UN Security Council Votes To Eliminate Syria's Chemical Weapons Friday Sep 27,2013

The United Nations Security Council votes on a resolution that will require Syria to give up its chemical weapons Friday, Sept. 27, 2013

The UN vote came just hours after the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) adopted what it called "a historic decision on the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons

In a statement after a late-night meeting in The Hague, OPCW said its executive council "agreed on an accelerated programme for achieving the complete elimination of Syria's chemical weapons by mid-2014. The decision requires inspections in Syria to commence from  Oct 1, 2013".
"The decision also calls for ambitious milestones for destruction which will be set by the (executive) council by  Nov 15,2013"
OPCW Director General Ahmet Uzumcu said the move "sends an unmistakable message that the international community is coming together to work for peace in Syria".


 The U.N. resolution’s adoption was assured when the five veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council — Russia, China,USA, France and Britain — signed off on the text on Thursday Sep 26,2013

Russia and the United States had been at odds over the enforcement issue. Russia opposed any reference to Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which allows for military and nonmilitary actions to promote peace and security

The final resolution states that the Security Council will impose measures under Chapter 7 if Syria fails to comply, but this would require adoption of a second resolution

The UN Security Council resolution bans Syria from possessing chemical weapons and condemns “in the strongest terms” the use of chemical weapons in the Aug. 21,2013 attack, and any other use

The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Sep 27,2013 Friday night to secure and destroy Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile, a landmark decision aimed at taking poison gas off the battlefield in the escalating 2 1/2-year conflict
“Today’s historic resolution is the first hopeful news on Syria in a long time,” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told

 As a sign of the broad support for the resolution, all 15 council members signed on as co-sponsors.

The UN Security Council resolution does not assign blame for any chemical attack but expresses its strong conviction that those individuals responsible for the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic should be held accountable

 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the “strong, enforceable, precedent-setting” resolution shows that diplomacy can be so powerful “that it can peacefully defuse the worst weapons of war.”

 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the resolution does not automatically impose sanctions on Syria but the resolution calls for consequences if Syria fails to comply

 Syria’s U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari accused unnamed nations of already giving the resolution a negative interpretation and trying to “derail it from its lofty purposes.”

The UN said its team of inspectors currently in Syria are investigating three chemical weapons attacks alleged to have happened after the 21 August attack in Damascus that left hundreds dead and sparked a threat of US military action.

The three attacks are among seven alleged incidents the UN said its team were investigating.