards the settlement in the crisis. Thank you. Thank you his excelencia for his statement and i give the floor to his excellency the minister of Foreign Affairs in the republic. [speaking in native tongue] translator thank you. The unfolding that moved the world on the 24th of august was neither an isolated more unpredictable event. For more than two years, week after week and especially after we joined the Security Council we heard nothing but reports which accounted for more deaths, more refugees, more displaced persons, more violence, supplies of weapons to the parties, more skepticism and around the appropriateness or the need for Peaceful Solutions and Political Solutions and the growing and dangerous to bet on military action as the most effective strategy. That is why we cannot and especially if we cannot give rise to the understanding that the drama and syria existed because of the attack on the 21st of august. But we can affirm that the horror opened the door to a peaceful resolution in the conflict. Much depends on the syrians themselves as well as those who seek to the round the table i mandates of the General Assembly. Perhaps what happened on the 21st of august is that more than the thousands of the victims of that day, the world heard the voices of all the victims and salles with perfect clarity how petty the geopolitical interests were in syria and in the region and many were more interested in deepening the conflict and resolving it in the warning of the impotence of the council to put an end to the deily massacres that were accumulating as an ethical of rage and a threat to International Peace and security. Mr. President as the country committed to the nonproliferation and the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction and the state Party Argentina supported in a decisive manner the resolution which also detailed specific with regard to the Oversight Program and chemical weapons and syria approved by the executive council. There is no leeway for the double standards or euphemisms, the use of chemical weapons is a war crime against humanity and of those who use them cannot go unpunished. With this resolution the council finally is assuming its responsibility to stabilize the situation and contribute to a lasting peace, reaffirming the multilateral was on as a cornerstone of the collective Security System established by the United Nations charter as the only guarantee against the might is right prevailing. Likewise, we agree with those who believe that this resolution can lay the foundation for working towards a negotiated political solution reflecting the legitimate aspirations and demands of its people and establishing the basis for the lasting peace as last territorial integrity and sovereignty of syria. This is why we applaud the fact of the Security Council made its own geneva communique of june, 2012 calling for a geneina of ii in order to implement it. Mr. President , this resolution establishes a specific mechanism for the elimination of chemical weapons and syria based on the Framework Agreement of geneva established by the United Nations and Russian Federation of the 14th of september. Yet it is also fair to point to the fact that it reflects also concerns and proposals put forth by various members of the council of the last few months of consultation. This aspect was decisive for my country to cosponsor the resolution. In keeping with article 25 of the United Nations charter the decisions of this to counsel are to be complied with by all members. While we trust that the various sectors that intervene in the conflict will act in good faith and cooperate for the effective implementation of the resolution, it is also clear that should there be in noncompliance, it is the power of the council to convene in order to assess and take measures that it deems fit under chapter 7 of the charter. Mr. President , to conclude, my country wishes to reiterate the horror of the use of chemical weapons, the use of which is a crime and a crime against humanity should not overshadow the fact that 99 of the victims were felt by conventional weapons. It is absolutely necessary that the Security Council prohibit the supply of conventional weapons to the parties in the conflict. The suggestion is an agreement with what was expressed by the secretarygeneral of the United Nations by special envoy is and the desire of many women and men who want and work for peace nor can we ignore the serious violations of human rights and International Humanitarian law throughout syria. The disaster impacting millions of syrians deeply affects institutional stability, the Living Conditions of the people in neighboring countries and exacerbates sectarian tensions in the entire region. The step that was taken today was necessary and inevitable but there are other steps that must be taken by the council as well. In this regard argentina will continue to advocate for effective accountability referring the situation in syria to the International Criminal court. Unrestricted access for humanitarian aid we will continue to advocate for measures to stem the transfer of weapons to all parties in the conflict with rejection of the use of force for the dialogue and peaceful political solution for a legitimate and realistic path to peace and stop further violence. Thank you his excelencia for his statement and i give the floor to his excellency permanent representative of rwanda to the United Nations and the member of the president s cabinet. Thank you, mr. President. The world is preparing to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the genocide perpetrated against the tutsi [inaudible] the courses of the International Community by the ongoing conflict in and syria, which is in its 30th month. Mr. President , never again after what happened in rwanda but since the 1994 the community of the nations has witnessed a horrendous massacres and ethnic cleansing in many corners of the world. In 1994 the Security Council was presented to intervene because of the politics prevailing in this body. The council was once again unable to save more than 100,000 people in syria because of the ever present divisions among the world members. Mr. President , the horror of the Syrian Crisis cultivated with the 21st chemical attack where 1,500 innocent lives were taken by poisonous weapons been a century ago. I believe that the whole world was shocked by the painful images of children struggling to push their last breath. Theres a saying in french meaning there is always a good. The images of the suffering of those children seem to have opened our eyes. I am therefore grateful to the United States of america and the Russian Federation for the framework they have agreed on related to the destruction of the chemical weapons and syria which was translated into the Security Council resolution of 2118 that we have just adopted unanimously. Mr. President , we encourage the resolution contains provisions for the destruction of the Syrian Chemical Weapons through investment of the decision of the executive council that tonight we will come to a decision on the Security Council to impose measures under Chapter Chapter 7. Should the syrian parties not comply with this resolution. Furthermore, rwanda was pleased that the Security Council agreed on the need for accountability and for the revival to the geneva process. Indeed, 1,000 we cannot lose sight of the fact that more than 100,000 men, women and children were massacred for the last 40 months with conventional weapons. And we know for a fact the military solution in syria cannot be a viable solution for the country and for the region. This is why the revival to the communique and the political transition in syria. I take this opportunity to urge the Security Council, particularly those permanent members that have influence on syrian parties to ensure that the interNational Conference on syria to implement the community is convened as soon as possible and that the parties negotiate in good faith and with a sense of responsibility and finding a lasting solution to end. So i was encouraged by the information provided tonight and tonight might start the geneva ii conference in november. Nonetheless, mr. President , given the crimes committed in syria, rwanda has a strong belief that any political solution shall ensure that all those who committed crimes and syria are held accountable before the code of law. Therefore we were on the provision of accountability contant in the resolution in rwanda to ensure that its implemented. Mr. President , let me conclude by the message conveyed to his excellency of rwanda. The primary response abilities is that responsibility to protect. The agreed objective of maintaining International Peace and security would be pointless if the Strategic Interests prevailed over the lives of innocent men, women and children. I therefore command of the Security Council for slowly evolving on these issues and rwanda and informed by our experience both in 1994 and in the Security Council ready to continue working with other Member States to ensure that protection and integrity of women and children are always at the center of the decisions. Thank you, mr. President. I thank you his excellency for the statement and i give the floor to his excellency the permanent representative to the United Nations. We welcome the adoption of this resolution 2118. With its many provisions we welcome the spirit of compromise that prevails between the negotiators of the text with the permanent members and especially the United States and the Russian Federation. There is no doubt that the russian American Free market grain at dated september 14th has paved the way for this compromise and i would like to hear again reiterate our gratitude to the secretary of state as well as to the russian minister of Foreign Affairs who have labored to achieve this agreement. Cosponsoring and voting in favor of this text we wish to underscore the need not only for the destruction of the Syrian Chemical Weapons, but especially to learn with our world from this type of weapon as well as other weapons of mass destruction. Today the council was able to speak with a single voice and syria. This is a strong message sent to all the parties in the searing in conflict. The adoption of this resolution 2118 marks a decisive step taken along the settlement of the crisis in syria to resolve the Security Council must step up its work for the advent of a radiant future that syria. By doing everything it can to rapidly organize the geneva conference. And here we welcome the announcement made by the secretary general that this conference could be held as early as mid november. The sacred union between the dependent members of this council, which led to the adoption of this resolution should be maintained to bring other parties and to the opposition of syria to commit to a constructive dialogue to launch a political transition process in this country. The transition government road map for the road map that you could adopt should spell out the urgent tasks to be carried out in putting providing security to the population and launching a reconstruction and reconciliation process. Our council will also have to bear in mind and Pay Attention to the violations committed which threaten the country at a time when the terrorists are fighting with each other in both order and creativity to seize new areas to sell terror against the population and among the population building a secular multi faced syria will contribute to rebuilding the social fabric tested by the current conflict and finally, i would like to see this opportunity to express my countrys concerns regarding the matter in crisis as well as the ongoing Human Rights Violations in syria. We associate ourselves with of the initiatives aimed a resolution to again mobilize and help the refugees in the country. Mr. President , thank you. Thank you, his excellency for his statement and i shall now against it in my capacity as the representative of australia. Adoption of the resolution this evening is obviously a historic moment for the council and we hope will mark a turning point in the councils approach to this hearing in conflict. It shows that the council can take decisive and united action and can use its authority to help shape the stable future for all syrians. We thank you foreign minister lavrov and kerry for their teams and perseverance and thank you the secretarygeneral and their team for the Effective Work theyve done often in very difficult circumstances to present an unequivocal conclusion to the council of the chemical weapons that we used in damascus. As we know, the resolution does a number of important things. For the first time it makes clear that the use of chemical weapons anywhere constitutes a threat to International Peace and security. This statement from the Council Strengthens a fundamental norm of International Relations that we have had for 90 years. But the use of chemical weapons by anyone in whatever circumstances is as abhorrent and constitutes a very serious breach of International Law. The statement should act as a deterrent to anyone who might contemplate using chemical weapons in the future. The resolution imposes legally binding obligations on syriac to secure and destroy its chemical weapons and the syrian authorities must cooperate unconditionally with the u. N. And put all of the chemical weapons and related materials and equipment fully under International Supervision and control and ensure the complete and final a verifiable and enforceable destruction. The council has decided that there will be consequences under chapter 7 if syria doesnt comply and its our collective responsibility to remain vigilant in assessing the compliance with this resolution. Importantly, the resolution also reaffirms those that have perpetrated a massive cross the crime against their own citizens must be held accountable for their actions. The assessment is that the evidence available shows that it was the syrian authorities who were responsible for this crime and this incident has come from what australia set for a long time that the council should refer the situation in syria to the International Criminal court. The historic significance of tonights resolution goes well beyond chemical weapons of course. It has been 15 months since the geneva communique on the political transition was agreed and now for the first time it is being in doorstep last by the Security Council. We must build on this as a matter of urgency. We need to bring the parties together so they can agree on a ceasefire and credible political transition. Whatever the importance of tonights decision however the terrible fact is the syrians themselves and their neighbors and the global communities face an effort exhilarated humanitarian catastrophe. With the secretary general tonight called the catalogue of horrors. Refugees, 5 million internally displaced come 8 million in need of assistance over a third of the housing destroyed. The council must address this humanitarian crisis more decisively and now his foreign minister has mentioned it is the intention to circulate the text shortly that will get strong support to the work of humanitarian agencies and sets up clearly the concrete steps which all parties and syria must take to address the humanitarian needs of the Syrian People. I ask of my colleagues to consider the draft favorably once it is circulated with a view to the council taking a decision early next week. Each day that we delay creates another 6,000 refugees. I now resume my function as the president of the council. This has been a momentous decision this evening of course as we all know and i hope that we continue the legacy in the days ahead. There are no more speakers said the Security Council has completed the present stage of the consideration of the item on its agenda and the meeting is adjourned. That ends the meeting of the u. N. Security council considering a resolution for removing chemical weapons stockpiles from syria. The Council Passed the resolution unanimously at the beginning of the meeting. Although it sets of guidelines for removing chemical weapons from syriac it stops short of specifying the the consequences if it fails to comply. Reporting on the u. N. The Washington Post reports u. S. And european diplomats concede some of their toughest demands aimed at compelling syria to obeid the demand and holding perpetrators to account for using chemical weapons were removed from the final resolution at russias assistance. If you missed any of the Security Council meeting you can watch and it san tire ready in its entirety at cspan. Org. A few of tweets coming from congress and reporters. One from Gregory Meeks of deutsch mark that says binding obligations for the chemical attack is a step towards a diplomatic solution. To a british deputy Prime Minister addressed the General Assembly. He talked about the syrian resolution among other things including Climate Change and we will take a look at this again from the General Assembly meeting earlier today. Mr. President , deputy secretarygeneral, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, in my lifetime the world has been sliced up and labeled in many different ways east and west, communism and capitalism, north and south, christian and muslim developed and developing and so on. But as we meet today, the most important fault line is not one of geography or ideology or religion or wealth. Its the divide between the societies which are open and those which are closed. Open societies choose democracy and freedom at home, engagement and responsibility abroad, closed societies suppress the liberty of the citizens and control across the actions and withdraw from our share of international life. We must be honest. The sources of isolationism have gained momentum in recent years. Discrediting democracy fuels easier. Authoritarian states point enthusiastically of the ongoing fallout of the 2008 financial crisis. Proof, they say, of a broken western model. They feel vindicated. Other citizens may be less free but the growth rates outstripped those in the last. At the same time, and many of the States Affected by the financial crash, austerity has given rise to a period of introspection. The impulse is to turn inward rather than face out. And so, a crisis of confidence has threatened to take hold and parts of the developed world. It is not surprising to hear some argue that the liberal democracy has had its day and that the multilateral system is becoming obsolete. But those who make these claims are wrong. They are drawing the wrong conclusions from recent events. The real lesson of the last five years has been of remarkable resilience of open societies and the need for International Cooperation in todays world. Liberal democracies in europe and across the atlantic have weathered profound economic difficulty. The euro zone and the debt is being managed. In europe we maintain stability at the time of great upheaval because for the most part, our citizens have expressed their frustration peacefully and through the ballot box. And where there has been under arrest, mature democracies have managed it with relative success. So just as the defense of the recent years some of the all the weakness of the western economy, they also understood the great strength of open societies. The ability to evolve and adapt. Open societies do not fear change and in the 21st century this openness to reform is critical to lasting stability and success. At democracy, free speech, participation, equality before the law, the right to peaceful protest and to be educated, the chance to work. These are not western values. They are the political and Economic Freedom sought by citizens everywhere and they are gaining force in every country around the globe. Governments who ignore them are fighting a losing battle. Democracy didnt feel in egypt. A single set of elections failed. Egypt needs to return to the path of democracy and the democratic urge remains strong among the people as when they first rejoiced in the square and other parts of the region while the picture is next. Important progress has been made. In libya the General National Congress is working towards elections in early 2014. Morocco has a new constitution and for the first time a Prime Minister elected. Although difficult challenges remain, yemen has chosen reconciliation, dialogue and democracy over violence. Tunisia is also focused on building a new democracy and Economic Growth with progress towards a new constitution and further elections expected in 2014. Yes, mr. President , these nations will undergo more turbulence. That is so. The well functioning democracy cannot emerge overnight and it cannot be exported from the west or drop on the country from 8,000 feet. That much we have learned from the failures of the past. Defaulting the culture and institutions needed, the rule of law, human rights. This is a painstaking process for every country involved and requires strategic patients from the rest of the world. But while the road to democracy is difficult, the direction of travel is set. Everywhere you look people were standing against discrimination for a quality, against oppression for liberty. A wave of openness has emerged. Transcending borders and cultures, men and women of every creed and color calling for fair opportunities and demanding to be heard. And the United Kingdom is clear. We are on the side of all of those that support Political Freedom and economic empowerment. There will be no pulling out of the drawbridge from us. No heading into retreat. We will resist any impulse to turn our back on the world. In north africa and the middle east we are helping states put in place the Building Blocks for their democracies whether by training the libyan officials to supervise their elections for the free media by trimming the journalists and larocco. These are the nuts and bolts of successful space transition. We are also supporting these countries economies through our stewardship of the g8 partnership this year. Leading efforts to boost trade and investment in the region, helping small and Mediumsized Enterprises and crucially promoting greater participation by women and weve kept the political spotlight on the need to return assets stolen by the former regimes in this country. In syria, our priorities to help bring about a political settlement. The foundation for the settlement were agreed in geneva last year establishing on the basis of Mutual Consent, a transitional governing body with for executive powers. We are in close touch with our partners without convening a second conference as soon as possible. No meaningful political solution can occur without the moderate Syrian Opposition. We recognize the National Coalition as the legitimate representatives of the Syrian People. And we recognize their commitments to the geneva process and to building a secular space and pluralistic syria that ensures equal rights for all. On the issue of chemical weapons and syria, the regime committed a war crime under International Humanitarian law on the 21st of august launching a largescale chemical weapons attack on its own people. The first attack on this scale for 25 years. 88 years after such weapons were universally band. President obama said here on tuesday it is an insult to human reason to suggest their regime is not responsible for this war crime. The International Community must react and react in unison. That is why we hope to adopt later today a Security Council resolution establishing Binding Legal obligations on the Syrian Regime for the removal and destruction of the vast chemical weapons. On wednesday i announce to the United Kingdom will provide 160 million of humanitarian support for the Syrian People bringing total funding to 800 million, half a million pounds, the biggest ever response to a humanitarian crisis much of which is aimed at helping many children in this tragic conflict. The world has raised close to 1 billion of humanitarian support this month, and i hope that others will step up and contribute. Most importantly, i call on all parties inside syria to allow humanitarian agencies to operate without hindrance or the threat of violence. Unless this urgent humanitarian access is given, no amount of money can alleviate the scale of the people suffering. Mr. President , i welcome the president s comments on tuesday that he wanted constructive engagement between iran and the rest of the world and to engage immediately in the talks on the Nuclear Issue encouraging words which i very much hope are matched with a genuine action. Im pleased that negotiations on Irans Nuclear program will restart in october. If irans words are followed by concrete steps, then there is a real opportunity to make progress in resolving the Serious International concerns about Irans Nuclear program. We also looked to a more constructive approach from the iran in helping resolve the crisis and syria and we have made clear to iran that we are ready as the United Kingdom government to improve our relationship on a stepbystep and reciprocal basis. Of course, one thing but fundamentally transform the middle east is a conclusive to state agreement to end of the israelipalestinian conflict. An agreement based on the 1967 borders with land swaps that lead to a sovereign and viable palestinian state living in peace alongside a safe and secure israel. A universally recognized palestine along a universally recognized as rell. I commend the dedicated efforts of secretary kerry and Benjamin Netanyahu that have enabled peace talks to resume. I sincerely hope both parties will make every effort to keep the talks going including a halt in new settlement building. The International Community must support the parties as they make the difficult decisions necessary to achieve a lasting peace. Britain stands ready to play its part. Mr. President , as we wind up our military operations in afghanistan, the u. K. Continues to work with the Afghan Government to ensure successful transition. The National Security forces are leaving on security and continue to grow in confidence and keeping the body. This is a significant achievement. In the u. K. We recognize the serious challenges still ahead for afghanistan. But we strongly believe that there is room for optimism about the countrys longterm future. This is a crucial time for afghan men, women and children as they prepare for elections in 2014 which is the credible transparent and inclusive. Mr. President , poverty is a greater threat to stability and freedom as our conflict and depression. So despite the strain on our finances, the United Kingdom has met our target to stand 0. 7 of Gross National income on the development assistance. We are the only country in the sg 20 to do so. Following the Global Economic crisis, we said we wouldnt balance our books on the back of the worlds poor and we have held true to our word. On monday we announced we would provide 1. 6 billion to the global fund to fight aids, tv and malaria. That is 10 of the replenishment so long as others try and. And women and girls reman at the heart of our development agenda. They are the key to Economic Growth some investing in Girls Education is the single most effective thing we can do to break the cycle of poverty. We must and gender inequality which is the root of violence against women and this ambition is at the heart of the u. K. s initiative to end violence and conflict and i would encourage all states to do so to endorse the declaration to prevent Sexual Violence and conflict. Over 115 states are already committed. We are sending a message to the victims of these devastating crimes that they are not alone and that of their attackers will be punished. Mr. President we have also used or presidency of the g8 to focus on three areas where we can support a global prosperity. Boosting trade, ensuring a better transparency to help the nations benefit from the resources that are rightfully theirs and cracking down on the tax evasion and closing loopholes. This is just the start of our work on the agenda and we are pleased that the tax and transparency priorities have been fully reflected an agreement reached by the g20 including extending the commitment to resist the protectionist measures by two years to the 2016 so the trade remains as free and open as possible. Mr. President , whether it is in the g8, the g20, the European Union or nato or the commonwealth or as one of the five permanent members of the u. N. Security council, the u. K. Look be an active and engaged plater in the world. The biggest problems we face are problems that we share. Take Climate Change. This mornings report by the government will panel on Climate Change confirms the sea levels are already rising and ice is melting faster than we expected. It is a and authority to review all of those that still persist in claiming that man made Climate Change does not accessed. The u. K. Will continue to cut our missions as well as giving over 6 billion to assist the developing countries to do the same and adapt to environmental changes. The United Kingdom is working with countries across the region to tackle this issue. Our Global Response to terrorism must be robust, intelligent, and cover all of those areas where our Work Together can make a genuine difference. Alone, we can take small steps forward. But together, we can take giant leaps. That much was clear earlier this year when we signed the worlds first arms trade treaty to better regulate the global sale of weapons. And we urge any countries who have not signed to please do so. This treaty reminds us that with enough political will, we can come together and do the previously unthinkable. That should embolden us to do yet more. United nations has many virtues. But it also has serious shortcomings and they must be faced. The United Nations has no greater friend than United Kingdom. But it does not adequately reflect the world that we live in today. The Security Council must be reformed unless war room is made at the top table, it will fast become a relic of a different time. That is why the United Kingdom continues to support permanent seats for brazil, germany and japan come and permanent african representation as well. We call on all states to play their part of the restitution suggest as we will pay ours. We engage best when we engage constructively in one another and when we are ambitiously pursuing our shared goals. It is important for those countries who grow and transform over more recent years. As it is for the all established powers. Brazil is taking a lead in deforestation because mexico has in trying to Climate Change into law. Because the republican career is leading on the way to nuclear security. But there is much work to do there are many more areas to take to take a leap of faith on. Cutting bureaucracy at the borders, and the subject of a meeting taking place in bali in early december would mean a trillion dollar boost the Global Economy and we are also working in the u. N. And Civil Society to set out a post 2015 agenda that is even more ambitious. One that can be no more greater goal than to eradicate extreme publicity, leaving no one behind. These and other issues facing our nation, we are simply stronger together than we are apart. Now, more than ever, we must fend off the forces of isolation and stand up for our values and look out to the world. Mr. President , that is what the United Kingdom will do and we stand ready to work with all others who will also do the same. We thank you. [applause] from the u. N. To what occurred today earlier on capitol hill, the Senate Passed legislation to fund the federal government through midnovember. It moves onto the house now without the amendment that would have defunded health care law. The bill passed along 54 democrats voting in favor and 44 republicans voting against. Republican senators jeff flake and orin hatch did not vote because they were absent. Before the vote took place, House Minority leader nancy pelosi spoke with reporters about the ongoing debate over government funding and the upcoming debate over raising the debt limit. Here is what some of what she had to say at her legislative briefing. Its a matter of days until the enrollment or the Affordable Care act, in just three days. We will see the cusp as to whether our government will be shut down. We must do everything we can to avoid that. Over and over again, we find ourselves in the same question. Why are we at the brink again . That is the question the American People ask us as i travel throughout the country. Just to put it in the context, chronologically, and you know i like markers. Where we are today, how do we get here . On march 1, you will recall that the president called for leaders to the oval office to talk about how we would proceed with the legislative agenda that included the budget. The Republican Leadership about mr. John boehner, mr. Speaker boehner and leader mcconnell said that they wanted to proceed under the regular order. That was their mantra. Outside of the beltway, the regular order means you pass a bill in the House Committee passed a bill in the senate, you send it to congress to negotiate and to reconcile the differences. We have always been for regular order. So we welcome that. We welcome the conference committees because i think that that transparency is the process of the American People. So the regular order was going to be. The house passed its bill. The Senate Passed its bill. That was the end of the call for regular order. After the house passed the bill, you remember, right . That the republicans were saying no budget, no pay, as far as the senate is concerned, when will they pass their bill. It was only a matter of weeks. But nonetheless both houses passed legislation and then we said, okay, regular order, we can now go to negotiate at the conference table for around six months, nearly six months. The republicans had refused to negotiate. They had refused to negotiate. And they say that the president followed the path of the regular order that they suggested. So by doing that, turning their backs on what they said they wanted, and we certainly do as well, with regular order come the republicans sow the seeds of dangerous partisan path that we find ourselves on today. It is impossible for democrats to negotiate with House Republicans were they cant even negotiate with themselves. Instead of legislating responsibly, they want to live dangerously, and that is not good for the American People. Now if only three days left, republicans are threatening to shut down or hurt the economy and threaten job or a job creation. Leave our families with less security and less certainty and our economy with less stability. This is the most irresponsible way to negotiate a budget. It isnt negotiating. Especially when democrats have been willing and ready to work with republicans to pass a responsible balanced bipartisan bill. You know when i have told you here, ranking member, Chris Van Hollen has proposed presenting a budget that would and this across the board, and reducing the deficit and a expensive express a way to keep the government opening for the American People. We have asked over and over again for a vote on that budget. And republicans dont bring it to the floor because they see the alternative that it is. The distinction would be made. What mr. Van holland is suggesting is in keeping with what the chairman of the republicans appropriations committee, chairman rogers. He said the house and senate and white house must come together as soon as possible on a comprehensive compromise the repeals sequestration and takes the action awful lurching path from fiscal crisis fiscal crisis, reduces the deficit and debt and provides a reenlisted topline Discretionary Spending level to fund the government in a responsible and attainable way. Chairman rogers, the chairman of the appropriations committee, the committee has always been a bipartisan community. But even the chairman is saying that we propose a path that we fully subscribe here. It is too low for government to function in a responsible way for the American People. And it isnt anything that the republican majority in the house seems inclined to follow. If that were not enough, the House Republicans astonishing disregard for the stability of our economy goes well beyond the threats to shut down the governments basic services for the American People. They are holding the entire economy hostage in the tea party ransom demands a significant cost to our economic security. If they succeed, you can expect higher Interest Rates for your mortgage and car payments and credit card and student loan. Higher Interest Rates with Business Loans that you used to pay they used to pay employees and expand your business. The loans that grow businesses. And a significant blows to your 401k. We are going through this again. With the stock market when it reacts. House democrats agree with the president of the that the full faith and credit of the United States of america is nonnegotiable. In a conversation you can have, you want. But threats and willingness to default, the discussion of it, lowering the Credit Rating two years ago. The ideology of republicans is a luxury that the American People cannot afford. Especially when it comes the full faith and credit of the United States of america. That is when House Democrats and the leadership of peter welch, as we saw this week, calling for a clean increase in the limit. 186 democrats have signed on to prevent another gop manufacture them. So uncertainty within their own caucus, we dont even know what we will vote go for one minute to the next because i dont think that they know from one moment to the next. Full faith and credit of the United States of america. It is beneath the dignity of the first branch of government, the legislative branch. We had a responsibility to come here to represent our districts and to advocate for a point of view and to come to terms with what compromise will work for the American People. You can find all of the minority leader remarks in our video library. Go to cspan. Org. Looking ahead to tomorrow, the house will gavilan at 10 00 a. M. Eastern before turning their attention to legislative business at noon. They will be in session to consider the Senate Version of her resolution to keep the government funded through mid november. You can always watch the house live on cspan. Had it passed, it would have nullified dozens of arcane state laws limiting womens rights. They were no longer be subject to several mechanisms of wage discrimination that had even persisted today. And symbolically women would have been recognized. And this is even more important, both as mothers as well as workers. The biggest irony of the story is that it was a well organized campaign. The backlash of the equal rights amendment on American History tv. The former deputy chairman of the u. N. Special Commission Said today that the u. S. And russia agreement for syria to give up its chemical weapons has greater potential for success than military strikes. He spoke at the military center where he talked about the timeline for removing the chemical weapons. This is 50 minutes. Welcome to all of you, those of you here today at the Wilson Center and those of you watching either on cspan or by a live webcast. Todays session could not be more topical on the challenges of chemical weapons disarmament in syria. The Security Council is set to vote on the resolution brokered by the United States and russia to eliminate stocks of chemical weapons. It refuses the crisis defuses the crisis against insurgents in late august and the u. S. Threat of military action to prevent military use. U. S. Officials say the u. N. Resolution is binding and enforceable under Chapter Seven of the United Nations charter. To discuss this challenge that lays ahead in achieving the chemical weapons disarmament, we are fortunate to have with us today one of the worlds leading authorities on these issues. There are a lot of hype purply in washington, but i think that that is an accurate description with the National Security agency is in his experience began in the 1980s as washington considered its role regarding the iraniraq war. It was part of the United Nations and served as the deputy executive chairman of the United States in iraq. That was in 1993 until 2000. It was part of the weapons inspectors between baghdad and washington until president clinton were a limited bombing in response to iraqs noncooperation in 1998. After the 2008 invasion and the Saddam Hussein regime, special visor to the director of special intelligence, he led Iraq Survey Group that conducted investigation of this. The isg is a unique Intelligence Service organization of over 1700 staff and investigated iraqs programs. Using all of the available capabilities in a hostile environment. The report, as it is referred to is the definitive work on the relationship of the saddam regime and i commend that to you even though it is historical in its continuing residence in dealing with contemporary issues. He authored a superb book, entitled hide and seek, the search for truth and in that book, charles explains what on not only inside the u. S. Government, but also based on the extraordinary interviews and he gives us insight into what was going on inside the regime. And how avoidable miscalculation on both sides led to tragedy. And now charles has recently headed a small entrepreneurial space launch company, and is a consultant and lecturer and a former Public Policy scholar at the Wilson Center. He will lead off with opening remarks giving his lay down on the side of issues and he and i will have one or two rounds of questions between the two of us and then we will open it up for discussion on the floor. Thank you very much, rob. Thank you for coming out for lunch time and dozens more in the cspan audience as well. [laughter] like myself, we have insomnia and return to these programs. I will break my remarks into three sections. And what i want to do is go through how we got where we are today. And that background moves astonishingly fast. Talking a little bit about Lessons Learned and why i think the current challenges are a global one. And then the risks lie ahead in how this may fit into other broader issues. It really is a astonishing how this is conceived. On august 21, there was a horrible chemical weapons attack in syria, horrible videos about that existed and this administration and other countries were saying how would we react to that. A little over two weeks ago on september 10, president of the United States had on Primetime Television address to the nation describing the set of circumstances required military action he was going to propose that to the congress. And he felt that the principles that were broken by this use of chemical weapons needed to be responded to. And he highlighted both the cwc, as well as the 1925 chemical weapons act. I would note that these are things that most americans probably never heard of. Yet it almost got to the point where it appeared in the washington bubble that he was begging his presidency on taking a military course of action to address these two relatively obscure but important arms control agreement. And that was on the 10th of september. Shortly thereafter, it became pretty clear, i think, and i am not a political person, but congress is not really going to go along with that. The administration and more particular with its position on the narrow focus on chemical weapons was really wobbly. Well, in that speech the criteria was twofold. One was to decay that capability and deter. These are the two elements that he set out as an objection for a military struggle. He always puts his fingers like this is a very carefully targeted military strike. Its a very careful military strike would a limited objective to deter this were to grade this syrian capability. So what happened after that . He linked it to very horrible videos which struck me as interesting in the social media world. That is important these days, but its risky because if there were a military strike, i think its safe to say that the day after the American Military strike, someone will come up with unpleasant videos about the consequences of a military strike. So going down this path where policy is derived by competitive videos. Anyway case, i tried to suggest is there is a bit of a dodgy position that the United States got itself into with respect to the syrian and cw activities. Then comes the foreign minister of russia and he proposed an astonishing idea. Cant we address this by using weapons inspectors. There are two unique features. One is he spent five years as the Russian Ambassador to United Nations to the thick of the iraqi problems. He knew insideout all the politics, but its come of your arguments, inside the Security Council and got pretty good idea of the ins and outs of weapons inspectors and what they could and could not do. As things turned out we did a better job than what we even knew at the time with the rest of your inventory. And they had that experience, but also he had those two pieces of data and experience of access, which wouldve allowed him to come up with this idea, what do you suppose we do with we go down this weapons inspector. Washington had the wisdom to say that this is not a bad idea. I would also hasten to add that it didnt come completely out of the blue. This proposal from the russians. There had been an ongoing dialogue and a bleak reference to this in the geneva statement. But there had been an ongoing dialogue between dealing with chemical weapons. I think maybe five times if i am correct on this. So it wasnt completely out of the blue, but certainly injecting this option at that point in time was important. I think that that kind of saved washington from facing very difficult decisions. What i would highlight about this, he is a smart guy, a really smart guy in that kind of a way. Not cuddling,. He would not be proposing something if he thought that the syrians were going to pull it fast one on him. He went into geneva with pretty Firm Knowledge the least for the first few steps that syria will comply. Imagine the circumstances or the dialogue between what they thought. You know, what is it good for you . His regime is kind of wobbly. The one thing that can help him would be a resurgence of International Legitimacy. So if you were to draw two lines, you guys in damascus, doing something that will sustain International Legitimacy while the assimilation of assembly of opponents and insurgents, their legitimacy will decay. The best step you can take and what we will support you on is if you make a Forward Movement on the chemical weapons site and you will bolster your intimacy. To me that is a critical piece of what is in it for the syrians, unlike iraq and the positive incentive was that they would get out sanctions and that doesnt exist with respect to bashar alassad. It is for him sustaining russian support, Building International intimacy to the extent that they can. And hoping to outlast the cohesiveness of whatever passes for the insurgents. Only the russians, in particular survey, and im not here as a proponent of history i was on the receiving end of his spears in the 90s and hes more than happy to play around with some of the facts to suit him. I remembered at one point a certain point. And it had worked with samples of chemical agents into baghdad to serve as reference materials for the laboratory that we have in our facility in baghdad. He was shot and horrified that he was bringing it became chemical agent into a rock. Who knows what we could have done. He made a very elaborate and very weak case that, you know, that was part of the problem and not part of the solution. When i speak about this and i seem to be positive, i am describing that he was in a position to take this step. Not necessarily the best person on the planet. But he is a pragmatist, and he would not be proposing something that he didnt think that he could cause syria to deliver on. A couple of other comments on the geneva agreement. The timeline on it is very fast. But again, it is doable. Some people compare this to iraq. You guys were talking about it for a decade. But the fact is that we have most of the chemical weapons done in a period probably 18 months. We didnt know what 100 was, so we didnt know how much. But it turns out that it was the bolt of it. The mechanical process is feasible, so long as syria cooperates. This is a very key feature would be agreed to in geneva. Like the case of a rock, they levied all of the heavy lifting and the obligations and the burden of proof was put on syria. The role of the inspectors was critically limited to verifying what the syrians said. And it was essential and agreeing with the agreement in geneva and now in the draft resolution, which rob mentioned, which is intended to be passed tonight and implementing or the corresponding with the executive committee. Also having that dynamic embedded as well. One other thing i would comment on, they said they came to a common assessment of the Syrian Chemical Weapons holding. The american intelligence and russian intelligence coming up in the thing, that kind of something that we thought about what the with the same idea for what was in the inventories. It was vital because when the syrians actually produce these declarations, it became very clear pretty quickly that it was in the ballpark. It hasnt been made public yet, although when it is passed around among the countries, i imagine it will be out pretty quickly. That declaration has been seen as thorough and detailed and it is a key first step. I think they would have high confidence and not. And there has been debate over whether implementing resolution over Chapter Seven or chapter six the shorthand is in Chapter Seven, it implies the use of force. The russians felt very strongly against this, not just for the case of syria, but because they feel strongly against that derivative of kosovo and more recently libya and iraq. But the need on the american side was that they needed to adjust some of the components of the opc debut practices. It prohibits the removal of chemical weapons and one of the most likely avenues for addressing the Syrian Chemical Weapons inventory pump is to take this stuff out and there is some elements like that which had to be done in a resolution is kind of played out, the americans and russians were able to balance the mutual interest and they have a draft resolution which is about to be passed. There were a couple of other technical aspects aspects of what can be done and our country can refuse certain inspections if they dont like them. They dont want to give syria that option. But the messy part in all of this is the relationship between opcw and the Security Council. That still is not wired as near as i can tell. Well, who is in charge of august . Who is the guy or the woman who is going to be the chief person on the syrian activity . Is that the director general of the opcw . The Security Council as well, possibly. But watch that space. Because i dont think it will be just the director general who was reporting to the Security Council every month and it will probably be mostly opcw people that will accrue but not strictly and when i have to apologize here for the jargon, implementing the bureaucracy with the chemical weapons and let me just say i would like to mention a couple of things in respect to the law. It is in some ways easier because it hasnt been blown up first. We went to iraq in 1991 and all of these military fights have been subjected to many weeks of bombing. Bunkers and tempos and administrative buildings and it always blows up. When you go in and see a bunch of rocket scattered about, we dont know if they are conventional, its a lot more difficult to sort all that out. From that standpoint, the syrian cases are somewhat easier. The other thing is in the case of iraq, we operated the Chemical Construction group from 1992 through 1994, where the weapons inspectors supervised the destruction of chemical agents and destroyed 38,000 Something Like close to 700 tons of bulk agent and a lot more then they operate in an incinerator hydraulics process. These facilities in which the iraqis constructed and indicates the visit was a preexisting facility that was kind of redialed as opposed to the creation and it wasnt that it took that many people. And the risk that people point to is the serious security. But the wisdom of this is that that burden is put down and it is logically, as difficult as it is, it is logical that the syrians will have their most sensitive weapons with places they can continue to be secure. If you believe the reports in the press they think that they have been moving stuff. So that is good and bad. They are required to consolidate it in certain locations and they can do that. It is bad because you may wonder why they are moving stuff around to avoid inspections and so forth. But the safety of the inspectors probably the most difficult part of this. But the burden for that is put onto the syrians, i think that there is a logical path ahead. They can design a sequence with security and potentially helicopters if you use the aircraft and the antiaircraft things, which the insurgents may have. The the biggest risk that i see Going Forward is we are putting a spotlight on a lot of facilities there are a lot of people fighting in syria who have an interest in this growing target of war. So that, if im thinking ahead, would be the largest risk that i could see. Some insurgent groups, and it can cause problems. But return to the point where i started which is where we call in with the president where he laid out in a military strike, which was to deter the syrian weapons capability. I feel pretty strongly that the path that we are on has a much higher probability of much greater success in terms of deterring and degrading this then if we have done this with a military strike. One other comment on how they will lay out the weapons inspectors there are easy things you can do a double hobble the program quickly. You can destroy it equipment very quickly, for example. You can go after the components and someone has, you know, just pour that out on the ground. So there are things which you can do quickly early on that will control this program and the harder things can be managed putting this with blocks and steals and then when the International Community can figure out a way of getting people to accept the bulk agent. Im going to stop there. Are there any questions . We will take them from the table here. Thank you, charles. That was a really kind of excellent overview. Amipro one or two issues before we open it up to the floor. To end up with the operational question of where we end up. Picking up on the description of your experience in iraq and the contrast with syria. The agreement of this that was worked out with john kerry, it lays out three phases, the first of which was accomplished to some degree of satisfaction, namely the declaration by the syrians. But as you mentioned, the russians in the United States on the same page on what the stocks are is encouraging. And what we are heading into, november is the target date for the destruction for producing and mixing and filling this to follow with the complete illumination, which everyone views as a very ambitious timeline. But we actually got a lot done, not over the whole decade in the first 18 months or so. The second phase that we are entering into, it is is it your judgment of key precursors are identified and the key for weaponization and a lot of the iraqi materials are in nonweaponize forms, but if that goes well, that we will be substantially further in the goal of preventing further syrian use . The short answer is yes. For this purpose starting on sunday or monday. The first step is to do a Baseline Survey of what i believe is 45 sites. They will be going out to each of these sites to say, okay, what is where . That is kind of the first half of this that you are talking about. The 30 day period. This is also supposed to happen in october. Then they will identify this here and there. There are things, we have these reactor vessels, specialized for this kind of thing. They will go out with a tractor and they can do a lot of very quick destruction, which i keep with using the word hobble, youre taking this off line. Getting that material balance, if they had an ax number of this on hand, and if they visit all of the bunkers, does this add up. That is a lot to do in a month. Moreover, to request that the syrians consolidate that once they have a recordkeeping of what is where when they want to consolidate it in certain bunkers, that is a lot to do in a month. But as a practical matter, if everyone is working with success in line, i think people will understand. It will be key who heads the u. N. Effort into the counterpart is. If the syrians name someone who has a Good Relationship with the counterpart, a lot of these problems are inevitable will be sorted out on the ground. In the case of iraq, we went to the point where these guys were always going to do this. We were not using them. Some say that we forgot the key to forget the warehouse and we werent buying that. But it may well be that the guy forgot the key. So theres a lot of stuff which happens on the ground, which never makes it back to the Security Council. Personalities are important. Thank you. Moving from the operational issues, and im sure someone will want to probe further, turning to to sort of political military issues that can flow from this syria case, which the history of iraq bears, and dealing with future cases. In your remarks you mentioned that the accord in a way legitimizes the saudi regime with these chemical weapons. And so doing one of the criticisms is this process, part of the Syrian Regime at a time when the u. S. Has this tension. As there was in the rockies between compliance and a regime change. In the case of libya, where there were the process of being eliminated after the 2003 breakthrough with libya. Even in the middle of the libyan civil war leading to the overthrow, qaddafi was responsible for these chemical weapons and will be held accountable. Ec similar things of holding the saudi regime accountable. It was never considered a rogue state in the 1990s because there is a political concept. It was needed for the arab and israeli peace process. It did not designated as a rogue state. From the policy side, how does the Obama Administration ran into this tension between a compliance and regime change . The draft was meant to be passed today and there is reference to the geneva conference on the future of syria. The language and is not it is in the same resolution and youre onto exactly dealing with this and we make you guys happy, the weapons inspectors, they will be able to lift the sanctions. Its a logical question. And the only answer i was able to give as well. When i was able to find out, which got me off the hook. But it is absolutely part of this. Perhaps the only route to surviving is by preceding down this path on chemical weapons. But over time, dealing with that regime, including a legitimacy to her. I would hasten to add that as awkward as that may in some ways, it is still better and if we had done not, if we lifted the burden of responsibility from these chemical weapons that we are concerned about, the regime said that you keep him as the button and youve had a responsibility to him through this process. And sorting out the political stuff and that will be a myth. But its even worse than what you are suggesting because the whole region is a myth. Focusing this is not a bad thing. But it will not solve your inability to knock on things were going upside down all of these other issues that the last point where we open it up to the floor. In the last comment leads to this line of questioning. One of the lessons of the Syrian Crisis was that the credible threat of force have bolstered diplomacy. You had written about the problematic option of the use of u had written about the problematic option of the use of force, that the use of force kind of degrades and deters the inside regimes ability to use chemical weapons. Including control weapons and not to be developed at length at this meeting, but a subject for a future meeting, sort of like this credible threat of force in dealing with the iranian case, when even in this here in case it just looks inherently kind of problematic and environmental and consequences of striking hot sites. You know, undermining the regimes ability to control it. But i think that this, as we look to it with one eye towards the integration of force and diplomacy, my own view is that it is inherently problematic, but this seems to be where the data is right now. Im interested on your comment on that. I dont know what the target that was what they were talking about with this military strike. I know in the case of iraq, we have actually had to line up weapons on target and say, what you want us to blow up. You blow up the command and control, which sounds like a good thing to do, do you really want to do that . Do you want to increase the odds and it is, im reluctant to say this, but it is not necessarily the case that only syria has access to chemical weapons. The elaborate argument, he is not going to Say Something that is completely incredible. And he may actually there may be some parts of that that there could be some truth to. There was a recent fellow who did the research and he reported to the secretary general without laying blame. He put in a lot of data about the ammunition that were used. It would be very interesting to see if those are in the syrian declaration. I would not be surprised if they were not. Now, you can spin a hypotheses about this and whether it was the ir jc, you can get murky very quickly. And i wouldnt want to get diverted onto that. But when you get on the ground, things arent as clear as it might have been in washington. With open it up now for comments from the floor. The microphone is coming to you. Thank you. Thank you very much. How many are part of this system with chemical weapons . And really if one wanted to destroy all of the chemical weapons. If one wanted to destroy all of the chemical weapons that syria has, how long . Two months, four months, six months . The deadline to address the second question first, was by the middle of 2014. And as a practical matter, once they consolidate the things, that is the hard part. Whatever they are for, or will you take them to another country and that is the more likely route to take. How that plays out over time, i dont know. And the bulk agent, the nations, the russians have this based on the seaside, so use it. And the russians have volunteered to do something and i am not that worried about the timeline. I think the first key phrase, identifying the staff and consolidating it. I think that we are in much better shape. The first part of your question. I dont really know. I mean, the response that we used to make was that if you were successful in iraq, it might be the only country without weapons of mass destruction. But that is too glad. Supposition is part of this and i dont know really what they are. But certainly i think they have lost their appeal. I thought you might be asking is about biological weapons and that is really a big if. Bashar alassad, he made reference to the point that he still has the ability to deter this and i dont know exactly what he is referring to there. Butdeter this and i dont know exactly what he is referring to there. But i think that this is the enormity of him telling the bureaucracy that all people that are largely invested in its chemical weapons determined that he has had for decades, saying that guys, we should get rid of it. That is a pretty big step and i would not trivialize that. It may not make them more secure domestically. If the speakers could identify themselves. Yes, i work for the bank and on these issues, when i first note how successful this was in destroying, finding and destroying us when they were there. But to go back bigger and further into that, we talked about that and we couldnt figure out a way to get this out of the country to destruction facility. Do you think it is practical to move cw out of the country . Or do you think they will destroy that they fair, which will be slower and more difficult . I suppose i should apologize for being such a nuisance. And we came over the state department hated us because we had all kinds of great ideas. But you are correct. If the americans were going to destroy the cw, it will cost billions of dollars. In the case of iraq, we cost them to build an incinerator and to modify equipment which existed there. We destroyed an inventory roughly the size of syria for about 10 million. Be advised that that was before it the cw is passed and there was no osha. And we do this safely. We were able to do it in that environment. I would be interested to see in the syrian declaration if they have a destruction capability that they declare. I kind of thought that they might give you have this in your inventory. They dont last forever is it best if used by date. You have to do something that he made in 1970 and 1990 or something. So i would look for this and they may have internally some destruction capability. But they will make a decision or can we get some group of International Countries to accept delivery of that. Getting it out wont be that hard. You know, i recognize that there is an insurgency going on. But it has been moving stuff around for the last three or four years. I think charles for the great review in your excellent work. There is one question that you didnt address and i wanted to ask you about, which you should have expertise about this, given that you are on the ground in iraq and you understand how many people it takes and one of my concerns is the organization for the ability to send qualified people for the short timeframe. They have about 125 inspectors today. They have ongoing responsibilities and it seems to me that this will take Additional Resources for this and additional personnel with other governments and done very rapidly. How many people would be roughly estimate this job based upon what we know so far about the past and might be involved and how quickly can this pull in the best to get this job done . I agree that this is difficult. But it is doable. But this seems to be one of the toughest aspects of getting it done. Those are great points to focus on. Giving a plug to the norwegian government, a couple of years ago the foreign minister appointed to study to say all of these old inspectors are going to drop dead and should we record what they did. Because who knows, it may happen again and they made the recommendation, which turns who have been very useful. And would it be useful to have a trained cadre of inspectors on the circumstance, like this today, happens. On the numbers specifically. They do have limited people. My calculation would be it would be 75 people in here is my arithmetic. You have to have guys who run this, i have guys and guys who handle and security and the samples that are taken. If theres 45 site and have to cover them in a month, we have a bunker and it takes a while to go through all of that. Maybe you have three or four teams it would probably be picking people. That is going to be a lot of space taken up in the car. There is a lot of equipment. But you cannot just get 3000 trucks and drive off the site. You have to bring this and you have to have calm. Theres a lot of infrastructure that you have to bring along. I would guess that will be tough to get that many experts. But they are not all chemical weapons experts. Providing financial help, military sup pries, even combatant to the assad government. Do you have any speculation how iran is going to play in this cw destruction . Are they going to be supportive, i mean, so you iranian nation that finds chemical weapons rather repulsive. How is this going work with iran . Thats a really good question, greg. And we were talking about
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