Press Releases

6 November 2013 Further progress made by the team, following completion of 27 October and 1 November targets The OPCW-UN Joint Mission has now verified 22 of the 23 sites. The additional site inspected is in the region of Aleppo and was one of the two sites that could not be visited earlier due to…

25 October 2013 Inspections OPCW inspectors visited a site on Thursday and verified that all of its previous chemical weapons-related equipment has already been dismantled. This brings to 19 the total number of sites visited by OPCW inspectors, of 23 that have been disclosed by Syria.

21 October 2013 Initial Declaration The Technical Secretariat continues to assist Syria in Damascus in finalising its initial formal declaration covering its chemical weapons and related facilities. Inspections Inspections have been conducted at 17 sites. At 14 sites the inspectors carried out…

18 October 2013 Inspections The number of sites visited, where inspection activities have been conducted, has increased to 14. Joint Mission The Special Coordinator, Ms Sigrid Kaag, is scheduled to visit The Hague soon for briefings/discussions.

16 October 2013 Current mission goals (to 1 November): Verification of the disclosure by Syria of its chemical weapons programme Identification of key equipment Making production facilities inoperable (“functional destruction”), including mixing/filling plants Begin destruction of Category 3…

I thank Minister Rashid Derbas for receiving me today at the Ministry. I congratulated him on his new and heavy responsibilities. We had a very good meeting. I welcomed the determination of the new Lebanese government, particularly the minister himself, to follow up closely on the issue of the…

NEW YORK - The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack on 18 March 2014 in Faryab province, Afghanistan, which has caused numerous deaths and injuries of innocent civilians.The members of the Security Council expressed their deep sympathy and condolences…

Tripoli, 17 March 2014 – Japan is contributing US$5.2 million to the Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Action to facilitate the clearance of explosive remnants of war, a program coordinated by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). The contribution by the Government of Japan…

The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Derek Plumbly, today expressed concern at incidents of violence in Tripoli, north Lebanon and in areas of eastern Lebanon during the past few days, which have led to tragic loss of life, both among civilians and the Lebanese Armed Forces. He also…